On stage with fellow luminaries DFS founder Lord Kirkham and Argos chief executive Terry Duddy, Green said property owners' inflexible attitudes, on issues such as shopping centre rents and costs, were preventing fresh store ideas from appearing in the UK.
'I'd rather see new faces, even at the expense of more competition for my own stores,' said Green. 'We need landlords with the vision to say we want four or five new formats in our shopping centres to freshen things up.'
In a lively debate with a delegate from property firm Hammerson, Green called on the company to advertise its One Step initiative - an offer for start-up and small retailers to pay what they felt they could afford for retail space - in a double-page spread in the next issue of Retail Week.
The trio also said that while differentiation is important, execution is at the heart of a retail success. 'With all respect, what Philip does with his brands is not so radically different from his rivals,' said Kirkham. 'But Philip is a winner and it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it.'
Green also warned that current valuations for companies are well out of kilter with trading. 'I don't know where the venture capitalists are getting their values for these companies, They are certainly different from the situation on the ground,' he said.
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