Which shop / chain or service are you praying survives?

[EinsteinaGogo]

My teen DD has just had an ASOS order - i said off the cuff, "what would you do if they weren't around", which resulted In 😱😱😱😱😱

With so many shops and restaurants in vulnerable positions, what would you really, really miss if they didn't pull through the next year?

Theres room for chains and independents.
People often talk about supporting indie businesses as "helping someone pay their mortgage etc" v helping the CEO of a chain, forgetting all the shop assistants working in the chain (on nmw) who also have bills to pay.

I would like all our local butchers, veg shops and milkmen to survive.

I don't really have brand loyalty. Though John Lewis is the one place I immediately think of when looking for clothes or things for the household. Big ticket items I always buy from them.

Otherwise I'd miss Pret, Pho, Costa , Leon, Tossed and Abocado. But these are all shops I only go to because I work in the city . I doubt I'd buy from them even if they moved online - at least not regularly

I don't really have brand loyalty. Though John Lewis is the one place I immediately think of when looking for clothes or things for the household. Big ticket items I always buy from them.

Otherwise I'd miss Pret, Pho, Costa , Leon, Tossed and Abocado. But these are all shops I only go to because I work in the city . I doubt I'd buy from them even if they moved online - at least not regularly

Habitat.
M+S
Next (for trousers!)
Boots

I would miss the stores like wilko, home bargains and B&m.
They are handy shops with the variety they sale.

M&S, Waterstones, Pret, John Lewis

Lots of stuff really. I'm dreading going to London and finding loads of stuff closed down.

Amazon.

Cafe Nero
Wetherspoons
Debenhams
Poundland
Argos

I wouldn't miss Smiggle

Most of my clothes are from Next. They just tend to be the right shape for me. I like their home stuff too.

A local cafe at the other end of the country that we go to when we are on holiday
Debenhams
Seasalt
A brilliant local restaurant
Not quite the same but my local lower league football club

Gap - think they are in trouble in the UK
Uniqlo
Deliveroo (not much chance of them going bust though!)
Amazon (ditto)

I know they aren't universally popular on MN but Marks and Spenser's. I have yet to discover anywhere else to get trousers that even vaguely fit my very tall skinny DS without M&S he would be facing years of trousers that are either way too short or way way way too big.

@cologne4711

Nothing, if we're talking chains. I hope they all go under and sustainable independent businesses and co-ops take local high streets back over

Chains really aren't the enemy. They employ local people who spend money locally. They have regular opening hours and a HQ so they are accountable. They usually have a standard returns policy and you know what size you are in a particular shop. I never buy clothes in independent shops.

I am not a fan of independents generally though because their owners can be completely up themselves and think they're doing you a favour.

Exception: cafes as the chains are pretty boring and sell rubbish coffee. Though I like cakes in Costa.

You're making the common mistake of equating "independent" to meaning small owner managed. Before the chains took over the High Street, the "independents" were often pretty big. In our town we had an "independent" huge department store. There were also loads of other "large" shops which usually had 2 or 3 floors, sometimes occupying 2/3/4 shop fronts, all with several, if not dozens of staff.

"Independent" never used to mean Mrs Miggans sitting in a corner of her ladies boutique or her hand crafted card shop. They were big clothes shops (often with unique ranges), big food shops, big hardware and homeware stores, etc.

It's exactly the unhealthy dominance of the "chains" that forced all those large independents to close. It's only recently that small, owner managed shops have started to appear again, often helped by local council initiatives. We've a long way to go before we get to real, larger, independent stores, but hopefully that time will come!

Half one the shops people have mentioned aren’t even in my area (JL, Wagamama, pret, Leon, Zizzi, Zara, joules/seasalt/crew) so I wouldn’t miss them much if they go to be honest.

There has been a huge surge of new independents in my town over the past few years who were all doing quite well so I’d be gutted for them if Covid has broken them, even those I’ve rarely used. Over lockdown some of these provided delivery services which I did use to support them.

I’ve been predominantly an online shopper for years anyway but I would miss the ease of ordering click and collect at Next and M&S but I’d probably survive.

Waterstones. So badly.

Our local Boots is shite too. It's a huge retail park one too, only built a couple of years ago. The pharmacy is horrifically disorganised, so I never go there for prescriptions, and there's something I just really dislike about the layout of the store. Like if you want a bottle of shampoo, you can end up wandering around the massive shop floor three times before you find it. Nothing feels like it's in the right place. There's also a huge baby section with really overpriced equipment and toys. Although I have got a few clothes there on sale.

I always assumed WH Smith just survived on airport and train station trade alone. I used to love that Twitter account WH Smith's carpet, which made fun of their shabbier branches.

I'd not so secretly be glad if amazon went bust but that's probably as likely as the pope concerting to Islam.

I'd not so secretly be glad if amazon went bust but that's probably as likely as the pope concerting to Islam.

You do realise that most of what's on Amazon is from marketplace sellers, i.e. small, private businesses that are just using the Amazon platform for marketing/fulfilment?

@OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow another Boyes lover here - I have just been talking to DFIL about what a shame it will be if our local one has to close. Such an amazing shop with a fab toy selection for little ones!

@user1497207191

I'd not so secretly be glad if amazon went bust but that's probably as likely as the pope concerting to Islam.

You do realise that most of what's on Amazon is from marketplace sellers, i.e. small, private businesses that are just using the Amazon platform for marketing/fulfilment?

Yes, I wouldn't want to see them go bust but Amazon themselves really take the piss.

John Lewis

John Lewis. Our local one in Birmingham isn’t reopening and I’m gutted. It’s 5 years old!!!

I was upset that Oasis and Warehouse collapsed, but now BooHoo own it, I wouldn’t touch them with a 10 foot barge pole