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!

M&S. cheaply made overpriced synthetic fabric clothes for middle aged people (I am one )

Curry's, they were the focus of my shopping rage yesterday. They have nothing actually in store/in stock. Bought something that said it was available for click and collect and then when my email came it said it would be delivered to store on Thursday for collection....well that's not available then is it!!!! If I'd selected home delivery it would have been delivered on Wednesday.

River Island, ours is always dead and ridiculously over priced for polyester

Our WH Smiths has the post office so it will get trade that way.
We are in a fairly small town and there are few shops children can browse in - it's them, The Works, Waterstones or The Entertainer. Everything else is vape shops, cafes and charity shops (though those are also good for DCs). So if your DC want to spend their pocket money it is not bad for that. The only better range of books is Waterstones also, though we go there first for books obviously.

Shoezone has become pretty good now, it sells branded footwear so not just the cheap plastic shoes they stocked before and I bought a great pair of boots there recently.

Clarks. Had my feet measured and they brought out a selection in that size. Not one pair fitted. The staff explained everything away as "in that style you need to go up/down a size". So why bring the wrong size to me? Less focus on staff waving tablets around and more on making the shoes the purported size would go a long way.

Shoezone is just awful, full of awful cheap plastic shoes. Rows and rows of them, all in black. Ours is always empty but it’s right next to a Deichman which does cheap and affordable shoes so much better. They also do a few brands.

Next is also awful. Cheap polyester, frumpy shit.

I prefer Superdrug over Boots these days. The pharmacy there is much better, and the newer shops are bright, modern and colourful. More make up choices as well.

Next has really lost its way.

Dominos. Who can afford their pizza?

I agree on Next. Their clothes used to be great and it was my go-to place for bikinis.
Now, it's badly stocked and the materials feel so cheap and nasty. No idea how it keeps going.

Bought out by a private equity firm a few years ago and now being milked for profit.

I would like to throw White Company into the mix. When they first started the quality was fabulous and I have a beautiful black leather jacket that I bought 6 years ago that I wear and wear. The children's clothes are lovely but sooooo expensive for what they are. Supermarkets have beautiful things now that are so much better value ( Peter rabbit collection at Morrisons was fabulous)The quality of the jumpers for women are definitely not what they were, thin and saggy and still very expensive. Their shops seem to have little bits of this and little bits of that but I haven't bought an actual thing for a long time. I wanted some blue and white striped pjs last year. The same style in JL were half the price ,much better fabric and beautiful covered buttons.

Someone up thread said Body shop
In my area that it's always packed,m even a queue sometimes so I can def see why it would still be in business. Def depends on where it is.

I would say Newlook, shoezone, WHSmith, Skechers

Also MK
There's always one or two gorgeous looking models in there along with a security man but I never see anyone else in there?!?

Sorry, I worded it wrongly. The profit of their high street stores is small but still exists. It is only profitable because they own their buildings though. Other stores taking a similar amount of money would not be turning a profit as they would be paying rent. Their travel division is much more profitable but they don’t own those building, those are rented.

The WHSMITHS in my town is shutting, it's got the only post office too

Some people still love paper books and also want to support authors.

It would be a terribly sad world with no bookshops :(

WHSmith closed down in our high street but we have Magazine Heaven which sells about every magazine going in the retail park so that didn't help.

The body shop. When I think of the body shop I think ananya, white musk and bath pearls. They don't sell any of these anymore😔

M&S

Apart from a pack of their cheapest knickers every now and then, I don't buy a thing and their clothes are just dire.

Primark quality and style, but M&S prices.

I looked at their nightwear recently and was shocked. Why would a grown woman want a Percy Pig nightdress?

Some of the shops mentioned have already closed a lot of their branches - WHSmiths, FatFace, Paperchase. I don’t think there are any FatFace branches left in London and think it may go bust this year (maybe to be saved by Next, Joukes style). Ditto White Stuff. Seasalt have a slightly different proposition re their ethical credentials and some of the plain stuff is not so bad. It’s those jazzy tunics that offend, but there’s a market.

Boots and M&S have split personalities, on the one hand you get nice, bright, modern stores selling premium beauty (in Boots’ case often with 20% off) and I’ve always found the click and collect very efficient. On the other in some towns the branches are old, too small with poor range and not enough staff, in Boots’ case like some kind of 1950s pharmacy. New Look is similar in that you get some great, spacious stores with lots of choice and then some tiny branches too. Like two different shops.

Matalan is currently under threat but am surprised it’s lasted this long. I actually quite like it, especially for homewares, but the lights in my local one have been dimmed for years (like it’s permanently just about to close for the day) and the branch in Oxford Street is dire.

River Island I don’t get at all, everything seems unnecessarily overdone except for the jeans. They have closed branches recently too.

@AngelinaFibres The White Company is actually expanding! Their profits are up and they had plans for a bigger range.

I used to buy one item a year on average- a nightie or a jumper.

I now think their prices are ridiculous. I love their knitwear and the neutral shades, but I don't think they are value for money any more.

Agree!

Yes my dad wanted something from there for Christmas and I was pleasantly surprised. No longer the aroma of cheap plastic shoes when you go in

The Body Shop was always a bit of a quaint facade. Anita Roddick nicked the whole concept from two women in California. It was always about making big money. It’s lost its way completely and I think it’s online and MLM business is what’s sustained it. I think the BS is a load of shite and I don’t buy their faux ethics. I also won’t support a business that is anti woman enough to target them via MLM. L’occitaine is now trying its hand at MLM so that’s another one banned (Neals Yard too).

Argos!
The one in my town has closed down, but there are still lots of other Argos's around the country.
I click on the Argos's website near me & they never have stock, or it says can not deliver to your area. I buy most things from Amazon now instead of Argos because of this.
Reminds me of index which closed down many years ago.