Iconic vintage shops closing

[Floisme]

I don't know if many people will be interested but I felt I had to post after hearing that Cloud Cuckoo Land in Camden passage has closed due to rent rises. islingtontribune.com/article/rent-hike-prompts-camden-passage-shop-closure?sp=1&sq=cloud%2520cuckoo%2520land

Those shops have been there a long time - they predate 'vintage'. In the 80s/early90s I used to get the coach to London for the day just to go to Cloud Cuckoo and also Annie's which I've heard is in similar trouble.

I don't go to Camden passage any more - the last time I went, the prices were way out of my league. But this isn't just a London bubble thing. Where I live there's one street of affordable independent / vintage shops and they're closing one by one because landlords can get more rent from a 'Spoons or a Nando's.

I don't have much time for nostalgia for its own sake but I think independent shops are really important to fashion. Do we really want Philip Green choosing all our clothes?

I know there's a lot online but when I'm buying second hand, I want to feel, sniff and try on before I part with my money. Plus it's a far more enjoyable experience - I find staff in vintage shops know their stuff and go the extra mile for you.

There's even an article about it in the Guardian, although it takes a while to get to the point: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/16/taking-back-control-local-shops-london-small-businesses

That's a shame Floisme. I always wonder why the councillors (who should be locals) vote to close the independents. It means that everywhere begins to look the same. No character left at all.

I think London in general is rapidly losing quirky shops, cheap caffs, little parades of various shops to poke about in, and lovely buildings and pubs turned into cheap foodie crap, the list goes on.

It's a big city, but these changes are happening all over London, which begins to change the perception as a whole.

We live 50% in Fr. and it's happening here too, it's very sad. The centres of towns are closing down in favour of American type out of town shopping. So those without cars are stuck.

I love, and have many vintage clothes from before prices went silly, but I think the 'trend' has passed a bit and clothes are so cheap and throwaway nowadays.

It ia also annoying that a lot of vintage stores in town, like chain pop boutique, have more new clothes in than real vintage. The smaller independants just can't afford to stay open anymore.

I work in Camden Town and the cafe a few doors down plus the salon where I get my brows done are both closing due to rent and rate hikes.

To be replaced with what, another Costa? Ridiculous.

Your concern is spot on, Flo. The independents are being crowded out by national chains and charity shops around here. But, as consumers, we have to take our share of the blame. I no longer settle for what's available locally and thanks to online shopping, I don't have to. So when my local electrical shop doesn't have the lightbulbs I need for my kitchen, and I'm nowhere near Uniqlo for the style of T-shirt I want, it's as easy to order them online.

What an interesting thread. Slightly off-topic but re. buying online I read this blog post around Christmas time and decided to give up Amazon in 2017: moralfibres.co.uk/giving-amazon-new-years-resolution/
I am now buying books from two independent bookshops and going in and browsing during my lunch hour is a real pleasure.

Ooh replies, thank you everyone! I thought I might be talking to myself.

I agree ijust that vintage changed a lot once Kate Moss discovered it and I stopped buying it for a long time. But I've got back into it again this year. Obviously I don't expect to find 20s and 30s stuff going for sixpence any more but where I live you can still find 40s-60s fairly easily and well priced. Longer term, I'm not sure what will happen as I can't see modern high street clothing lasting 20 years, let alone being coveted by anyone.

As you say, Sock it's not only happening to vintage and we do have to share some responsibility. My husband was upset recently when his favourite electrical shop closed down and I've overheard people haggling over prices in independent bookshops because they've seen something cheaper on Amazon. And in charity shops too.

It's really sad I remember Steinberg & Tolkien closing on Kings Road and was gutted it was an amazing shop. I lived just off Portabello Road nearly twenty years ago and it was so much better then with second hand shops and quirky cafes now it's lost a lot of its charm with high street shops moving in.

I think people have no idea what a scandal commercial rents are, it's a total goldmine for property owners. In my old town I'm Hertfordshire there are unfilled shops from a new development 15 years ago because commercial developers refuse to lower the rents.

I think it's more important that all shops are filled and they should be penalised for leaving them unrented as it attracts crime and vandalism and depresses a town.

While they can make fortunes just by capital uplift it's not going to happen.

I think London in general is rapidly losing quirky shops, cheap caffs, little parades of various shops to poke about in, and lovely buildings and pubs turned into cheap foodie crap, the list goes on.

Very true.

Oh no, so sad to hear, I love that shop! I have returned there over the years since I first moved to London. Love to stroll in Camden passage too, because of the shops and stalls. Sadly, when gentrification goes too far areas become sterilised and boring, taken over by chains. Areas are then losing their character..

I have a shop in London, (not a style and beauty shop tho) I can't afford to renew my lease and will close in the new year.

Landlords want to make money, it's normal for a lease to say rent reviews are only upwards. Unlike domestic leases commercial landlords can also pass all running costs on to their tenants.

Business rates are based on the rent the council expect your shop unit costs, not your profit or turnover.

When the recession hit in 2008 my rates were not reduced. Neither was my rent.

This is the problem for bricks and mortar shops. They are undercut by the guys who courier goods out from a warehouse on an industrial estate or operate out of their home office and pay little or no rates.

And my customers fall away because they can buy it on the internet cheaper and less people see the value that my products are completely bespoke and superior quality.

We get the shops we deserve. So on my street that's probably another estate agent, chain cafe or hairdresser.

My silver lining is when my shop closes I'm gonna get a job and I'll get sick pay and holiday pay and start a pension for the first time.

That's fucking desperately sad happysun

Here's a small shop near me in Greenwich Market. The rates are £13k plus the rent is going to be at least £20k a year (could be up to £50k).

So you as a very small shop owner have to make £33,000 profit to break even. That's three grand a month once you've factored in heat/light/insurance.

Forgot the picture

Very sorry to hear that happy. All the best

Some really interesting posts - this is clearly about far more than one shop that just happens to hold fond memories for me.

I'm as guilty as anyone because (apart from that one street I mentioned) the shops are poor where I live so I totally embraced internet shopping to begin with. But I've come round to thinking I'm being conned into paying for things without even seeing them - in effect I'm paying just for the privilege of trying something on. And I just don't find it as enjoyable as going to a real bricks and mortar shop. But there's a new generation coming up and for them, this is the norm.

I know several shop keepers locally who have been forced into closing because the costs of staying open leave no room to make a profit/living, but property owners and councils are also under the cosh from ratepayers and pension funds who expect a return. I honestly don't know how we begin to square this circle. But I have just bought DS a Christmas present online which cost less than 50% of RRP, free postage.

I don't have answers and I am guilty of contributing to the problem.

My feeling is there needs to be an overhaul in the way rates are charged. It might even out the playing field if there was a different marker the rates were calculated on, such as turnover.

Rates are just another business tax payable to the council. you don't receive anything in return, they don't even collect your rubbish for free!

I think of the times I've gone to check out a product in curry's or John Lewis then bought it cheaper online. I'm making them showrooms and nothing else.

Maybe commercial leases need to be looked at as well. At the moment they favour the landlord.

It's important to be able to see and touch things in the flesh, especially clothes and beauty items.

I don't know what the solution is.

Another issue is that councils are also seeking to increase revenue via parking charges, which then has an impact on footfall on local high streets and a shop's turnover/profit.

My mum (in her early 80s and with minor mobility issues) lives about 10 mins drive from an affluent, upmarket high street with a large proportion of independent shops. She has always enjoyed clothes and shopping and for years has bought most of her clothes there. However, the pay and display parking bays have now been replaced by a 'cashless parking solution' accessed by an app. She doesn't have a smartphone and even if she did, I don't think she could navigate the app. So now she buys almost everything online from either Pure or Uniqlo. The enjoyment of browsing the shops and interacting with a salesperson is lost for her and, of course, those independent boutiques have lost her custom.

About five years ago we went to the US on holiday and stayed in a small New England town that offered 2hrs free parking before charging. I don't think it was a coincidence that there was a thriving retail scene including independently owned clothes shops, drugstore, bookstore, art gallery, post office and grocery store. When parking is difficult and expensive, shoppers are driven online.

Of course, driving to the shops is bad for the environment (unless you have an electric vehicle) but that's a whole other issue!

it is sad, but not sad enough for councils to do anything about, evidently. They could introduce rent controls - but, hey, who wants to interfere with rich people getting richer at the expense of small business?

When we vote for councillors we should insist that the commercial rents are fair in the centres of the towns. No one seems to care enough to bother.

I did the same! My best pal and I used to go to London for the day frequently, just to buy vintage goodies and records. We'd get a super early coach and start at portobello market, we'd literally be there when they were setting up! Then on to Kensington market and Camden. Everywhere was so vibrant, so many different sub cultures all shopping side by side but now? Meh (as my teenage daughter would say) I'm shocked when I see uni students, they all look the bloody same!!!
My best pal back then remains my closest friend and actually now works in a vintage shop owned by a friend. They constantly struggle to stay afloat, the council wants more and more rent and slowly our cities little shops are dying and being replaced by chain coffee shops or even worse, nothing! It makes me feel old

Maybe we met

This is Annies the other shop mentioned in the Guardian piece that I remember well - a tiny place choc-a-bloc with treasure. I used to save up until I could afford the trip. According to the Guardian, the landlord lives in a tax haven.

There was a thread not so long ago reminiscing about old, long gone shops and I remember being struck by the sheer number and diversity. Now we seem to have a handful of big corporations owning almost everything.

walking around London is grim these days, there are no independent shops left, I wonder how long the antique book shops will last on charing cross road, the old comics shops are long gone. sad to see a large shopping area that was indie years ago next to foyles is not to become another Topshop.

I don't know what the answer is, London is being sold out to the highest bidder. was so sad to visit Soho and see how it's all gone now. It's planning at it's worst.

I think it's dreadful, what do we need ANOTHER Top Shop for in that area Pasta? There are far too many crap shops selling crap Chinese or Indonesian made high fashion rags there. (Primark I'm looking at you)

There is that amazing vegan restaurant at that end of Tottenham ct. Rd. So not all bad news ( I hope it' s still open!).