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?

Its really scary for people who live in the North West, especially because of the changes in benefits. It isn't only the retail side, but warehouse and drivers that face job loses.

It isn't only performance issues that are causing possible closures, its also people not having money to spend.

Its depressing to see the exact same shops wherever you go.

too many - ooops.

On a different but related note, I have no idea how the independent shops survive in my local small town. There are about ten gift/card shops which are lovely to wander around but I rarely see anyone buy anything. I bet they barely take £50 a day.

I don’t recognise the descriptions of these shops. I shop mainly in Meadowhall and none of them are dirty and scruffy. Where are all these poorly laid out, grubby shops? On a high street or in a shopping mall? The experiences that many posters have described on here are not mine. I tend to shop in Sheffield, Barnsley, York and Leeds and all the shops I go into are clean and well laid out.
I don’t understand the love for Zara. I have tried looking in there so many times but their clothes are just not me. It always looks like a jumble sale as well.

Like carryondoctor I hate clothes shopping online. I am an in between size pear shape and need to take several articles of clothing into the changing room every time I want to try something on. I absolutely refuse to spend £££££££ to buy one thing then have to go through the faff of returning them and waiting for a refund.

I wouldn’t want to buy any new cosmetics online as part of the fun for me is wandering around Boots (which I love) and trying all the shades until I find something that suits me. I just don’t understand the dislike of Boots at all. And as for shoes, I have such awkward feet that there is absolutely no way I would buy them online. I often try on 20 pairs plus before finding anything that I can walk in. My shoes size is not an awkward one to find, but not all size 6 shoes feel the same.

Superdrug is always busy when I go in, and isn’t anywhere near a Home Bargains (which you need a car to get to). I love being able to get my eyebrows threaded there for just a few quid.

We no longer have a Monsoon or Gap, and the only Gap store that I can get to is 26 miles away, and an outlet store that never has anything nice in.

I feel that Wallis has had its day. Their clothes are the same as everywhere else, but more expensive. The one in Meadowhall has an Evans concession in it so there is even less choice for me than before.

Unlike most posters I am a big fan of Debenhams. The menswear department sell jeans that are actually long enough for OH, unlike M & S who only have a max leg length of 33”. I often find clothes I like in Debenhams, and it has loads of concessions that don’t have their own shops locally.

“made to fit Scandinavian heights”

That is precisely why we buy from H & M TeaAddict 235. Their clothes have sleeves that are long enough for OH. He really struggles with shirts and other long sleeved tops. M & S just fit on the first wear and then shrink in the wash. I hope H & M never go.

“Re fashion stores, part of the problem for me is that fashion has been so awful for several years now that there is nothing I want to buy”

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Minus2

“I was glad when Brantano shoes closed down, I could not get over the vile shoes in there.”

I wasn’t . They had a huge choice with loads of different brands.

My gripe is that most of the decent stuff in high street store is only available online and not in the shops. I have to do a click and collect order so I can try it on in the shop, return it and get a refund the same day.

I will repeat this on behalf of a couple of posters who have already pointed this out, but I will shout
THE BODYSHOP ARE NO LONGER OWNED BY L’OREAL They have gone back to their cruelty free roots, but clearly the message isn’t getting across to the general public.

There are some decent independent clothes shops where my mum lives.
Tbey are reasonably priced and individual too.

WH Smiths and M & S are overpriced, overrated shitholes. Also think NEXT is overrated, and I'm convinced the 100's of people queuing up at 5am on Boxing day are paid to do it, because there is nothing special in there, and no other regular high street store has the same queues. So I can only imagine that the whole thing is staged.

Not a fan of Boots either. Also expensive and 'past it,' and the pharmacy is always shit. Rude and bored staff, and half the time they don't have the stuff in, and I always have to go back!

Just my opinion on Brantano, it was hard to find leather in there

I just prefer independent shops or smaller chains but TK Maxx rules AFAIC. But it's a time consuming exercise to shop in there and you have to go lots

I would like to buy my clothes in store but unfortunately all the tall ranges are online now and I need them for trousers, jeans and long sleeved items, Next stopped doing XL trousers in store years ago. Short sleeved longer style tops I can buy from White stuff and Fatface but they are often overpriced. Nothing hardly fits in M&S, as it all seems short and wide. I click and collect a lot from Next Tall and try on in store and return Also I order Seasalt, Fatface and Whitestuff from John Lewis to our local Waitrose click and collect. it would be nice to buy more things in stores though

I don't understand why M & S are so bad at catering for taller people. You would have thought with their demographic (slightly more affluent and well fed) that they would have a lot of taller customers.

Has anyone noticed that when M & S send out surveys it is always about their webite not their stores?

Parking fees. Cheaper to pay online delivery

Justwant...our big Holland and Barrett has had just this rebrand and has a snack/juice bar and lovely counters with all sorts of face packs and bath bombs and fancy stuff. Its fantastic and the way to go...but I don't think people know about it. I stumbled across it by accident.

Superdrug is bloody brilliant. As mentioned already, they keep a really keen eye on beauty vloggers and their dupes are ace. Teenagers and mutton like me love this shit.

WRT WH Smith, this twitter account has been a favourite of mine... twitter.com/WHS_Carpet

@ThroughThickAndThin01 I really like their furniture btw, I just think it's expensive in comparison to their other prices.

Select! Surely Select. The one near me have a constant crap sale on where it's cold shoulder tops or cold shoulder tops. Not a fan myself.
H&M is my fave for me and the kids but because they have different stockists and brands the sizing is all over the place. If they sorted that out it'd be even better. I actually worked there for a short time after leaving college, like 3 days, after realising retail is not the one. I was jealous of those shopping and my feet were so swollen that my boyfriend at the time piggybacked me home. Retail work is brutal so big shout out to those who are slogging it. You dont get enough credit or ££££££££££.
In Leeds there used to be some great independent alternative shops but they all shut down. I tend to go to Afflecks Palace for a proper haul as we're a family of errrr rockers? Moshers? Weirdos? Whichever is applicable. There's not many places that cater to this anymore though sadly.

Sadly M&S is shutting its store in our local market town. We buy a lot of food there but the clothes are not good quality now, they are too cheap - I would happily pay a couple of £ more for better knickers, they just fall apart now.

Now we will have to drive quite a long way to get to another store. Also this is bad for the town, it is quite run down surrounded by affluent countryside and the loss of M&S reduces the number of customers coming into the place.

Next- I buy jeans from there and know several other people that do too

Me included now. I was in my local town centre yesterday looking for jeans - plain (no rips etc), normal height waist, size 12, short leg.

I couldn't believe it was such a big ask. When I finally found some in Next I bought a few pairs to stash away.

Thank you Graphista.
I am in Ireland and we don't have Home Bargains, Wilcos, B&M etc. But we do have Poundland which is known as Dealz in Ireland.

I suppose calling it Euroland might make it sound a bit like a theme park?

Personwithhorse are you in the north west? I know they are closing M&S stores there. We’re in the South and they still opening the big food halls here.

Peacocks, M&Co, Dorothy Perkins.

Not one near me, but id hate to see Wilko go! They sell everything and cheaper than amazon.

I love it but i think Robert Dyas is v over priced.

I just walked past my local Maplin - Closing Down Sale posters in every window!!!

@LakieLady and other book fans, there is one thing that WH Smith do as well as Amazon, and better than Waterstones, and that's in their pre order pricing. I discovered this when I had a gift card to use up. I couldn't find anything I wanted in store, but I found by chance that they were even cheaper than Amazon if I preordered a fairly niche title.

This thread has reminded me about that, and I have just spent £24 preordering another 2 books, which would have cost me £36 at Waterstones, and were £27 at Amazon.

@ElsieMc does your town start with an R by any chance? It sounds like one near me!

Please, please, please can Boots go under?