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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Not to buy stuff online from companies that think the North doesn't exist?

239 replies

wordgirl · 03/04/2018 08:00

I'm looking at you Uniqlo - loads of branches in London and Home Counties and nothing at all in the rest of the country. Is our money not good enough?
Today I have had an e-mail from Rituals inviting me to attend a special evening. Very nice but I'm in Leeds and my closest branch is over 100 miles away in Leicester whereas there are 11 branches in London. I'm not likely to buy smelly stuff online without being able to sniff it beforehand so what's the point?

OP posts:
toolonglurking · 03/04/2018 08:43

I don't think it's that awful for a company to have stores where the majority of their customers live... (and I say that from my home more north than your north and with practically no shops!)

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 03/04/2018 08:47

I don’t think shops will open stores in locations they’re not ready to move into just to “acknowledge the north” business isn’t really that simple is it?!

SimonBridges · 03/04/2018 08:48

Meh. I live in the East. I’ve just ordered from Uniqlo.
Lots of companies don’t have branches outside London. It’s just the way it is.

It’s not against the North. They don’t have branches in most of the country.

insancerre · 03/04/2018 08:49

Lol
I thought the whole point in buying online is that geography doesn't matter, it gets sent in the post
So you either buy online or you buy local
I wouldn't expect to do both

Mossend · 03/04/2018 08:49

You're lucky that you've the choice to buy goods online, trying to get stuff delivered here is a nightmare as apparently Inverness is not on mainland Britain according to many retailers

MuddyForestWalks · 03/04/2018 08:50

This map shows the distribution of household wealth across the uk.

Given that the South (and SE, and London especially) have much wealthier households, and much greater population density, it clearly makes sense for shops to open where there are more and richer customers.

Not to buy stuff online from companies that think the North doesn't exist?
Fabellini · 03/04/2018 08:53

I was coming to post that I agreed with you until you said you were in Leeds....you’ve even got Harvey Nichols for goodness sake!
I’m in the Highlands of Scotland - I can buy online from Uniqlo (and many other places that don’t have stores North of the Border, never mind all the way up here), but there’s a good chance I’ll be charged more than double for delivery compared to you, and there won’t be any next day delivery either!
On the other hand, I am 5 minutes walk from beautiful countryside, schools are good, and within walking distance, house prices are affordable, the air is clean, crime rates are low.....on reflection, I’d rather have all that Smile

HRTpatch · 03/04/2018 08:53

Having moved north, Uniqlo is the one shop I miss.
But ir's ridiculous to say it's because they don't think the north exists.

Fabellini · 03/04/2018 08:55

Mossend We should meet in Starbucks in the Eastgate!

LemonysSnicket · 03/04/2018 08:58

It’s a Japanese brand and they haven’t expanded up north yet?

TheImprobableGirl · 03/04/2018 08:58

Hmm, I was brought up in Wales and can't say that the average income was astoundingly higher than the North!?

In fact many areas are downright skint!

Sarahjconnor · 03/04/2018 09:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dolphincrossing · 03/04/2018 09:09

There are a distinct lack of Waitroses up north.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 03/04/2018 09:11

Yeah, and there used to be a distinct lack of Morrisons down south.

sirfredfredgeorge · 03/04/2018 09:12

Oh for goodness sake we have Booths in the north. We have Booths!

I always think that explains the wealth map shown above, all the northerners spend all their money on a single scone in Booths, where as the southerners get a Waitrose Essential Scone and can invest the savings!

kittykarate · 03/04/2018 09:15

It’s a Japanese brand and they haven’t expanded up north yet?

There used to be a branch of Uniqlo in Manchester - so I think it's more that they are shrinking their footprint to follow the money.

PossumBottom · 03/04/2018 09:15

Never heard of it

Dolphincrossing · 03/04/2018 09:16

I wonder why Dont Hmm

thecatsthecats · 03/04/2018 09:17

Damn, someone beat me to Booths! Lakeland spread from the North, as did Home Bargains and B&M. It's not all one way.

frogsoup · 03/04/2018 09:20

It's not that the North doesn't exist for uniqlo, it's that they only have branches in London! There aren't any in the home counties either, all but one are well inside the M25, and mostly within zones 1-3. Only one ventures out of the M25 (bravely, by at least a mile).

Wornoutbear · 03/04/2018 09:21

There was a branch at Cheshire Oaks, but it closed, sadly

Creambun2 · 03/04/2018 09:21

Limited disposable income in many northern areas. Towns there seem to be dominated by book makers, charity shops and money lending places.

PattiStanger · 03/04/2018 09:23

Leeds isn't the North, don't you realise that there's a huge area of the UK above you?

XiCi · 03/04/2018 09:23

I live in the North West, in a city with thousands of shops, every brand I could possibly want really, and still do the majority of my shopping online so it would make no difference to me if uniqlo opened a local branch. I imagine uniqlo is mostly an online brand anyway.

That map btw is really dated and does not show disposable income. Also shows the majority of wealth in the South West. I've lived there and the shopping is dire!!

calilark · 03/04/2018 09:25

I'm in the south west. Locally there is no money, and we have bugger all decent shops.