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Is the High Street doomed

Bahnhof Strasse said:
Pretty much the largest shop in my town is a Smiths, messy, disorganised shelves, half the lights not on, staff appalling bad at even pretending to give a shit. Yet it is always busy, never been in and found it empty, so there must be something there.
Click to expand...
...a post office? my Smiths has a permanent queue to get in. To the post office.
and yeah its the same mess in there as you describe
 
When I was 10 Smiths was my favorite shop, I still harbour some customer loyalty fuck knows why. Although can't remember last time I went in there. On the railways, before the train arrives you've already accepted that you're going to get ripped off, it should say so on the ticket. So if you aint packed sandwiches, a drink , and a hip flask then Smiths it is.
 
Last month it was announced that Arnotts and Brown Thomas were to be sold by their Irish/Canadian Weston family...along with other retail chains they own..Selfridges etc.

Many shops have already gone. Debenhams and others.

Most of the city centre where I live is empty shops.

But...outdoor markets are doing well and a new one has opened. So that's good.
 
We must keep a small selection of shops local for everyone, especially those with mobility issues and to keep car use down.
 
Tankus said:
Coventry city centre , needs the specials as background music


A hard place to recover from
Click to expand...

This guy seems dodge to me

Aren't these the Covid is a hoax lot?
thewhiterose.uk

Food Scare Exercise – How They’re Preparing Us for the Next Manufactured Crisis - The White Rose UK

Fresh Warning! - They Are Preparing Us For The next Crisis... (Neil McCoy-Ward/YT): https://www.youtube.com/live/9qzSwf1mN7Q?feature=shared Food Alert Crisis Scenario (Centre for Systems Solutions/YT): https://youtu.be/HNtVEnDX_oA?feature=shared Food Alert - Stress testing the EU food system...
thewhiterose.uk

Free market libertarian maybe?
Smells to me whatever.

But yeah, city centers broken
 
This just seems like madness. Instead of having shops we could well have pick up points instead :(

www.standard.co.uk

Home delivery boom becoming unmanageable in London, report warns

Online shoppers should change their habits to improve sustainability as the e-commerce boom is set to become unmanageable in London, a new report has warned.
www.standard.co.uk www.standard.co.uk

"The report has recommended that 90 per cent of Londoners should be within 250 metres of a universal pick-up or drop-off point by 2025"
 
I’d love pick up points. Since last Christmas I’ve moved house. No longer have a porch for delivery people to drop stuff in and getting stuff delivered to work is impossible as the courier drivers always get lost. So Christmas this year I’ve had to tell the family it comes from an actual shop or the retailer provides click and collect functionality as I’m not driving around the midlands to various courier depots to pick stuff up.

I’ve said for years online retailers should have to provide details of what courier they use before even getting to the checkout. so I know if there’s local shops I can easily divert the package too or if it’s an awful courier company. Just not even bother.
 
Well Fraser has been on its way out for a while. Even before Covid the one near my office (Victoria) had become an odd dumping ground for Sports Direct surplus stock.
 
As I think I've mentioned before, local high streets might get something of a boost from COVID as people get more reliant on them - some attention is finally being paid to my local one, but it's funny how, however people complain about the shitty high street, when proposals are put forward for improvement people are all 'Oh but not that, oh but parking [always bloody parking], oh cars' and I do feel a bit 'Yes, if they are going to improve the street, things are going to change'. Council is planning a 'Town square', which is basically using existing layout better but people were immediately 'What are they going to knock down? That sound like they're going to pedestrianise it [they're not planning to], they can't do that'. :rolleyes:

Shopping malls are a really interesting case - some big developers are now literally saying they can't see them building any more in the UK in the foreseeable, which I find fascinating. I'm guessing the extension of Brent Cross shopping centre is probably off the cards. Most malls will remain, I reckon, but expect to start seeing more non-retail use in them - entertainment, offices, even possibly healthcare and civic stuff. UK is overstocked with malls, though not as insanely as the US.
 
Cloo said:
Shopping malls are a really interesting case - some big developers are now literally saying they can't see them building any more in the UK in the foreseeable, which I find fascinating. I'm guessing the extension of Brent Cross shopping centre is probably off the cards. Most malls will remain, I reckon, but expect to start seeing more non-retail use in them - entertainment, offices, even possibly healthcare and civic stuff. UK is overstocked with malls, though not as insanely as the US.
Click to expand...
Yet bizarrely in Leeds they are building a new train station (and closing another nearby) in order to serve the White Rose shopping centre, which is a really dismal shitty 90s shopping mall (biggest name is M&S) that must be on the way out, especially as there is a massive shiny new one slap bang in the city centre about 200m from city station. It’ll be thirty years too late.
 
I was wandering around Ipswich for the first time in a while the other day and even knowing the damage Covid had done was honestly a bit shocked at the decline. Loads of empties on top of the loss of big places like Debenhams and the Coop, mostly listed as "planning permission for residential development." Council seems to be giving up on finding new town centre business entirely.
 
There was a massive fuss about a large Tesco's being built down by the railway and many accused them of land blocking. I wondered what happened to that. Very pleased to see out of time records still going in Fore Street which is run by a lovely fella.
 
ska invita said:
www.retailgazette.co.uk

Nearly 135,000 retail jobs lost during pandemic - Retail Gazette

New research has found that almost 135,000 retail jobs have been lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
www.retailgazette.co.uk www.retailgazette.co.uk
GMB figures
Click to expand...
www.bbc.co.uk

More than 17,000 chain store shops closed last year

Figures reflect the rise of online shopping and the pandemic, but the rate of closures is slowing.
www.bbc.co.uk


_123310783_optimised-chart_one_retail_closures-nc.png




Chain stores i presume excludes independents, cafes, other high street businesses etc
 
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