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Is the High Street doomed

I knew that Ted Baker had financial problems. Their share price crashed about 90% a year or so back and then they got taken over by an american company. Fingers crossed my employer doesn't get dragged down with them 🤞 not sure if my boss is aware yet. Told a few collegues.
 
hash tag said:
If the supermarkets don't kill the smaller shops one way, there is another. I had no idea Tesco's were supplying the likes of londis.
www.theguardian.com

Tesco accused of using cash and carry to ‘squeeze’ village stores out of business

Exclusive: Independent retailers, many running post offices, say wholesale arm Booker is restricting supplies and deliveries
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Click to expand...

I thought it was odd that Tesco was allowed to take over Booker Cash & Carry back in 2017, it just seemed to give them too bigger market-share, trouble is the Competition Commission considers supermarkets, wholesalers and convenience stores as three different market sectors, which is why the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons have open so many convenience stores, and moving into wholesale.

Bookers owns the Londis, Budgens and Premier brands, these are classed as symbol groups, a sort of franchise, the independent stores have to buy all or most of their stock from the wholesaler in return for using their branding and marketing support, I thought it was working well, as lots of independent stores and forecourt shops have adopted those brands around here.

Other symbol groups include Nisa (Co-op Wholesale Group), Spar (a Dutch wholesaler), Mace (Costcutter), some Morrison Daily stores are independents too, around here we also have Welcome stores (Southern Co-op Group), etc. It's all very confusing.
 
ska invita said:
Sorry for the job losses but Ted Baker sounds like a load of balls "Founder Ray Kelvin, who named the company after a self-styled alter ego, an "intrepid aviator, an all-round sportsman and the consort of princesses and Hollywood beauties" :D Ted Baker: London is actually Ray Kelvin: Glasgow. Yuppy crap
Click to expand...

Ray Kelvin is a much better name than Ted Baker.

I’d watch the origin film where nerdish Ray Kelvin first builds his laser weapon array in a Glaswegian school science lab, although I’d probably swerve the sequels where he battles Tony Stark. And I’d definitely buy a Ray Kelvin cummerbund.
 
PR1Berske said:
Our local Co-op has recently become a Nisa and the drop off in quality is stark. Shelves are emptier, staff look bored stiff, both the Cash machine and the Lottery machine have gone.
Click to expand...

That suggests that it has changed ownership. As CS says, the symbol only really dictates signage and selected stock.

I used to work at a VG and we carried both VG and Happy Shopper lines. No idea how that worked and it didn’t strike me as interesting enough at the time to ask.
 
Silas Loom said:
That suggests that it has changed ownership. As CS says, the symbol only really dictates signage and selected stock.

I used to work at a VG and we carried both VG and Happy Shopper lines. No idea how that worked and it didn’t strike me as interesting enough at the time to ask.
Click to expand...
My local shop has had "happy shopper", "londis" and currently "costcutter" branding. Same family has run it for years though. I think they just switch franchises now and again. I suspect small shops couldn't get stock cheap enough to survive without joining one of these franchises.
 
Silas Loom said:
That suggests that it has changed ownership. As CS says, the symbol only really dictates signage and selected stock.

I used to work at a VG and we carried both VG and Happy Shopper lines. No idea how that worked and it didn’t strike me as interesting enough at the time to ask.
Click to expand...

Apparently both VG and Happy Shopper brands are defunct now, most VG stores changed to Spar or Mace, Happy Shopper became part of Booker (now Tesco) and most shops changed to Premier stores, the brand continued on certain goods, but have since been replaced by Jack's branding.

Fuck me, Tesco also owns the One Stop, Family Shopper, and Family Choice brands. Bestway Wholesalers also owns a number of different brands too, including strangely Costcutter, where they have an arrangement with the Co-op's Nisa to supply those stores, all very confusing.

I am not really an anorak on this subject, no really I am not, I just found this interesting Wiki page listing current and defunct brands, and who owns them.

List of convenience shops in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
My local spoons is no more. It's now a Portabello pub. There appears to be little difference except they are selling their own beer
IMG_20240328_195415_1.jpg
 
moochedit said:
My local shop has had "happy shopper", "londis" and currently "costcutter" branding. Same family has run it for years though. I think they just switch franchises now and again. I suspect small shops couldn't get stock cheap enough to survive without joining one of these franchises.
Click to expand...
A friend of mine a few decades back was really proud of his Happy Shopper T-shirt, which I think you had to collect tokens for or something. Tbh I was quite jealous.
 
Still pissed off about Wilko going. Isn’t a week goes by at work without me thinking I need something that I would have just popped down there and got there and then. And now my localish Wickes is closing because the site they’re on is being redeveloped by the owner, there’s another about ten miles away on the other side of the city, so basically dead to me. Choices are B&Q which is shit, 15 mins drive away and bewilderingly large, or order something from Toolstation and queue up for 20 mins while their scant staff deal with people who want to ask questions about stuff rather than just buy things and fuck off.
 
skyscraper101 said:
Superdry looking iffy.

www.bbc.co.uk

Superdry to quit London stock market in huge restructuring

The brand, which runs 216 shops as well as franchised stores, is looking at ways to save cash.
www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
Like Ted Baker, I can't say that Superdry would be the first place I would think of for clothing. Isn't the the way for many fashion brands;
they start up, become trendy, expand rapidly and then disappear?
I seem to remember Burtons from years back, Zara possibly, Ted Baker, Next, American Apparel, Hollister, Hobbs. I think these are some and
there will be many more.
 
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