To ask which shops are on the verge of failure

[curiousbeak]

I'm so depressed with the uk high street. Specifically British companies. The likes of Arcadia group, new look (already on its way out), next, oasis , Debenhams etc etc

The clothes are just terrible quality and most stores and staff and just tired, uninspiring and lacking any kind of chicness.

The wave of European brands seem to be killing our home grown business with their beautiful stores and chic offerings.

Who do you think is on the way out?

Yes to loving fashion but not being able to buy clothes. There is too much focus on what’s trendy (which is often not practical or flattering).

Everything seems focused to the teens or mumsy style like Boden.

The Range - what the hell is that?

That made me laugh. They are a great for art and craft materials and some of their home stuff is ok. It looks a bit crap and scruffy though.

NO! I love Boots. Wandering about in the big one in our local town just a couple of days ago and was thinking how nice it was in there. Their range is massive. And if it went where would i buy my Lee Stafford?!?!

I love going into Debenhams too. But the only thing i actually buy in there is my EL Double wear. And that's only once every 7 months! One of the Debenhams near me looks as if it's dying (Banbury) - but they've opened a big new one elsewhere (Rugby). The Rugby one is in an out of town park in the middle thing.

The only things i've bought in Next in recent years in skinny jeans and stuff for DD(4). They too have just opened a big flashy one in a new park in the middle shopping area near me.

I mourn the state of the high st, but i'm guilty as charged for not supporting it. The price of parking and the faff of tickets and crossing roads with kids ect. puts you off when you can just go to these new places and park for free alongside a choice of big stores. I think that's the way it's going now.

Choice is good but when there is so much overlap in what is being sold it's not.

Oh The Range is bloody great! :)

There's an Edinburgh Woollen Mill in the small country town I live near. DH and I went in for a laugh.

I suddenly realized where my neighbour buys all her clothes. Even worse, I could see myself buying stuff there. OK not 90% of it. But there were cheap, quality jumpers and shirts that looked OK at half the price of Fatface, Joules etc.

Shop was heaving with customers as well and they weren't all 75+ either.

They aren't going anywhere.

Boots - so much of what they sell is available cheaper elsewhere, and they seem totally unable to compete on price

WH Smith - just why would anyone spend £3.95 on a roll of wrapping paper when every other shop is about £2. They don't stock anything like as many specialist magazines any more either.

Homebase - Bunnings have ruined the plant section - the selection of plants in their garden centres used to be fantastic, now they only carry a few standard quick-selling lines.

H & M - what can I say? DD used to find fantastic stuff in there. Their prices have more than doubled in the last 3 or 4 years and the quality has gone through the floor. Their sizing is totally off as well.

Monsoon - just how many sequin-covered tunics does one person need?

As for Next... I got a voucher for my birthday and couldn't find a single thing I liked in their clothes section. Thought I'd might as well spend them in the men's section instead. Nope. Came away with some reed diffusers and candles just to use the voucher up.

miaowthecat
Try deichman for your boots. I've got 17.2 inch calves and bought a leather knee high pair last year. About £60.
Its tricky finding boots and i cannot always fit skinnies due to my calves so i empathise. 🙄

I despair of clothes shopping. Shops might do better if they actually considered who they're targeting and what they want to wear. Where do you actually shop if you're late 30's/ 40's and don't want to either dress like a teen or wear baggy, shapeless garments?

I've wondered for a while how WHSmiths keeps going, it's so dated!

Our Boots seems to have had a transformation and now sells higher end make up a Benefit, Clinique, etc.I quite like Boots.

I wouldn't mourn the Body Shop - I used to love their stuff but now it's overpriced and half as good.

There's a new Oasis opening in Worcester so hopefully they're not on the skids yet.

But Animal just closed down, same location and I liked their kids clothes 😟

I think WHS is shite too. You have to serve yourself now in our local branch so my 74 year old mother refuses to buy her Inside Soap there now!

Dorothy Perkins will definitely go, my nearest beach used to be in town but now it's 23 miles way as they closed most of them.

Motherxare is the other I definitely agree with. Awful! Though DS loves the Little Bird stuff 😩

Yes, I get my make up in boots. where else would I go? I use Number 7, although used to use a pricier brand.
I suppose i could down brand to Tesco make up

Our superdrug is fucking horrible (I tend to find most of them are) and our Boots is lovely so hope boots don't go. I like no 7 as well

I actually brought some stuff from next for the first time in ages this year but find it up and down. Debenhams seem to hang on by a thread but I like their jeans

*branch not beach

Debenhams is the only department store in my town centre. It's always quiet but I think our one survives as there's only about 5 places in our town which sells mens clothes and they have the biggest choice.

I find Body Shop funny. There's so many threads on here about how it's now overpriced, staff are too pushy and that people stopped going because they discontinued good products. These issues are easily rectified (I hope it doesn't crash as I like their make up but I don't wear enough to need to buy it often).

I used Body Shop exclusively pre-children.
Now its just far too expensive, and they never have the things I like anymore - I loved Grapefruit shampoo, for eg, but they stopped doing that

I went in Matalan for the first time ever recently. Some things were cheap as chips, some things weren't. The quality was dreadful although I did buy some really reasonable underwired bras in there.

Cath Kidston, who buys their flowery stuff? It's beyond me but I'm a dinosaur.

I buy M&S pants, tights, knee highs, some shoes, linen trousers and tops, and I have loads of their long sleeved plain T shirts. I bought some jeans too, as Lands End has got way too expensive. Their cheese straws are brilliant as well. I went to Debenhams when in the UK to pick Mum up for Christmas and bought some tops from their Mantaray range, which are great, go with jeans, and a cashmere cardi, but don't make me look like mutton dressed as lamb.

I love the Joules strips tops, and mine have been going for a couple of years. If they last as long as my Joules long sleeved cotton sweat shirt/polo shirt thing, about 14 years now, then I'll be happy. As long as you buy the heavy cotton tops, they go on for years.

I wish Laura Ashley would go back to the stuff they did in the 80s, so good quality longish cotton and cord skirts, nice white shirts etc.....I'd buy there then.

I buy from C&A in Belgium, but it's that or not a lot, as H&M and Zara seem to cater for elongated skinny people and I am neither. Even when M&S reopened here, there wasn't much in the larger end of Brit sizings.

I have 2 New Looks near me and both are staying open. The dc love their teen range, it's not massively expensive although some of it is tat (also don't think that the clothes that suit 15 year olds will also suit 9 year olds).
I love Primark. Some of the material is crappy, but then I have some things, dresses, cardis, shorts, jeans, that have lasted years. I also like their bikinis as I don't want to pay a fortune for something I'm probably only going to wear a handful of times. I can kit the kids out with holiday essentials and it's cheap as chips, which is good when they're going to grow out of it within a year. I also quite like some of their home stuff.
Next does nice clothes for little children, but they need a teen range. Their adult clothing is what I call 'office work wear'. I've never bought any clothes there for me, ever.
WHSmith is crap, dark, dingy and overpriced. Why go there when you can get decent stationery in Wilkos or The Range? My kids love the craft section in the Range!
I love H&M, there's a new one opening near me soon.
Body shop is overpriced and empty. So is Boots. I think places like B&M and Savers are taking their custom.
I like Peacocks and Matalan, ours always seem to be fairly busy.
Hate shops like Monsoon and River Island, horrible overpriced clothes.
Waterstones could do with more offers. It's easier to get a book from Amazon next day, than spend half an hour trying to find it in a bookshop, only to find they don't stock it anyway.

Boots and superdrug. Why buy there when you've got poundland, savers, wilkos and bodycare who are much cheaper. The Boots card means nothing. Only that you're further tied to them with points to spend. Just save that money by buying cheaper then spend the savings where you like!
Perfumes i buy online as much cheaper.
I buy homewares from the range, b&M, poundstretcher, wilkos. Debenhams is far too dear for me. Although i got a fab exchange rate on my currency yesterday and i do like the clothing styles. Debs is also a more pleasant experience than Primark. But primark is what i can afford.
In 5 years we'll all be saying i wish we coukd just go to a shop and buy it right now......but it'll be too late.
Google closed american shopping malls.....depressing.

Oh Matalan could be the one to go?

Probably been said but House of Fraser aren’t doing well. Read something about them closing branches

I'm amazed Gap are still around, they seem to have been in trouble for years.

WH Smith - totally agree about the tatty, dirty shops, it's not a pleasant place to shop. I remember when the Brent Cross branch was on 2 floors and it was a delight to shop there. The upper floor was a proper, beautiful book shop, you could browse for hours. But as my dd said - where would everyone shop for back to school stationery if WHS went? When I suggested Ryman's, she looked at me in horror! WHS is always packed in late August but they can't rely on just that trade.

Next - what has happened to them? I remember when their stores were much smaller and boutique like. I shopped there in my late teens on holiday in Bournemouth - I felt so grown up. Now it's cheap and tatty.

Disagree about The Body Shop - 2 of the branches near me are always packed.

What shops ARE doing well?

Primark is always packed! Hence I avoid it

I am more likely to shop in HoF than Debenhams. HoF do occasionally have some bargains of branded stuff online so worth a look if you are after something particular, I recently bought a Dyson fan from there which was cheaper than anywhere else, also some White stuff clothes for less than half price and my artificial Christmas tree came from there also. They do next day click and collect which I use.

I wouldn't dream of buying toiletries in Poundland! I just imagine it's old stock. Superdrug and Savers are owned by the same company, as is Perfume Shop