And there goes Debenhams too. Will we miss our high streets?

[longwayoff]

What will life be like when all the high st stores we're used to seeing aren't there any longer? Will they be just bars and coffee shops with an occasional nail bar and hairdresser? Even £shops are suffering. Will they become mad max wastelands? Housing with no shops?

Very stupid comments on this thread. I work in insolvency. The reason the likes of Debenhams, NHS and house of Fraser etc are failing or have failed isn't just because of a footfall issue on high streets - it's because their model doesn't work now that rents are so high.

Debenhams was asset stripped. Used to own the majority of its stores, they all got sold when the company was bought by a private equity firm. Quality of clothes also suffered then as short term profits were maximised at the expense of the long term survival of the company. It was a fucking disgrace.

speakout especially if small or tall
Or wide- lots of stores do cater for those now (good) but nearly always don’t carry the stick so you get the palava of having to order in anyway. I’d rather cut out the middle (wo)man and do it from my sofa

Laiste, Liberty will be there forever I hope. I guess you're too young to have visited the Kensington heyday of departmen stores, Barkers, Derry and Toms and Pontins and Whiteleys up the road in Queensway. They used to be a great pleasure. They have definitely had their day.

@sputnikbear

Charity shops are going downhill because they’re getting greedy imo. I used to go for a browse in the hope of picking up a bargain, and would probably buy several other items while I was there. Everyone was a winner. Now I don’t bother to go to charity shops at all because I know that all the decent items will have been googled, identified, and either priced at top market rate or put on EBay. There are no bargains to be found any more.

Yep this. I have 7 charity shops in my local town (6 miles from my village,) and when I first moved here, I got some great bargains... Bits of furniture, converse trainers for a fiver, CD racks, ornaments, paintings, cheap clothes, all sorts.

But now, they charge waaaaay more than they should. Basic, non-branded ornaments worth no more than a quid, priced at £5, and Primark tops that were £3 new, priced at £4.50.

I haven't spent more than a tenner in Charity shops in 3 years now.

Plus, some of the stuff is rubbish quality, and most of the money made doesn't go to the charity it's meant for anyway.

All this coupled with the fact that they get low rent and rates, staff working for free, and most of their stock GIVEN to them, makes me not want to give them my custom

Laiste - Yes! I loved the dresses of Deadlier than the Male, and my wedding dress had a corset back so maybe it influenced me.

I think that department stores now will be high end destinations like Selfridges, Liberty, and John Lewis is going more upmarket. The supermarkets and shops like Primark/Zara will expand and take over the rest of the market. Oasis had concessions in House of Fraser, and now is going to start having concessions in Sainsbury’s.

I do the majority of my shopping online, but of all the department stores, Debenhams is the one I choose to go to locally. It just seems a bit more on trend than John Lewis and definitely HoF. And I buy 90% of my lingerie from them. I'll be really inconvenienced if they close ☹

Well England did vote for Brexit.

No doubt in a few years you'll have lots more closures and a far more depressing high street.

I doubt anyone else in the world will sorry for you, so you'll just have to deal with it alone (just as you wanted to).

Blame it on Brexit!

There are many things we can blame on Brexit but the demise of the high street isnt one if them. The high street started dieing long long before any referendum was in anty serious discussion and way before many people had ever heard of Old Nige or UKIP even!!

I like our Debenhams - and so does my 19yo DD. We're both petite and its the best way to get a reasonable concentration of shortarse clothing without too much traipsing.

I agree with Snowdrifthill plus ridiculous rents & parking charges.

Admittingly Ive never really shopped in Debenhams & was an early adopter of online shopping however I love shopping on the high street & will miss it when it goes. I love Argos because as someone said sometimes I want or need something now. I’m getting more & more turned off by online shopping, constantly collecting parcels from neighbours or the depot, returning things at the PO, paying for returns. I have Amazon prime which is often not even next day now & prices are not actually cheaper in many instances. I recently got the opportunity to go away on a short break at short notice & it was great to whizz around the shops & get all I needed the day before I went. Also whereas online works with brands I’m familiar with from their original store sites, it’s much harder to discover new brands & get a feel for their sizing & quality over the internet.

As a teen I loved traipsing around the shops with my friends & we still
did the cinema or Pizza Express. What do the youth spend their weekends doing now? I know there has been a big decline in pubs/nightlife as the younger generations don’t go out as much.

The failure of the high street is one thing even the staunchest remainer can't blame on Brexit, lol!

@hadenough

Well England did vote for Brexit.

No doubt in a few years you'll have lots more closures and a far more depressing high street.

I doubt anyone else in the world will sorry for you, so you'll just have to deal with it alone (just as you wanted to).

If we are shoehorning here do you blame it on trans people too and the GRA? Do Debenhams sell shoehorns?

I’m having huge problems with wifi , four months and counting for it to be installed. Limited data which I’m using now I’d hate having to rely just on online shopping

Daniels! Of course, how could I have forgotten that. Served Ealing, Acton and Hanwell for donkey's years.

Always bought baby stuff from there. Also were in Windsor.

Is Ealing still pleasant to shop at?

My local Debehams is fresh and pleasant as it moved into a brand new shopping centre 10 years ago. In reality, I don't tend to buy much in there now as I don't need work clothes or wedding outfits which are what I bought in there in the past.

Shopping in the centre is pleasant, no mamba zombies, drooping around, no religious preachers on their microphones, no chuggers; you can walk in a straight line without being hassled. The High St was hit by the double whammy of the credit crunch shortly after half the town relocated into a glitzy centre. So many units have been vacant or just temporaily occupied by various cheap and not so cheerful units.

The state of town and just the difficulty of finding things I really want and feel inspired by mean I don't go to town frequently. Equally I don't want to buy clothing and shoes online. I'm awkwardly proportioned, so would rather try on a pile to reject instore than faffing with sending it all back for refunds. In reality, I just don't buy much.

Too many shops have lost their core focus (M&S) or are just underinvested in. The best way that stores can survive is to create a pleasant, fresh environment and invest in helpful customer service, but that requires reversing at least a decade of neglect for huge swathes of their stores.

What I don't understand the economics of is owners/ portfolios sitting on large amounts of decaying, vacant/ derelict property. The core areas need to become more concentrated, and peripheral areas redeveloped away from retail.

Sorry woodhill, moved long ago. I think it unlikely though.

Wood hill - Daniels! ....... wasn’t that West Ealing ? (God my brain is digging deep here! Lol) Used to walk down from E Broadway to West Ealing if we were especially bored on a Saturday

Longwayoff - Libertys inspired me to go on to very high end retail selling. I wanted to be the one flogging beautiful things and I did in the end as was/am damn good at it too! Love that place

Raisins raisins - same with the corset wedding dress!

Thank you for this thread OP. Memories flooding back

I actually like shopping on the high street and find internet shopping for clothes frustrating. You can't see it, feel it, know about quality.
And waiting for ups etc to deliver parcels is a pain.

I'm saddened about Debenhams and the high st in general.

Laiste, congratulations, what a wonderful career choice I spent many hours in there, stroking fabrics and ogling things I would never buy. It has such a nice atmosphere, always lifted my spirits.

Think Daniels might have been in West Ealing and Ealing or still may be. Haven't been there for 20 years and it was nice. Shame everywhere has become so tatty e.g. Harrow, Uxbridge etc

I'm not surprised it's over priced, poor service, poor staff management, and they never have in what you want.

They do a bra fitting service, other retailers just sell bras on hangers. No one to measure you and help you with bras. If the stores go a service will be lost.