Oxford Street is sick, and it turns out that a big lump of earth and trees wasn’t the cure. While the ill-fated Marble Arch Mound has so far attracted more mockery than visitors, Westminster City Council’s rationale is understandable: in decline for a number of years, the pandemic kicked London’s most famous retail street while it was down.

What’s more, it is not alone. The world’s premier shopping streets are enduring a tough time that goes far beyond the lockdowns and loss of international visitors.

Political upheaval in Hong Kong, a slew of famous retailers going bust or opting out of New York’s Fifth Avenue and The Magnificent Mile in Chicago and an existential crisis along the Champs-Élysées have rocked previously imperious shopping avenues.