But Boots sell loads of brands you cant get in the supermarkets.
i read somewhere that John Lewis has the biggest online shop in UK ( presumably not as much market share as amazon) it might well disappear from the high st but not online. It can continue to deliver via waitrose as well as deliveries.
Specialist stores are the answer. We have a guitar shop here in Guildford called Andertons. Famous around the world. The guys there know everything. Staff vacancies are sought after. I'd guess they're profitable to say the least.
I don't think the owner wants to open any new stores. He doesn't have to these days. They have a big online presence. And a brand name. Famous musicians drop by on a regular basis.
Chambers, that is a niche product I dare say with a great following. However the independent pizza/burger joint trying to muscle in on the fast food market is going to struggle.
There is a 1500 square foot restaurant space in Merton, ( which remains unoccupied) the quoting rent is £22k PCM, plus rates I would imagine. I don't know what these independents are thinking. That is a lot of pizzas, and burgers to break even, just to stand still. If the conglomerates like Pizza express cannot make it, I don't see how a 2 store burger joint can. Maybe wrong though.
They were there to promote themselves BC, the plaque wasn't new. Also to promote live music at The Star, which I agree with. Nimby local residents I'm afraid.
I saw RoF's own Cern performing there, going back some years. Good keyboard player. Of course I went up and had a chat with him afterwards, very nice bloke,.
It would need a riff for sure. but you would need the right era. I am going for Jonny B Goode (my alternative would be phantom of the opera using a coke bottle for the slide scaĺes).
Seems to me specialist stores are disappearing - they tended to have huge catchment areas and people don't bother making the special journey if they can get online
John Lewis survives by charging a premium over purely online sellers and gets away with it by investing so much in stores and customer service making visiting a good experience rather than a chore - investment the other department stores did not make - to their cost.
The reason I shop at John Lewis is the fact they have enough stores that I can do click and collect and always be within a reasonably short journey of a shop to collect stuff.
John Lewis are toast I reckon at least outside London. Peter Jones and maybe a handful of others might survive.
I suspect pretty much every shop on the high street that sells anything other than clothes is a dead business walking tbh. Someone needs to find a new model for clothes shopping online before high street clothes shops will die I think.
JL has a very loyal rural following and my mum used to drive an hour to get to the local one until they opened one rather closer. Apart from possibly Tesco it's the only shop within a 20 minute drive of where I grew up where you can do click and collect on the whole range of household equipment.
I reckon JL will be ok, even in my “region” the two that I go to are rammed any time of the day or night and I think that a lot of (relatively monied) people go there instead of the rest of the high street.
That's basically my point. Plenty of people where I grew up would drive half an hour to Waitrose rather than going to the Tesco in the village that you can walk to.
No-one has listed any clothes shops. Ultimately there will always be a need for high street clothes shops, the only ones going under are those hopelessly out of date or else selling tat people can buy for cheaper online.
Ditto specialist food stores, butchers, fishmongers, cheese shops etc.
Outdoor shops, bike shops etc will always have a need.
Next is basically an online store already and will probably just retreat from the high street. They have done a much better job of going online than other clothes retailers.
Wilf I very rarely ever shop for clothes in an actual shop. Once I've bought one thing from a brand and know their sizing I just buy it all online and that goes for most of my outdoor technical clothing too.
"Next is basically an online store already and will probably just retreat from the high street. They have done a much better job of going online than other clothes retailers."
The reason for that is that back in the day, they were largely a mail order company - I remember the arrival of the Next Directory, in the post was a moderately big event...
With every winter cold snap the proportion of people who indulge in S-commerce drops. Next's last 6 month report gives their view on the future of bricks and mortar retail and how it will affect Next.
Next has definitely gone back to being mail order - in my local one there is one till to collect online orders and its always bloody heaving - the rest of the store is empty/terrible
went into Debenhams for the first time in months recently and was shocked at the decline - they have basically given up already
I reckon Argos might get into trouble - my local one has moved into Sainsburys but they have less warehouse space and a lot of stuff is now collect after 4pm which totally defeats the point of the place
No way is Debenhams surviving - you either have to be dirt cheap like Primark or a bit upmarket and offer a decent experience - Debenhams doesn't do either. HoF used to do the latter but is going to need to transform itself pdq to survive. JL seem to have it more or less right.
I think it's Blacks just round the corner from my office and despite being huge it never seems to have the things that I'm after. They seem to stock things aimed at a very specific type of rambler.
I also don't see a future for Tescos and Sainsburys- again the middle market is being squeezed - people either want cheap - Aldi Lidl Asda or an upmarket experience -Waitrose M&S food. They may yet transform themselves but otherwise long term they are doomed.
Yeah I think any speciality chain like Blacks or Mountain Warehouse is fvcked. See also the likes of Evans (which Ashley now owns possibly after a cva I can’t remember) and runners need.
Have to say I was surprised at house of Fraser but think that’s because I live near a good one that is surviving. A lot were like glorified Debenhams (which Ashley is also after)
Macdonalds can't go pop because in the uk, 50% at least of the stores are franchised. Individual stores may not be profitable (case in point the old Penzance store) so they get shut down by the franchisee who looks for a better site. (Case in point it is now a dominos and the new business park has a drivethru macdonalds instead - but never eat there, I worked at that store when they were on their annual party and me and my mate reckoned the grill had -never- been cleaned, we had to use knives to chip the charcoal off in order to clean it).
Sails, I do not think that amounts to a sustainable business model.
KFC, is on thin ground I reckon, I ocasionally eat it after a heavy late drinking session, but have you ever been served hot chicken. Me, no, it is always luke warm at best.
The one in New Malden was closed down for a few weeks, as it's hygenie and kitchen were on inspection found to be so poor, it was closed down the same day.
Again, really? From back in the day it was hot chicken. I suspect the franchise model put paid to that.
A good mate, once saw a delivery van full of KFC chicken being delivered. The driver went in to said store, whilst a stray dog proceeded to piss in the van , which was full of said chicken waiting to be delivered. He has since never been able to eat KFC. I do not blame him.
No high street shop is immune from the migration to online shopping. HMV’s flagship store in Oxford Street seems to have shut down, joining Patisserie Valerie over the road.
MCD is a great business and I own shares in it. I'd never eat their food myself but that's neither here nor there. Everywhere in the world I go there are people queuing for it.
Our local WH Smiths seems to be adopting a (very successful looking) model of being the place you go to for magazines, the Post Office, and having a kids books section to stick the blighters in whilst you queue for said Post Office or leafing through the magazines.
The rest (stationary, cards, non-kids books) seems to be an ever smaller part of their offering here.
I am furnishing a house at the moment and I can tell you it is a completely different project from last time I did it, about 7 years ago.
Everything is online and most of it is online only, if you want to ait in a chair before you buy it…tough
The best service is offered by the old school retailers eg Furniture Village as they have big showrooms but hopeless if you dont have a car and you want more upmarket then you are struggling to actually see stuff.
A lot of online furniture retailers are struggling with delivery as well, it’s like they overlook the importance of that aspect of their offering.
Also, JL - rather oddly has drastically cut down its furniture sticks, eg v little in the way of bedroom furniture other than beds. You’d expect JL would offer everything but they just dont, not any more.
Minkie I know it's more cost but if you use an interior designed they can do stuff like get you the chair you like the look of for a trial period. My mum a got an armchair for a us to test before then buying two of them.
The funniest thing about this is Chambo's insistence that the Stranglers didn't unveil a plaque at the Star on 31st January 2019, despite widespread documentary and photographic evidence to the contrary.
The chains that are in fact property businesses will not go away. Sadly JL and McDonalds are examples, fortunately Wetherspoon is also a significant freeholder
Sails last time round I used an interior designer for some of the furniture but it’s not practical for a whole house, which is what is required now. Lots has to be made to order as well, you cant get stuff on spec if it’s made to order.
it’s a whirlwind of tapemeasures and fabric swatches and bl00dy deliveries
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The two geezers at my local station who do reasonably priced shoe repairs. Ok they're not really a chain but they're a high street shop.
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I can see Boots going under, as they get undercut by the supermarkets.
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Cookie’s Cookies
Coming to a high street near you.
Purveyors of the finest baked goods known to them.
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But Boots sell loads of brands you cant get in the supermarkets.
i read somewhere that John Lewis has the biggest online shop in UK ( presumably not as much market share as amazon) it might well disappear from the high st but not online. It can continue to deliver via waitrose as well as deliveries.
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Specsavers, Sainsburys, Waitrose, Tesco, Marks & Spencer ( food hall shops)
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I love John Lewis. I had a very enjoyable afternoon at Peter Jones on Sunday.
Minkie, whenever I visit the family seat OOP north, I deliberately buy stuff from Boots (which I love too) to ensure that they stay there.
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JL is the favourite shop of people with money - so it might stop growing but it wont go bust.
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I love JL, tbh it’s an achievement to be able to shop there with impunity where I’m from.
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Specialist stores are the answer. We have a guitar shop here in Guildford called Andertons. Famous around the world. The guys there know everything. Staff vacancies are sought after. I'd guess they're profitable to say the least.
I don't think the owner wants to open any new stores. He doesn't have to these days. They have a big online presence. And a brand name. Famous musicians drop by on a regular basis.
Same could maybe apply to other types of retail.
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Come to Guildford- and never leave
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And there's a good pub right next door :)
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Chambo you know the Stranglers were at the Star last week, unveiling a plaque?
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Chambers, that is a niche product I dare say with a great following. However the independent pizza/burger joint trying to muscle in on the fast food market is going to struggle.
There is a 1500 square foot restaurant space in Merton, ( which remains unoccupied) the quoting rent is £22k PCM, plus rates I would imagine. I don't know what these independents are thinking. That is a lot of pizzas, and burgers to break even, just to stand still. If the conglomerates like Pizza express cannot make it, I don't see how a 2 store burger joint can. Maybe wrong though.
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That Stranglers plaque has been in The Star for some years my friend
Also there's the ACM (Academy of Contemporary Music) just around the corner. Ed Sheeran and many more.
They converge on Andertons.
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I doubt the profits that specialist stores, often family owned, are grateful for would satisfy PE owners of chains btw.
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Someone should have told them then. They could have saved a journey
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Yes, a long journey for the Guildford Stranglers
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I saw it behind the bar in the mid 1990s.
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https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/stranglers-back-guildford-star-inn-15734665
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They were there to promote themselves BC, the plaque wasn't new. Also to promote live music at The Star, which I agree with. Nimby local residents I'm afraid.
I saw RoF's own Cern performing there, going back some years. Good keyboard player. Of course I went up and had a chat with him afterwards, very nice bloke,.
Another one lost to RoF now.
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Was he the vicar?
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No, youngish lawyer who played keyboards as a hobby and some spare cash, he was, probably still is, a very good player.
Funny, I said 'Hi, I'm Chambers from RoF' He took a couple of steps back, then chilled. You need a guitar player? I asked, but we kind of lost touch.
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Let's play a game of what would Chambo play???
It would need a riff for sure. but you would need the right era. I am going for Jonny B Goode (my alternative would be phantom of the opera using a coke bottle for the slide scaĺes).
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Seems to me specialist stores are disappearing - they tended to have huge catchment areas and people don't bother making the special journey if they can get online
John Lewis survives by charging a premium over purely online sellers and gets away with it by investing so much in stores and customer service making visiting a good experience rather than a chore - investment the other department stores did not make - to their cost.
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The reason I shop at John Lewis is the fact they have enough stores that I can do click and collect and always be within a reasonably short journey of a shop to collect stuff.
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I agree. I got cross with a woman in JL just before christmas and said "this is why I normally go to Amazon!!" and she got tears in her eyes.
Place is fooked.
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will probably go like habitat and keep the london ones
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John Lewis are toast I reckon at least outside London. Peter Jones and maybe a handful of others might survive.
I suspect pretty much every shop on the high street that sells anything other than clothes is a dead business walking tbh. Someone needs to find a new model for clothes shopping online before high street clothes shops will die I think.
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Sozzles clerghs. Crossed posts.
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JL has a very loyal rural following and my mum used to drive an hour to get to the local one until they opened one rather closer. Apart from possibly Tesco it's the only shop within a 20 minute drive of where I grew up where you can do click and collect on the whole range of household equipment.
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If anything I'd suggest JL will reduce its in town stores but keep the more rural ones.
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I reckon JL will be ok, even in my “region” the two that I go to are rammed any time of the day or night and I think that a lot of (relatively monied) people go there instead of the rest of the high street.
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That's basically my point. Plenty of people where I grew up would drive half an hour to Waitrose rather than going to the Tesco in the village that you can walk to.
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No-one has listed any clothes shops. Ultimately there will always be a need for high street clothes shops, the only ones going under are those hopelessly out of date or else selling tat people can buy for cheaper online.
Ditto specialist food stores, butchers, fishmongers, cheese shops etc.
Outdoor shops, bike shops etc will always have a need.
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I would be gutted if JL in Cardiff disappeared.
And Sails is right. We often drive 20 mins to the nearest Waitrose rather than go to the much nearer Tesco.
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Clotheswise debenhams, new look and next r all fckd. i wouldnt back tesco or waitrose tbh.
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Next is basically an online store already and will probably just retreat from the high street. They have done a much better job of going online than other clothes retailers.
Wilf I very rarely ever shop for clothes in an actual shop. Once I've bought one thing from a brand and know their sizing I just buy it all online and that goes for most of my outdoor technical clothing too.
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"Next is basically an online store already and will probably just retreat from the high street. They have done a much better job of going online than other clothes retailers."
The reason for that is that back in the day, they were largely a mail order company - I remember the arrival of the Next Directory, in the post was a moderately big event...
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With every winter cold snap the proportion of people who indulge in S-commerce drops. Next's last 6 month report gives their view on the future of bricks and mortar retail and how it will affect Next.
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/NXT/13802899.html
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John Lewis are ace.
And in bad times, they just dial down the bonus to staff, stop recruiting and survive.
The wonders of employee-owned businesses.
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Aren't their profits totally fooked?
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Next has definitely gone back to being mail order - in my local one there is one till to collect online orders and its always bloody heaving - the rest of the store is empty/terrible
went into Debenhams for the first time in months recently and was shocked at the decline - they have basically given up already
I reckon Argos might get into trouble - my local one has moved into Sainsburys but they have less warehouse space and a lot of stuff is now collect after 4pm which totally defeats the point of the place
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and yes even clothes and shoe shops will disappear with better virtual modelling etc or whatever it's called
basically the high street will be only coffee shops and charity shops
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Shoes are different as the fit can vary so much that I very rarely buy shoes without trying them on first.
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dont forget bookies and pound shops.
oh soz lol@u poundworld
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To be honest I think a lot of shops will be turned back to housing in time.
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No way is Debenhams surviving - you either have to be dirt cheap like Primark or a bit upmarket and offer a decent experience - Debenhams doesn't do either. HoF used to do the latter but is going to need to transform itself pdq to survive. JL seem to have it more or less right.
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We should also add blacks (actually do they still exist?) and mountain warehouse (actually do they still exist).
also WH Smith has fought a bold defence. the stoke city of the crap sationery and maybe an OK market.
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I think it's Blacks just round the corner from my office and despite being huge it never seems to have the things that I'm after. They seem to stock things aimed at a very specific type of rambler.
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I also don't see a future for Tescos and Sainsburys- again the middle market is being squeezed - people either want cheap - Aldi Lidl Asda or an upmarket experience -Waitrose M&S food. They may yet transform themselves but otherwise long term they are doomed.
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Yeah I think any speciality chain like Blacks or Mountain Warehouse is fvcked. See also the likes of Evans (which Ashley now owns possibly after a cva I can’t remember) and runners need.
Have to say I was surprised at house of Fraser but think that’s because I live near a good one that is surviving. A lot were like glorified Debenhams (which Ashley is also after)
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Tesco looking to sack all their butchers and fishmongers etc and shut their fresh fish/meat and deli counters.
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I was in a meeting the other week where HoF came up and none of us could remember havingb been in one since about 1987
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How the fook WH Smith is going I have no idea . There was a huge one in my neck of the woods, I visited it once in 20 years. It is now a metro bank
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WH Smith's only redeeming grace is it's about the only place where you can buy the printed copy of Yacthing World without having to order it.
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Macdonalds can't go pop because in the uk, 50% at least of the stores are franchised. Individual stores may not be profitable (case in point the old Penzance store) so they get shut down by the franchisee who looks for a better site. (Case in point it is now a dominos and the new business park has a drivethru macdonalds instead - but never eat there, I worked at that store when they were on their annual party and me and my mate reckoned the grill had -never- been cleaned, we had to use knives to chip the charcoal off in order to clean it).
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Won’t be much left eh
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Sails, I do not think that amounts to a sustainable business model.
KFC, is on thin ground I reckon, I ocasionally eat it after a heavy late drinking session, but have you ever been served hot chicken. Me, no, it is always luke warm at best.
The one in New Malden was closed down for a few weeks, as it's hygenie and kitchen were on inspection found to be so poor, it was closed down the same day.
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Erm, KFC has been dodgy since it opened what 50 years ago?
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Again, really? From back in the day it was hot chicken. I suspect the franchise model put paid to that.
A good mate, once saw a delivery van full of KFC chicken being delivered. The driver went in to said store, whilst a stray dog proceeded to piss in the van , which was full of said chicken waiting to be delivered. He has since never been able to eat KFC. I do not blame him.
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No high street shop is immune from the migration to online shopping. HMV’s flagship store in Oxford Street seems to have shut down, joining Patisserie Valerie over the road.
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@simonbroomer
Please can you say "way-o"?
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Guess you called it Wang.
WH Smith the open 120 new shops. Wow.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11993931/WH-Smith-plans-open-1…
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I'm glad to report the two geezers in Balham station are also still going strong although they won't be opening any more shops.
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Are there any stations without a Smiths anyway?
And whither the Holborn Circus superstore?
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MCD is a great business and I own shares in it. I'd never eat their food myself but that's neither here nor there. Everywhere in the world I go there are people queuing for it.
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PS where’s my half price chocolate? Chz
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Our local WH Smiths seems to be adopting a (very successful looking) model of being the place you go to for magazines, the Post Office, and having a kids books section to stick the blighters in whilst you queue for said Post Office or leafing through the magazines.
The rest (stationary, cards, non-kids books) seems to be an ever smaller part of their offering here.
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I am furnishing a house at the moment and I can tell you it is a completely different project from last time I did it, about 7 years ago.
Everything is online and most of it is online only, if you want to ait in a chair before you buy it…tough
The best service is offered by the old school retailers eg Furniture Village as they have big showrooms but hopeless if you dont have a car and you want more upmarket then you are struggling to actually see stuff.
A lot of online furniture retailers are struggling with delivery as well, it’s like they overlook the importance of that aspect of their offering.
Also, JL - rather oddly has drastically cut down its furniture sticks, eg v little in the way of bedroom furniture other than beds. You’d expect JL would offer everything but they just dont, not any more.
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I think Waterstones will be OK on the basis physical books have made a comeback and sales are decent and they are the only national chain left.
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And Savers where everyone seems to buy toiletries.
And ‘pound’ shops for the chavs.
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RoF's Cern. There's a name I haven't heard in a while. Wonder what happened to him?
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Minkie I know it's more cost but if you use an interior designed they can do stuff like get you the chair you like the look of for a trial period. My mum a got an armchair for a us to test before then buying two of them.
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The funniest thing about this is Chambo's insistence that the Stranglers didn't unveil a plaque at the Star on 31st January 2019, despite widespread documentary and photographic evidence to the contrary.
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The chains that are in fact property businesses will not go away. Sadly JL and McDonalds are examples, fortunately Wetherspoon is also a significant freeholder
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I wonder if Toni and Guy will ever go out of vogue. Some time in the future will it just be for the blue rinsers?
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I've been lashed in The Star hundreds of times and not once have I ever heard about tooth decay or commemorative words. Must be a wind up
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That's RoF. All the topical news and comment brought to you.
From Feb 2019.
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Debenhams looking solid.
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Sails last time round I used an interior designer for some of the furniture but it’s not practical for a whole house, which is what is required now. Lots has to be made to order as well, you cant get stuff on spec if it’s made to order.
it’s a whirlwind of tapemeasures and fabric swatches and bl00dy deliveries
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