Shops you are surprised are still going

[fajitaaaa]

WHSMITHS - who is buying from them? Anything other than a emergency magazine for the train and maybe a bottle of water? But some of their stores are HUGE!

FAT FACE - always a massive sale on!

Unfortunately WHSmith have a monopoly in some towns as well. In the town where my parents live there is no other bookshop (no Waterstones and no independent retailers; if you want a book otherwise you would buy it from a supermarket or charity shop).

Boots has one of the best loyalty schemes so their continuity doesn’t surprise me. My parents’ local one is also quite large and well-stocked so you know you will find what you need. Saying that, Savers is often better on prices!

Waterstones have an excellent loyalty scheme too and often have signed/special editions that other stores don’t have - so their longevity also doesn’t surprise me.

Our town has a microwave repair shop. I can’t fathom that so many people get their microwave repaired that it can keep a whole shop in business for many many years. I’ve been convinced it’s a front for something else

Oh and it’s true - the selection of magazines at Smiths is basically unparalleled. I love The Works too - maybe I am the one keeping all these places going?!

Pandora though has always just looked like cheap tacky tat to me. Don’t understand the appeal!

Yes, I ordered some quite expensive shoes online and was amazed to find I could click and collect at our local Shoezone. Nothing like the shoes which are actually on sale in the store.

Sadly I’ve made the discovery too late as the branch is closing down.

I do like Card Factory as well I’m afraid. Their cards are really well-priced and surprisingly good quality.

I buy books there for Christmas presents just to show support as our town was without a bookshop for about 40 years. Not sure how they keep going though.

Same as many others - WH Smiths. Though i do like the staff, so it would be a shame if it closed and they lost their jobs. That said, I don't buy much from there these days, I'm more inclined to be using the post office dept, than Smiths retail section, which seems very poor now, compared to when I was a kid. For instance, as kids, we'd buy those little mini printers for bobbins, you got strips of plastic with a sticky side, put it in your little machine and you'd type your name on it for school books and stuff. They were fun. The nearest they had to that last time i looked was very expensive by comparison.
The last thing I looked for was a pair of stamp collection tweezers. They used to come in a little set with hinges and stuff, again for bobbins but they had nothing at all like that now that I could see.
As for books, I can often get what i want cheaper elsewhere.
The hospital branch is overpriced to the point of not only having your eyes out but having the cheek to come back for the sockets as well.

Anyhoo, other nominees...

TKMaxx - it always just seems like a very expensive jumble sale to me.

Collectables - Do people really buy so many Yankee Candles and salt lamps?

Timpsons - I can't remember the last time I heard someone say that they were going to get their shoes heeled and soled and keys can be cut cheaper elsewhere.

A few people have mentioned that their nearest branch of Shoezone had shut down, perhaps they've closed for a refit, ours did and has since reopened. If not, you could maybe try their online shop?

HMV's longevity could be due to it having learned how to roll with the punches and evolve when necessary? When i was a kid, it was all records, sheet music and musical instruments, completely different to now.

Boots
Peacocks
HMV
Bodyshop
Whsmith
M and Co
M&S

Either cheap crap frumpy clothes or are hideously expensive compared to other stockists of the same items.

I used to go to boots to refill my makeup bag every few months.

Now I get most of it on Amazon, same brands, cheaper, next day prime delivery.

Poundland do some branded makeup products and nail polish for £1.
Rimmel, maybelline, sally hansen, L'Oréal. Not always a large choice or exactly what you would usually choose but I've picked up eyeshadows, blush, eyeliners etc there would cost upto 10 times as much in boots.

Another vote for WHSmiths, I’ve been saying it for years now. They’re so expensive and used to be good for academic textbooks etc, but you can buy things like that much cheaper on Amazon now. It really is baffling when seemingly much more popular stores have gone bust.

Agree with all of the above.

Argos has lost its way badly as it never has any available stock anymore. It was a brilliant alternative to Amazon if you needed something quickly.

I’m going to throw in magnet kitchens. Is there anyone in the world who has a magnet kitchen? Must be a front

Boots vs Superdrug is an interesting one. A few years ago I would have said how are Superdrug still going but now they seem to be thriving with far more stock than boots and great make up brands

WH Smith always comes up. Apparently those situated in travel locations, like train stations, do well. Doesn't explain the others, though.

Are Thornton's still a thing (the chocolate place)?

Surely they're on their way out soon. Christmas must keep them going.

^ This. Currys are headbangingly bad. The website is dire. Customer service awful. AO beat them in every respect.

It's only a matter of time when there won't be any shops at all though which will be sad as looking at and feeling things before buying is satisfying.

Thirties was terrible chocolate! I used to dread the holidays when I know that we would inevitably be gifted (kindly I do know!) several boxes of their chocolates.

From what I'm aware of they closed their retail outlets a few years ago to focus on their chocolate boxes carried in external stores like Tesco etc.

Haven't really seen them much since then (not that I go looking...)

*Thortons not Thirties

The WH Smiths in my town has just closed, it held the post office and it was quite big, two floors. The post office now has gone to another shop and it is tiny. I like WHSmiths it was over priced but did do sale stuff but the ones in the stations are rubbish and very pricey.

I haven't found Amazon any cheaper recently, I have also noticed that when a clothes shop are in trouble, Next and M&S and to a lesser extent now, HoF swoop in and bid for them, Next have just bought Joules, I'm surprised so many think Next is going anywhere, they are busy buying up the high street for their Directory platform, they can see the direction it is going.

M and Co have just closed in our local town. Don't know if it's just the one store or more common across the business

But you must see that Claire’s is aimed at little girls, who actively enjoy tat? All of the girls under 14 that I know, love Claire’s. That’s why it’s still going.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy ten years ago. Even before that happened, I had never seen a Kodak shop. Snappy Snaps/Max Spielmann yes, Kodak never. What high street are you talking about?

Give it a few years and many clothes shops will be gone, Primark may still be there, M&S will be mainly food and selling basic clothes and kitchen essentials much like they did in the lockdowns, they will likely keep the cafes open.

Next shops will probably disappear in the form they are and will be replaced by a click and collect offering much like Argos but on a much larger scale as they will own most of the old high street to buy online, their shops will probably still have a cafe so you can sit down after collecting your stuff, also probably changing rooms so you can try on and return if needed all on the same trip.

Boots and Superdrug may still exist because if you want medical stuff, you usually need it now not when it gets delivered.

Matalan. Cheap clothes and the store in our town always looks worse than my teens bedroom with clothes thrown all over the floor.