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?

LoniceraJaponica I never ever try on clothes in shops, it makes me hot and sweaty no matter what temperature they set the dressing room to, I find it an unpleasant experience. I don't mind ordering 5 things and returning 4 though. It's cheaper than paying for parking, plus I don't have to do that often as I'm usually really good at estimating what size I am so I just order the 1 item.

CocoPuffsInGodMode A lot of those also are reasons why my friends and family don't like shopping either. I admit the weather issue is entirely mine though Nobody likes being accosted by someone yelling that you don't care about children/animals when they're trying to get on with things though. The annoying Sky people don't believe that I don't watch television and try to engage me in conversation about it. I feel so rude if I walk away from them that I just avoid the situation completely. I used to walk around with ear buds in but can't do that with a baby.

It's not that I think that the retailers can control those factors, just that the shops are not tempting enough for me to put myself through them to visit. I think the last time I wanted to go into a shop was because I had vouchers to spend that I couldn't use online.

I find the shops too cold these days. They have the aircon on unnecessarily high. I shivered in a couple of shops last week. I have long arms and am often between sizes so I always have to try on a 10 and a 12, and I really CBA with the faff of returning so much stuff. I guess I am an awkward shape and size.

I must have a resting bitch face because I never get stopped by chuggers either

Not a British company but Toys R Us are doomed already in the UK and I think about to collapse in the US as well.

Apparently they even fail at going out of business too.

www.thesun.co.uk/money/5777012/toys-r-us-flogging-items-at-higher-prices-than-their-rivals-despite-claiming-to-have-a-huge-closing-down-sale/

LoniceraJaponica I have resting bitch face too but I always get targeted! Perhaps I need to work on that (or incite DC to go into a mini tantrum as we walk past so they don't want to speak to me)

ShatnersWig Twice you have said I want free parking. I have never once said this.
Fair point, but I hope you accept that council parking charges should reflect the cost of providing them, and should not be subsidised from other council funds?

Stop buying stuff on line if you want to save your local high street.

Sostenuto

I am getting to the stage where i simply cannot ! I work really long hours and for 5 days a week I don’t have a chance to shop unless it’s a Tesco metro

At the weekend I don’t reqlly want to drag my children around the shops . I want to get some fresh air and greenery !

I therefore shop Online as I prioritise time with my family and going for bike rides over supporting a local shop .

I am not the only one . The world is evolving and retail needs to evolve around it

It’s sad in one level - but very real and we ingore it at our peril

I do hope that schuh can stick around
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/business/business-news/schuh-claires-accessories-face-uncertain-14400349.amp?__twitter_impression=true

I wonder if working patterns are the other reason shops are in decline. They want to bring a market back round here, but I would never be able to go. Weekdays too late; weekends swimming I ng lessons/library/more work/ some family time. Tesco is delivered at 9am. Job done. Anything I need can be ordered in a lunch time (not long enough to nip out shopping g) or at night.

Cos, Arket, &otherstories (all in the H&M brand) are all mid range stores aimed at 30s, 40s, 50s. I note they’ve been cautious with actual stores outside any of the main cities: London, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham. M&S have definitely streamlned and improved over the last few years. I shop at them all (online) and Zara (again more cautious about expansion other than in large and richer cities than you might imagine). I’m 43, work fulltime, 3 kids. Other brands sticking a toe in are Finery and Kitri - there’s also a love with hush and Mango is aimed at a slightly older market too.

Totally understand people have busy lives and shopping online ideal in that situation. But what do people do who are poor, elderly have no access to the internet? There are still many people that rely on the high street. Bank branches are closing, post offices closing, libraries closing. Without these hubs of social interaction, because its not all about shopping, we become more isolated from society as a whole. Older people especially who can't go far love to go into town to meet with others, potter around the shops, have a chat ( they may not talk to anyone for a week or two) young stay at hone mums too , and these trips out are a godsend to them. Also lots of people like to see what they buy. Shopping is a tactile enjoyment as well. As the world advances more into technology we will become desocialised and miss out on one if the most enjoyable things about being human.....interaction.

Have you ever considered what would happen in this bright technical world if something happened like an attack on the internet by say Russia or North Korea that completely knocks it out for a long period of time?
We have already seen attacks from various countries that have disrupted everything. Where will you go to get your shopping then if your local shops or high street no longer exist? Ignore these and that will be to your peril in the future.

Sostenueto
The internet started as a project funded by US dept of defence in the 60s as computer network designed to withstand nuclear attack, using technology from around the world, included the (then) UK post office.

What you are referring to are attacks on specific services provided via the internet, typically some kind of Denial of Service attack - the internet continues to work despite these. If someone broke into Tesco's network and bought down their on-line shopping service, all the other ones would continue to work (and Tesco, like all the others, will have plans to re-instate the service).

If you wanted to cripple the UK, take out the power network, as that would also bring down most of the computers and internet links pretty soon, once backup power had been exhausted. If we ever found ourselves in such a situation, not being able to buy a handbag on line would be the least of your worries.

If everything is on online we will be largely a cashless society, is that a good thing?

Sostenueto the supply chains that physical shops are part of are as reliant on the internet as Amazon is. Plus, money. How would people pay without cards, without machines from which to withdraw cash, without the bright technical world of banking? How would customers receive their wages in the first place?

Claire's accessories going bankrupt apparently

Well Russia has just built submarines to do precisely that ifailed and yes we would have more to worry about than buying a handbag. Precisely my point on being too reliant on the internet.

H and M I assume is doing okay as their basics like cotton tops are reasonable quality, but they also do cooler stuff too (well, what I think is cool anyway!)

I quite like primary for basics as I find its quality is now as good as Next, believe it or not.

I agree most of the high street is awful.

The stuff I have in my wardrobe for years is Boden and White Stuff but the quality of White Stuff is awful now too

Ifailed having had the backup systems explained to me, I remember thinking the data warehouse I visited a while ago would still be running well into season 4 of The Walking Dead

ibiscuit yep, all can be bought down in a flash. We don't have to worry about nukes just Russian sub's cutting our cables!

If something is manmade there will always be someone who can destroy it. I don't do online banking though I do have debit card and am paid electronically like everyone else, not through personal choice though, because that is the only way I can get paid. All of it unsafe, can be hacked etc. Bit pessimistic I know but nevertheless one day it might just happen. At least we will all be in the same boat

Can't believe HMV still going

Not sure why people are catastrophizing about the internet being down to cripple the UK.

A days snow is just as effective ...

ifailed you said I hope you accept that council parking charges should reflect the cost of providing them

Yes. But as I have already pointed out our borough council made £2 MILLION PROFIT on car parking charges last year. PROFIT. That's going way beyond "reflecting the cost of providing them" especially as they are now increasing them by between 33% and 455% depending on which car park you use.

Waterstone's is an interesting example of tackling the internet head on, and trying to offer something you can't get online - it's had a rocky few years, since Kindle/ebooks took a lot of the physical book market, and supermarkets took a big chunk of discounted paperback sales. Then they brought in James Daunt, who created the Daunts chain of old-style bookshops. His focus for Waterstone's was on creating a shopping experience you could only get in a physical store - individual stock choices for managers, more of a local bookshop feel in-store, staff recommendations and hand-selling, nice stationery, etc - and to a large extent it's worked out. Although, the chain's up for sale again...

Rossetti