AIBU to think that high streets and small towns will be thing of the past?

[Lonelybunny]

Well now due to Jessops going broke and clintons and woolworths our town has hardly any shops left. It's so depressing down there, do you think the only shops left will be super stores, like asda and tesco? Maybe due to them selling everything and of course online shopping. I feel so bad for all the retail staff loosing jobs yet again.

And another thing, the lighting in my bedroom is rather more flattering than the John Lewis changing rooms.

TSC I don't know about that; I'm not thinking about macrame cupcakes so much as the things I have bought recently from Amazon: a new mobile, for example. Which came from one of their sellers rather than Amazon Central, so it is a small business, and they managed to undercut any of the phone shops on the High St by about £30.

Similarly, I just bought a new vacuum cleaner: much cheaper and a much better choice than Currys, and again a small seller.

I think the "big players" are getting lazy and complacent and need to up their game if they don't want to go the way of Comet.

(but I will also admit that my creative, partially online business is not a huge money spinner. Yet!!!! )

(I do NOT make macrame cupcakes though, I just wanted to make that clear!)

NewNn- ahh ou bringing back lovley memories I used to adore jungles especially when it was at town hall end then it moved.
The baby shop dident last long liked that too.
Caboodles good its gone for mum she used to spend small fortune in their but owner said was no longer viable:(.

Is focus still there near tesco-the one with coffee shop at back?
A teen used to love mock lobster.
mum said stead and simpsons shut down now shoe zone paid a she brought dd some school shoes which fell apart after 6weeks.

I know halfords went, thourght peococks had, trying to remember where millets was precinct?

I wasnet surprise when they shut down rosbys and ponden mill as as always empty and good for aber to have pictures again.

Not been in richards in years.Have fond memories of taking piggy bank to toy department and spending hour in natiago looking at wools with nan,

my 1st job was in awful cheap shop called family value opposite the george pub.

I then worked for safeway on both sites old store was nicer.

its not that mum doesnt like waitrose just quite pricey and ideally need car.But staff who worked for safeway must be glad as they fab company to work for.

Showing my age here but as teen frustrate me with cds then as woolies had their onw chart and some songs I liked wree not in woolies chart and had to go our price in cwbran. But cwmbran hardky just round corner petrol or train money to get there.
Does smiths not sell cds? they really too small that shop could do with being bigger since woolies demise as reckon they could do better.

Least has tourists and nice places like angel drawing people into town centre.

I always chuckle when go bak and read aber chronicle as same headline every 5years whats supermarkets going on cattle market site its not even that big space but is central so be shame for it to go to on large chain.

I remember the anger of parking charges as so many council carparks quite central to high street,

I think its shame they couldent spend money doing up bailey park and outdoor pool and trying to get something other than retail to draw people in. most cinimas are out town retail parks.

Bristol agree cabots destroyed broadmead.
I dont know how to regenerate that area of town as no one goes at that end all nice ones opposite tesco all empty good units would eb lovley for independant quarter, carduff used to have few arcades small shops but guess rent and rates in bristol too high.

traffics horrendous
first bus is expensive and rubbish on my cattle bus home no 48.
I dont find anything much in market its tiny and limited.

best independants are park street/clifton triangle
clifton village
gloucester rd-they campaigned and rioted against another tesco in stokes croft.
Staple hill has quite few independants still as does easton.

Not been bedminster in years as wrong side river but it needs something.

I dont think retail parks are doing that great either as most imperial and filton shops shut down.

For us biggest problem since having kids and recession is drop in disposble income.

we buy much more 2nd hand -brought nearly all new with pfb.

2nd /3rd baby did ncts, charity shops, ebay and carboots.

I rarly buy new and if i do its primark or supermarket clothes.

I dont think im alone which mean fashion retailers must be struggling as are mothercare and mamas and papas.

I miss the normal size supermarket as nearest is metro more pricey ,small range but all others have gone supersized.
do like asda living reminds me woolies-hate asda large supermarket.
Home stuff ikeas so cheap and convieniant still doesnt stop me lusting but rarly buying kitchen stuff in bristol guild.

mam29, you made me laugh about the chronicle. Yes they are still banging on about the cattle market - think Morrisons is the current favourite! Think Nantiago has gone now and what used to be focus is now a cafe but doesn't have any of the nice jewellery or paintings in the front bit anymore.

I am old enough to remember Merrits (opposite woolies) - used to hover in there after school reading all the magazines and stocking up on chocolate. It makes me sad to go into town now - it's like Pontypool now, all miserable. Even Thornton's (in the old Martin's too place) is now an outlet, rather than a proper shop.

The George is derelict now, and the Black Lion has gone - spent many a happy hour in there. A joy my teenagers will never know thank god!

Well we live in Putney and in the 30+ years I have spent here (where a terraced house costs £1m) the shops have always been dreadful - no quality at all and it's a topic of conversation. The shops in Wimbledon are better, the shops in High Street Ken are much better. Perhaps it's because we are so close to other things but what have we got:

M&S Food (and meagre bits), Waitrose (badly organised and cluttered), Sainos (small), Tesco Metro, countless coffee shops, countless estate agents, Halfords, Benetton, a few clothes shops but nothing to write home about, Gap, Next, Monsoon, Phase 8, Office, Clarks, Laura Ashsley, a nice jewellers in the exchange, a children's shoe shop, Cargo, a few card shops, accessorise, Boots, WHS, Millets. All very mediocre and predictable. And a lot more restaurants (that aren't all that good) than there used to be. And a pretty dire Odeon.

It needs livening up.

Sounds like our town ! It's terrible we have loads of estate agents, charity shops, travel agents and mounds of empty shops which they have put up drawings local school children have done in the windows . I always remembered it bustling , especially at Christmas but I seriously rarely go into our town now as there is nothing there, we go to the next two towns along which are a bit better Croydon is one of them and that's going a bit downhill now alders has gone broke :(

I love Wimbledon too ! What's that department store called ? I lived it in there :)

Elys.

Elys is a bit like Grace Brothers. A lovely independent old fashioned department store where you can buy a washing machine on Friday and the man brings it and plumbs it in on Saturday . I can always find something to wear in there too.

NewNN -Yes chronicle most boring read same recycled headlines in some ways nibyism holds aber back as older generation whinge and younger ones are bored. I thourght Asda wanted it..

ahh blast from past remember martins 2 had thousands of trolls and turned into troll land?

merrits remember that was where ponden mill was had toy department in back room.

cable news by tesco used to be called stevens and have odd toys and clothes at back remember one particuarly unattractive coat in junior school from There.

Used to love focus and chat to guy in there for ages cafe wa always good for foods but for coffee always had to be luigis for me .

retail must be boring now without mad evans terroising and making shop assistants cry.

Its weird remember aber as kid and places my nan went to

Knighst was odd jewellry shop next to black lion she wore clip on earrings was barbers too opposite where nicols used to be before it went posh and just did huge pets section.

Vin sullivan-fishmongers.
Opposite vin sullivans I remember a shop with loads of bags of spices but cant remember what it was called can you? think they had factory in crick.green grocers was next to happy meats and greggs in precinct.
Where nicols is now used to be really weird old ladie boutique very formal think was called annies then couple boutiques one opposite st marys church and one at other end by baptist church blondies where my aunts used to frequent.

Thimbles choc shop was yum.

Do you remember what shop was at front by town hall was cheapy shop for a while. I remember when it was realy nice book shop with chadeliers and posh decor .

Like health shop down market street.
market street was always my fave chippy.
Used to be children wear place opposite post office.
My cousins wife used to run nursery thymes where that old fashioned grocer was for years.
Used to spend hours down janus looking at videos.

Even the side streets had interesting shops like dolls house shop, guitar shop, independant pet shop on merthyr road, dwyers news agents. Corner shops like family food store and stanope street postiffice/launderette went. merthyr rd used to have loads of small shops and if memory serves me right even a butchers.

The independant petrol station that used to fill up car for you on brecon rd.

Miss pinches the bakers they did best pasties.
greggs cannot compare!

sat nights involved the george,wine bar, pizza parlour, grasshoppers ,hen and chicks and the rather dire coach and horses for pool.

shame about black lion mum worked there, even remember the sugar loaf.Its all about spoons these days and amazed auberge has stayed good as that location seemed cursed.
All i seem to hear about now is the kings arms and grofeild.

I have to admit got married in aber and dident use an Abergavenny florist as so pricey went to town that life forgot as hubby calls it brynmawr to roberts flowers who were fab.
The hairdressers up lewis lane turned my hair green week before the wedding.

I hope its not as dire as pontypool as that towns always been depressing.Only good thing ponty had was leisure centre and getting married at pontypool registry office so glad aber opened one.

Mum goes hereford or cwmbran as she wont do motorways.

My husband thinks Abergavennys quaint but its so sad when think back to how it used to be,

Is anything where cool trader/farmfoods/quicksave used to be?I remember how used to walk through the chiller with plastic flaps in kwick save.

I dont think could move back as would get too bored.
I also think bored kids leads to more trouble as drinking was all there seemed to be and not happy with what they did with the schools. Would never send mine to Khs.

I dont go back often but always hear from mum which shops gone now and whos died.Theres been no exiting small town scandel in ages. Everyone always knew everyones business or who was related to who.

mam, I bought my son's first pram from that baby shop opposite the post office. It is now a really nice milkshake bar. Don't remember the spice shop opposite vin Sullivan's, but there was a cafe there at some point. Aubergine is a bit swanky now - I remember when they had a dress code and everything. Grasshoppers has also closed down. Hen and chicks and Kings Arms are still going though.

swanky should say skanky. phone changed that for some reason

The inexorable logic of Tescos will mean that most of the staff will actually be working on short-term contracts for the government, in effect, on workfare.

The only small business that has opened near to me recently is like something out of a dystopian comic: a shop which sells sweeties and ice-cream alongside drug paraphernalia like bongs and novelty rizlas.

i have to say unfourtunatly i am more of an online shopper due to the price diffrence and conevience i do rarely go into town many shops have gone like adams pumkin patch etc but still lots their mainly food places and coffee shops i can honeslty say i miss the days where the towns where smaller and quiter i know nothing to do with shops but on that side of it i feel for the shops because the rates are awful our world is becoming so tech that many places arent fitting in with the modern world i read something in the daily mail about a libray the first ever abroad cant remember where with no books i think it says it all really i feel sorry for the older people with all this tech it can be far to much for them

Cant remember baby shop name dident realise they did prams got tights and undies there..

Will as mum name baby shop and spice shop hippo campo sticks in my mind for some reason.

Does seem like towns overrun with cafes,pubs and not mucg exiting stuff.

Even the eric davies sale not what it used to be cousins wife used to camp outside.

Shame about auberge as used to be good was bloke who used to run grasshoppers which also went rough towards end. sat nite in aber could get pretty hairy at best of times.

On plus side xmas lights looked lovley.

best things as a kid were free

used to like the salesmen doing cleaning demos in market on amazing clothes.

nan used take me down pet shop market and cattle marlet look at animals then the whole family would meet for coffee in luigis,

I would get a balloon then lose it in town hall and end up in tears.
sometimes had 50p on 50p marlet stall.

used to go in wollies and never realise what went in there for was just drawn there.

Used to browse merrits and richards toy sections.

Its about bringing people together its not all about purchasing.
When go back now dont recognise many feels like sense community lost a little.

was good peice on c4 news and newsnight tonight on demise of the high street.

For music it goes back to what mentioned earlier.

supermarkets will only have chart so will be harder for musicians to make their mark now and get into charts.surprised 69%of album market still cd.

I would like to see more independant clothes shops at reasonable prices with good service. struggle with cllthes they either too young or too old for me in my 30,s feel high street clothing limbo.

I'm actually fairly lucky to live in an area which still has some thriving independent businesses left. It may not be Paris or London, but I'm not dependent on big chains for shopping or services, and I don't have to live practically on a ring road next to KwikFit or similar in order to lay claim to the amenities of a city. Long may it continue, but we live in shaky times.

Definitely see this across London. Well heeled boroughs/ areas doing fine. Those on the edge, just about surviving, but I drove through Leyton (I think) recently and it was all fried chicken shops, betting shops and charity stores. Crouch end, islington, hampstead all doing ok, but you do still see the odd empty shop. They benefit from having a decent mix of chains and indies. Westfield in shep bush has killed hammersmith and the nearby uxbridge rd. I imagine Stratford Westfield did similar n east London

Online shopping from net a porter has def seen me abandon the likes of selfridges. I can get something delivered same day within a two hour slot, try it on with all my other clothes/shoes, decide what to keep, what to return, and they send a driver to collect it at a convenient time. Their stock is awesome, the advice on site re. Sizing is always helpful and you don't have to queue, or get the tube and waste time wandering about. Definitely worth the £10 premium delivery fee.

As businesses start to go under, though, I would rather walk in with cash and buy something and take it away, than buy online and run the risk that I don't get it because the retailer has gone bust. I suppose if you paid with Visa you could get your money back (I think). But there were horror stories over HMV and the like - there is another thread that explores all the reasons why gift cards are basically a really bad choice at the moment.

Our council has priced our town out of the market - parking is £2 minimum and there are barely any shops, a situation that just spirals. Antiques shops and charity shops (basically stocking the same stuff) are the main strengths of our local town, along with pharmacies and opticians, probably because East Devon is basically God's waiting room and there is a lot of demand for that sort of thing.

I boycotted Tescum a long time ago, but I use the farm shop, Lidl, and Makro for food, and either drive to the bigger town 15 miles away or go online for other things. I never have much money left for them anyway!

Yes I think small towns are really going to suffer and will become things of the past.I live in a small town and about half the shops are empty the rest are filled with eating places, coffee shops and bookies.

*I am interested to read Mary Portas's initiatives but to be honest at the end of the day, you just need free parking, and lots of it and lower rent and rates.

All the street theatre and yarn bombing in the world is pointless if people can't get there or park cheaply or for free. They just won't go*

HEAR HEAR!!!!

So, now that Jessops and HMV have gone under, who is next?

I know that both were widely expected,but are there any other places where gift card holders would be well advised to spend them asap?

I was thinking that its years since BHS seemed busy. Ditto M&S. then there is Thorntons, argos and ???

Xenia - are you talking about "goodwill"? If so, its hardly a sophisticated idea.

The problem is most of us dont have the time to fanny about wandering from shop to shop.

The small town I used to frequent I rarely do now since Woolworths went and the Oxfam bookstore closed....plus its IMPOSSIBLE to park.

The larger town I use only occasionally because I dont WANT to pay £5 to park, avoid the charities and religions that want to speak to me, wander round shops which generally dont have what I want in stock.

Town visits are generally done with H and include going somewhere for lunch, otherwise I am definately an out of town and online shopper.

I agree totally with the poster who said about stores covering up the historic frontages of shops - I saw one somewhere the other day that I had never noticed before...it was beautiful and they were working on it so Im guessing they had uncovered it prior to putting up a new covering for a new store. H pointed one out to me a couple of weeks ago, the bottom of the building was a hideously ugly frontage for an employment agency but the top of the building was just beautiful all carved georgian sandstone (such a shame) I did think at the time that If I had any photographic ability I would start taking pictures!!

I would be more inclined to mull in somewhere attractive.

Who's next? Thornton's, Argos, WHSmith, I would say. Jessops wasn't really big on the high street - a lot of people will barely have heard of them.

Others that must be feeling it - chains of low-end jewellers, any card shop, any of the high street bedding stores.