The slow death of Tottenham Court Rd

[editor]

It used to be the electronics capital of London and now there's loads of empty shops and bland High St stores taking their place.

http://www.urban75.org/blog/the-dec...rt-road-former-electronics-capital-of-london/

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Working just off there right now.
I am surprised how much of a regular high street it looks at the moment, mostly catering for the lunches of the media middle classes.
Can't say I have seen any empty shops. I am going to take a trip down the bottom a check argos out at lunch.

 

[editor]

Charing Cross Road has just about lost most of its character too.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

all killed by http://getyercheapelectronics.com like a lot of other stores, the virgin megastore chain and associated fnac in France are suffering big time from this due to simple economic factors: online stores don't need to pay premium rent for high street presence, and I guess the amount of people wanting to go into a shop to try stuff and then actually buying it there rather than much cheaper online is dwindling apace

 

[joustmaster]

I've only lived in London for a few years, but I have always wondered why people mentioned TCR as a place to go for electrical stuff. Its always seemed the same as any where else to me.

When did it change?

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Not surprised when you can get most products online and often cheaper why waste your time going to a shop?

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I've only lived in London for a few years, but I have always wondered why people mentioned TCR as a place to go for electrical stuff. Its always seemed the same as any where else to me.

When did it change?

It was good about twenty years ago...

 

[paulhackett]

Never liked the 'aggressive' sales technique and customer service with their 'How much do you want to spend?' opening gambit.

 

[DownwardDog]

I've only lived in London for a few years, but I have always wondered why people mentioned TCR as a place to go for electrical stuff. Its always seemed the same as any where else to me.

When did it change?

In the mid 80s it was like a scene from a G.A. Effinger novel.

 

[Voley]

I enjoyed shopping for a stereo there back in the day. Getting a price off one bloke, taking it to the guy next door, going back, seeing if they'd discount it a bit further etc. I never used to get much money knocked off but I went to get an amp once and ended up with a CD Walkman thrown in for nowt. It's a shame to hear these places are dying out along with record shops - I buy all my stuff online these days though so I'm as much a part of the problem as anyone.

 

[twistedAM]

Never liked the 'aggressive' sales technique and customer service with their 'How much do you want to spend?' opening gambit.

I must say it's no great loss. The only plus side was that on that street you could find everything and i got pretty good at handling their guff.
Nowadays though people could look for best price on internet and then go there and negotiate with more confidence and obviously that didn't leave those shops enough profit margin.

 

[editor]

I used to go in to the shop and say, "I'm buying [this gadget]. I have cash. I'm going to walk up and down this street for a hour and give my money to the shop that offers me the best price today. So what is your best possible price?"

I got some hefty discounts from that approach

 

[twistedAM]

I used to go in to the shop and say, "I'm buying [this gadget]. I have cash. I'm going to walk up and down this street for a hour and give my money to the shop that offers me the best price today. So what is your best possible price?"

I got some hefty discounts from that approach

Oh yeah, cash talked loudly in those shops.

 

[cesare]

Plus you'd always get cables etc thrown in FOC

 

[maldwyn]

It has been on a steady decline for at least ten years.

The bland is set to worsen once the tube station is finished.

 

[uk benzo]

For me it was all about the Saturday computer fairs that were held in the mid-to-late-90s in and around TCR, when I was into building/modifying computers. Got some mad bits of hardware that I would not have been able to find anywhere else.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

For me it was all about the Saturday computer fairs that were held in the mid-to-late-90s in and around TCR, when I was into building/modifying computers. Got some mad bits of hardware that I would not have been able to find anywhere else.

Yup me too, the computer shows where a regular for and my mates back in the day...

 

[editor]

Those computer fairs are still going. They were mighty grim affairs.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

They weren't when I stopped (2002/3), great place to hang out and chat with vendors about upcoming stuff (including games related imports).

 

[editor]

They weren't when I stopped (2002/3), great place to hang out and chat with vendors about upcoming stuff (including games related imports).

For techie blokes, yes.

 

[gabi]

The surrounding areas of Tott Ct Rd are fucking cool though. I work just off Goodge St. Best area I've worked in, all in all. Lovely pubs, lovely cafes, hot girls, russell square, good transport..

 

[Kid_Eternity]

For techie blokes, yes.

Well yeah they aren't for non techy folk and virtually no non techy people even know about their existence!

 

[Ted Striker]

Yup me too, the computer shows where a regular for and my mates back in the day...

"The whole universe was in a hot dense state..."

 

[editor]

Well yeah they aren't for non techy folk and virtually no non techy people even know about their existence!

There was usually more than a few bored looking girlfriends to be found waiting by the entrance.

 

[twistedAM]

Well yeah they aren't for non techy folk and virtually no non techy people even know about their existence!

Well apart from the guys standing on the main road with a big sign with an arrow on it. They later found employment with "Golf Sale"

 

[5t3IIa]

I went to a few places along there only last week to touch up laptops. Then buy them online.

 

[Ted Striker]

I always found them very strange beasts...As if they were actively trying to look 'dodgy' and the sort of place you'd see regularly on watchdog.

Didn't ever really think much of their customer service nor sales strategy, though they were shit-hot on grey imports. I think I got most of my Car stereo bits and DJ stuff from round that way, but that was nearly 10 years ago, when their main/only competition was Comet/Currys etc.

 

[IC3D]

I used to love the haggling back in the day, going backward and forward. Internet though init today I found an hdmi cable online for 6 quid that was 30 on the high street

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I went down there the other week looking at the prices for a couple of lenses. There are still a couple of the old-style shops, and I remembered how uncomfortable they always made me - the impossibility of browsing with everything behind the counters, the pushy sales techniques, the high prices with the expectation of haggling (which I hate).

I went into the Jessops on New Oxford Street afterwards and it was much nicer - I could see what they had, play with the stock, and had a couple of chats with staff there about photography with no expectation on their part that I was going to buy something.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Walked down there last week looking for electricals for the first time in perhaps 20 years, was shocked at how the place has changed. Bought online at the end, guess that's why it's changed.