To feel sad about how many retailers are going under

[Cinammoncake]

Just read about Clintons and I felt quite sad and nostalgic about all the losses and how many more shop chains there will be that will soon be lost from the high street.

That's not to mention also the job losses of course

Me too, I don't understand why they are taxed so heavily whereas amazon et al are making a killing. It's not right and surprised none of the parties are really touching on this in their campaigns

I know I'm the same
But people need to put their money where their mouths are. Lots of my friends give off when shops close down but consistently order everything online.
I try to avoid online shopping where possible. Many people depend on shop jobs. However I do appreciate that I'm lucky to live close to a lot of shops so it's easier for me

See I'm not entirely convinced we can keep blaming the Internet and I do feel some, not all, retail staff have themselves some responsibility over this. Obviously they can't control rents and footfall etc but in the last few months I've had awful customer service from so many good shops. Just this morning I went to a morrisons for milk there was a huge leak on the shelf which meant all the bottle were covered in one that leaked I reported it to a member of staff and said I wanted a bottle from there, she came back with a square of tissue and gave it me to clean myself!? Er no I don't work here!! So many shops you have staff chatting and queues at the till its not hard to realise if you're not logged into a till and there's a queue maybe help the staff that are!? Bag some items. Some staff and I stress some just don't seem to care about the business they work for and maybe that's partly to due with wages I'm not sure but it's frustrating

I feel sad for the job losses. And for the people who's whole reason for visiting shops in the first place was to get out the house and speak to another human being.

I do feel angry at the high rents and the taxes that make maintaining a shop so much harder.

However I dont know why anyone is surprised given the way businesses are going. Pricing out their good old regulars who have been shopping their for years , vamping up stores so they become unrecognisable and/or introducing stupid returns policies or pushing out their customers with mixed sex changing rooms and basically forgetting who it is that kept them.going all these years.

The shops arent helping themselves . Theres no point in offers/promotions if the poor stock.levels mean u cant use them.

Too many staff pouncing on you at the door yet unavailable to actually serve you behind the counter.

Trying to flog you crap at the tills.

And the stores being disorganised dirty or messy.

Clintons used to be a good place for cards..now its expensive, full of other crap, you cant find something as basic as a birthday card half the time as focus on xmas cards or easter or their overly expensive weird " designer" cards and anyone with push chair wheel chair or mobility aid can't get round the candle/ crap display.

No where seems to remember what it is they are supposed to be anymore

Clintons? I’d not seen that yet. I’m actually really sad!

High street retailers are facing a perfect storm. The taxation system cripples them, while letting internet retailers get away with paying almost nothing. The government has increased the minimum wage well above inflation in recent years, which is not a bad thing, but it does increase costs in what can be a low-margin business. The weak pound makes imported merchandise more expensive. Obsessively anti-car councils make it as difficult, inconvenient and expensive as possible for customers to drive into town and park, then wonder why their town centres are dying.

It’s hardly surprising so many retailers are going bust.

On the one hand, I find it sad that people are losing their jobs. On the other hand, I have gotten really bad service at many retailers ("No, we don't have boots for fat legs", "We'd better look for a bra with a looot of push up for you". One of my glasses fell out of the frame on the first day I wore them. I was just walking down the street when it happened: "Well, obviously, if you are going to be rough with them, these things happen". They cost more than £600. Then, of course, there is the classic: "No, we don't sell those kinds of goods at all" about items that are in their catalogue.
If you get either no service or rude service, then you just might as well shop online.

Hi parking fees and bus fares by greedy councils/ bus companies and high rent from greedy landlords. I haven’t been in for weeks. Cards are extortionate. I buy a box of make my own. I’m surprised Clinton’s has lasted so long.

Clintons have failed to respond to rivals like Card Factory who have completely out priced them.

It’s hard to mourn the passing of Clinton’s tbh. Apart from the jobs.

The high street needs to figure out what it’s there for. The internet is so much easier for ppl and who wants to tramp round grim shops on their precious time off?

The cards were very expensive compared to Card Factory.

scarecrowfeet I 100% agree with your comment.

I've found I really have changed how I shop. If I know exactly what i need I order online, because otherwise it's a busfare or parking charges, without knowing if they will have the thing I want, into the cold then really warm shops, overwhelming smells. It's too much faff, and too many other people to deal with. If I dont really know what I'm looking for then I'm quite happy to potter round and spend some money. I'm a big fan of click and collect - I get what I need and if I have the energy then I can potter.

Re clintons: I'd much rather buy cards from the Flamingo lady as they are nicer and cheaper and are delivered to my door.

In my experience people don’t bother so much with cards anymore. A happy birthday Facebook message seems to suffice these days.
And when they do buy cards they don’t want to pay £4 for a bit of paper.

Personalised cards through the likes of Moonpig also seem to have taken off. Why struggle to find a suitable generic card when you can use your own photos and create your own appropriate message? Clinton’s haven’t kept with the times.

With some shops I'm surprised how they are even surviving. Seems to have permanent sales e.g. Laura Ashley

By being in I meant town. I’d never buy a card from Clinton’s, they weren’t very nice cards anyway.

@PrettyShiningPeople - people send less cards yes, but not everyone wants a photo card from Moonpig. I think there's still a place for good card retailers.

Went to John Lewis and M&S today- both said they don’t hold stock and didn’t have the size on the floor- so I have to go online to order what I went for......
The councils should do a free parking everywhere wEekend and see what happens

I'm sorry for the people who'll lose their jobs, I really am, but I'm not really surprised at the number or profile of store chains that are becoming insolvent.

In the good times, so many chains vastly over-expanded. In the town near me several chains had multiple stores in the same locations. It seemed a case of expansion and dominating presence at all cost and when the high street contracted during the recession (and remained contracted as people still don't have huge amounts of disposable income, plus there's a move against buying and consuming more and more and more) they were stuffed - tied into long, expensive rents with all the attendant costs of staff and rates but with falling income.

Secondly, a lot of what the high street offers is dross. I love clothes and used to quite happily spend hours looking round shops (even if I didn't buy much) but there seems to be nothing interesting or different any more. Everything is the same, with an emphasis on the faux-princess look. Even stores that prided themselves on being different (e.g. Accessorize with their Indian/hippy vibe) became the same old same old. Add in crap shopping experiences with run-down cluttered stores (Debenhams, I'm looking at you) and people just won't bother. I know I don't.

All of this is not to forget the effect that private equity/greedy owners can have - chains get bought up, pension funds get neglected after companies were allowed to take 'pension holidays', the buyers seem to be allowed to dump the purchase price on the company itself as a financial liability. Chuck in some financial mismanagement, plus stagnating wages, increased rates and Brexit uncertainty and you've got a company staring down the barrel of insolvency.

And Clintons was as naff as hell. I couldn't imagine going and buying a card (or anything) in there.

I hate shopping on the high street. I work full time so the reality is I can only do this at the weekend, when the world and his wife are trying to park, which costs ££ and where I am parking is relatively cheap, the shop might not have what I want and I inevitably buy a Costa or something so it adds at least a tenner on to the price of the item. If I order online it’s more often than not delivered for free, within a couple of days, to my workplace so I don’t have to waste any time or be anywhere at any time personally. Unless the high street offers a serious financial saving over online it’s a no from me.

As an aside, the biggest bugbear I have that shops can control is the people who constantly approach you and ask if you need help when you just fancy browsing. I’d rather there were a lot of staff available at a central point if you had a question you’d know where to find them rather than being harassed on the way round. It’s not good customer service in my eyes and I’ve left many a shop because of it, ergo taking my money elsewhere.

Clintons had problems some years back. I didn't realise they are having financial woes again. I think their problem is they do nicer cards but at exhorbitant prices and there are many cheaper retailers around. Nothing at all to do with the UK internet offerings.

People are cutting down on sending cards and use email etc instead. I like their gift wrap but don't want to spend £2+ for one sheet which gets ripped open and thrown into the recycling.

Others who have troubles are again companies who have been in trouble for years and failed to address the issues. Mothercare and Debenhams for example.

I stopped going to Clinton’s ages ago. Too over priced.

I think there's still a place for good card retailers

Just not from places that have tried to go all "young and trendy" when the younger generation are far more likely to send e cards or just text each other. Because good old enid and gerald who send multiple cards a year to grand kids and friends from church dont want bright pink sparkly cards with half naked men or women on them or to pay 4 quid for some fancy crap where dorothy would barely be able to read the lettering, well their money is somehow not good enough any more.

I'm only in my 30s and I can no longer be arsed to wade through fifty thousand " well done you passed your driving test cards" just to find a simple " thank you " card

I just grab in.sainsbury now.