Omg yes I noticed this, all the way up to Selfridges. They are massive and have music to rival a club! I don't get it.
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My thinking is that during covid lockdown the council was desperate to fill the empty shopping space so they just put in any old shop and that is why there were so many candy shops.
I think lots of them were there before covid, maybe they replaced some of the souvenir shops which must have had cheap rent or something?
I get M&M world but not all these places where you can spend £8 for a box of GMO, artificial colours and artificial flavors fruit loops. But these American sweets and cereal is also sold in the Selfridges food hall at a premium, albeit a tiny range.
The problem with the high street is parking, the out of town places have free parking, high streets do not.
There is potential to tax parking spaces at put of town malls to level up the rates bill. Some of the locations for the put of town malls would've been better utilised for housing instead
Exactly, I forget where but I'm sure I read somewhere that a small town had it's parking meters all vandalised but foot traffic in town increased so much that they decided to bin the meters for good.
I put the majority of the blame on local councils and their short sighted views to pull in money from things like parking and out of town places.
Some town centers have huge parts that feel like no go zones.
agree totally; when we lived in a new build village, it would cost us £7.50 to get a 10 minute bus into town. What a joke! The buses were so sporadic anyways and didn’t even run on a weekend.
gutted by Wilko closing some stores; since owning my own home, Wilkos is the go to place for everything DIY and cleaning. Their version of the Frenchic paint is much cheaper.
The Grantham Wilko that’s on the list is absolutely tiny; it’s hidden off the high street in a bus stop, and it’s so small and cramped compared to the Wilkos that have appeared in retail parks in places such as Gainsborough
Princes Street in Edinburgh is similar.
Primark cutting 400 jobs, but seems like no stores.
To try and streamline and minimise price rises?
To try and streamline and minimise price rises?
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Managers only affected. Having worked for Primark they have a lot of managers. Not unusual for stores to have 10 plus managers per store.
I love Primark. Their stores are never as busy as they were a few years ago because you can get fast fashion delivered next day for pennies. Pretty Little Thing practically gives their clothes away.. I’ve had to delete the app because with a delivery saver I was spending daily 
It is a combination of factors:
1) Greedy landlords wanting ridiculous rent increases, when they know retailers are struggling. This appears to be a major factor in the Wilko example. Inflexible landlords will be responsible for those Wilko branches that do close.
2) Local Councils - wanting their cake and eating it through business rates, which are typically 50% of the annual rent. Business rates do not include things such as rubbish collection.
2a) Again local councils - ripping the piss with town centre parking charges.
3) Empty retail units (I understand) are subject to rates and tax relief as they are empty. To encourage occupation, this should be abolished ASAP. Why should we subsidise greedy landlords?
4) Changing shopping habits, with many more.now shopping online.
I've bought a fabulous dress from a little independent and now a pair of boots to go with it. The boots I probably would've found online as they are my style anyway, the dress is something I wouldn't have found as Its not a style or pattern I'd look for but I love it. This the benefit of physically shopping, when
you shop online it tends to be filtered so you see stuff similar to what you've previously bought
Dress was £40, material is fab, boots were £85 both shops independent
you shop online it tends to be filtered so you see stuff similar to what you've previously bought
Dress was £40, material is fab, boots were £85 both shops independent
Square Neck Tiered Soft Touch Floral Midi Dress
Pack Quantity: 8 Pieces Colours: Navy Single Colour Packs Composition: 92% polyester 8% Elastane
novaoflondon.com
Councils trying to make their money off the backs of parking/ business rates is a big part of it I think.
Often shops can be paying more for their rates than the rent on their unit. If rents then rise too the whole thing becomes unaffordable.
I live about 10 miles from Bluewater. Most local people I know shop there or Lakeside; very few go to any of the 'local' High Streets, you might pop in on your way to the bank or post office, but that's about it.
I walk 3 miles to our nearest shopping centre as a bit of exercise (the treadmill gets boring and it's too muddy for a more scenic walk!) about once a month but otherwise I'd never go there because I resent paying £2 an hour or thereabouts to park in a piss soaked car park
I only really go there for the Primark (as I hate the one in Bluewater)
We have a clothes shop in our local High Street that always has lovely things in but I don't buy from there because they have an awful returns policy and awkward opening hours.
Often shops can be paying more for their rates than the rent on their unit. If rents then rise too the whole thing becomes unaffordable.
I live about 10 miles from Bluewater. Most local people I know shop there or Lakeside; very few go to any of the 'local' High Streets, you might pop in on your way to the bank or post office, but that's about it.
I walk 3 miles to our nearest shopping centre as a bit of exercise (the treadmill gets boring and it's too muddy for a more scenic walk!) about once a month but otherwise I'd never go there because I resent paying £2 an hour or thereabouts to park in a piss soaked car park
I only really go there for the Primark (as I hate the one in Bluewater)We have a clothes shop in our local High Street that always has lovely things in but I don't buy from there because they have an awful returns policy and awkward opening hours.
I've noticed that HMV have started to return to some High Streets.
I visited Oxford recently. Years ago there used to be a HMV (and Fopp) there, both of which closed.
In the last few months, HMV have returned to the main shopping street. Although it seems to be more heavily focused than before on merchandise. Things like T-shirts, posters and other such memorabilia.
I visited Oxford recently. Years ago there used to be a HMV (and Fopp) there, both of which closed.
In the last few months, HMV have returned to the main shopping street. Although it seems to be more heavily focused than before on merchandise. Things like T-shirts, posters and other such memorabilia.
I love Fopp, we used to have one in Bristol until it closed down in Jan 2019, the unit has remained empty to this day!
HMV have been hanging on for years. Good for them if they've managed to find a niche.
My little town centre is doing quite well at the moment, the only shop we've lost over the pandemic is Shoezone, and a couple of cafes. Might be because we have quite a lot of older people.
My little town centre is doing quite well at the moment, the only shop we've lost over the pandemic is Shoezone, and a couple of cafes. Might be because we have quite a lot of older people.
My local city is just empty. The "original" shopping street which is now historic old town, has nothing left. Especially since M&S closed. Just a HMV, The Works, Deichmann and a Heron Foods - but no parking so you won't go do a big food shop.
The big shopping centre suffered terribly when a new shopping centre was built and sucked away key tenants like TKMaxx. The new shopping centre sucked away footfall and many other chains left the high street to the shopping centre, Topshop, a big Next closed down to move to the shopping centre. Phone shops, Boots even.
The first big shopping centre has tried, put a cinema in, bowling alley, tried an outlet store area (what a disaster, just no brands apart from next, and just generic rit, best we got was a pop-up Tommy Hilfiger for a few weeks. Primark is all that shopping centre has left going for it.
The high streets are desolate. Losing boots and Woolworths from another shopping street has left another road empty.
The other two high street parts have not a lot going on.
The city has lost BHS, Debenhams and House of Fraser as big stores. Nothing to replace 2 of them. HoF has turned into office space and a food hall, which opened just before Christmas, unbelievably expensive in a city that doesn't have money. Sales were shocking and half the staff laid off after less than 3 months.
The city is dead. It is too big for what shops there actually are. Needs massively shrinking.
Doesn't help that out of town areas keep popping up with free parking and easier to get to.
Some stores don't help themselves though. Had to go out Curry's for an emergency phone, found one but in spite of all these staff wandering around, nobody was able to sell me a phone. They are asking to go out of business.
The big shopping centre suffered terribly when a new shopping centre was built and sucked away key tenants like TKMaxx. The new shopping centre sucked away footfall and many other chains left the high street to the shopping centre, Topshop, a big Next closed down to move to the shopping centre. Phone shops, Boots even.
The first big shopping centre has tried, put a cinema in, bowling alley, tried an outlet store area (what a disaster, just no brands apart from next, and just generic rit, best we got was a pop-up Tommy Hilfiger for a few weeks. Primark is all that shopping centre has left going for it.
The high streets are desolate. Losing boots and Woolworths from another shopping street has left another road empty.
The other two high street parts have not a lot going on.
The city has lost BHS, Debenhams and House of Fraser as big stores. Nothing to replace 2 of them. HoF has turned into office space and a food hall, which opened just before Christmas, unbelievably expensive in a city that doesn't have money. Sales were shocking and half the staff laid off after less than 3 months.
The city is dead. It is too big for what shops there actually are. Needs massively shrinking.
Doesn't help that out of town areas keep popping up with free parking and easier to get to.
Some stores don't help themselves though. Had to go out Curry's for an emergency phone, found one but in spite of all these staff wandering around, nobody was able to sell me a phone. They are asking to go out of business.
Hull.