brighton town centre turning into a ruddy GHOST TOWN

[Uncle C]

Maybe it won't be. But do you think that when the recession is over the people who are shopping at Amazon, Play, Dabbs etc now will start shopping at bricks-and-mortar stores? As others have pointed out, clothes shops will survive but I can't see too many other kind of stores thriving - there's room for only so many charity and pound shops.

But 'shops' embraces so much more than this. There are lots of starter businesses that need premises, some of which will blossom into the Woolworths of tomorrow. Just think what a sad, fat world it would be if we all sat at home all day.

 

[Gwylan]

But 'shops' embraces so much more than this. There are lots of starter businesses that need premises, some of which will blossom into the Woolworths of tomorrow. Just think what a sad, fat world it would be if we all sat at home all day.

I agree with you that it's not good but the fact is that Bozza took £600 from Amazon shopping in the weeks up to Christmas - that's an indication of how much people use the Internet for shopping and the reason why stores are closing - to blame it all on the recession is misleading.

The Co-op in London Road announced its closure well before the current economic crisis - people's shopping habits have changed and I really can't see the old High Street way of shopping surviving. Of course new shops will open but I bet that an equal number of shops will close.

 

[Uncle C]

I agree with you that it's not good but the fact is that Bozza took £600 from Amazon shopping in the weeks up to Christmas - that's an indication of how much people use the Internet for shopping and the reason why stores are closing - to blame it all on the recession is misleading.

The Co-op in London Road announced its closure well before the current economic crisis - people's shopping habits have changed and I really can't see the old High Street way of shopping surviving. Of course new shops will open but I bet that an equal number of shops will close.

But you forget that a very large number of people enjoy the act of shopping -its a day out, its a town centre to visit, its a social occasion, its a chance to browse, its fun. They said cinemas would die when video came out, but like all things it adapted and grew.

 

[Gwylan]

But you forget that a very large number of people enjoy the act of shopping -its a day out, its a town centre to visit, its a social occasion, its a chance to browse, its fun. They said cinemas would die when video came out, but like all things it adapted and grew.

I'm not saying that town centre shops will die entirely. As I said, people will certainly shop for clothes in shops and there'll still be a need for other shops too - just not so many of them.

The cinema is an interesting parallel. When I was growing up in Brighton, there were about 13 or 14 cinemas in Brighton and Hove (and that was a reduction from pre-war) - there are now three (although some are multiscreen). Another interesting parallel is that one of them is at the Marina, mirroring the out-of-town shopping area.

Yes, cinemas have survived but the experience is very different from what it was - my daughter's nearly 7 and has been to the cinema once, I used to go just about every week when I was her age. The weekly shopping trip is already disappearing and I suspect that there'll be fewer and fewer in time.

 

[beorhthelm]

They said cinemas would die when video came out, but like all things it adapted and grew.

I also heard that video killed the radio star, but they keep on going too.

 

[Scampi]

Tescos etc will be selling it for 3.50!! So Tescos are either making a loss or the publishers are giving them massive discounts.

Answer B) massive discounts, Tesco's will be able to negotiate the publishers down to the minimum. Also they don't have to generate huge margins, because of their enormous volumes and the higher margins they can achieve on other products.

 

[Nibble]

On the subject of publishing/books. If anyone here writes short pieces then PM me. I am in the process of setting up my promotions & publishing label "Last In Line" and we will be publishing a quarterly edition of photographers, artists and writers as wellas regular networking evenings. I can't promise fame and fortune but you get a royalty of sales and more importantly you retain all rights to your work. We are having a launch evening pencilled in for Feb 25th if anyone's interested in coming along. Cheers.

 

[Perry Milkins]

na, nanana, na na , nanananana

Did the Banana Splits do Ghost Town Bushy?

 

[Perry Milkins]

On the subject of publishing/books. If anyone here writes short pieces then PM me. I am in the process of setting up my promotions & publishing label "Last In Line" and we will be publishing a quarterly edition of photographers, artists and writers as wellas regular networking evenings. I can't promise fame and fortune but you get a royalty of sales and more importantly you retain all rights to your work. We are having a launch evening pencilled in for Feb 25th if anyone's interested in coming along. Cheers.

Surely deserving of its own thread Nibbo?

 

[Nibble]

Surely deserving of its own thread Nibbo?

Reckon you could be right there, ta.

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

all this fuss over a few fricking shops

try going somewhere like barnsley and then tell me what is a ghost town high street

not that i go to or am from barnsley,

i just open a quality paper now and then rather than living only in a weird window-licking nsc bubble and making a hyperbole out of f*** all, for attention

lol burrn

 

[User removed 4]

Did the Banana Splits do Ghost Town Bushy?

yes mate, but you could only get it as an import.

 

[Gwylan]

all this fuss over a few fricking shops

try going somewhere like barnsley and then tell me what is a ghost town high street

I have no doubt that former industrial towns have suffered worse depredations - my mother lives in a former mining town in the north-east and I can see the lack of shops for myself.

But Brighton is in the 'prosperous' south-east, that's why the closures are so noticeable. And, as I argue, this is a trend that is not going to be reversed, city and town centres are going to get emptier and emptier.

 

[The Large One]

I have no doubt that former industrial towns have suffered worse depredations - my mother lives in a former mining town in the north-east and I can see the lack of shops for myself.

But Brighton is in the 'prosperous' south-east, that's why the closures are so noticeable. And, as I argue, this is a trend that is not going to be reversed, city and town centres are going to get emptier and emptier.

Agree with that but with one consideration...

I reckon HIGH STREET shops may get emptier and emptier, but Brighton is lucky in that it has a still-healthy 'alternative' shopping culture, mostly to be found around the North Laine area. I'm not convinced that's going to take such a nosedive anytime soon.

Any shops that do become empty don't stay empty for long.

 

[Gwylan]

Agree with that but with one consideration...

I reckon HIGH STREET shops may get emptier and emptier, but Brighton is lucky in that it has a still-healthy 'alternative' shopping culture, mostly to be found around the North Laine area. I'm not convinced that's going to take such a nosedive anytime soon.

Any shops that do become empty don't stay empty for long.

I agree entirely. And North Laine is a classic example of a shopping area that's going to thrive. The shops tend to offer stuff that can't so easily be found online - and there's the right amount of quirkiness and individuality there. As I mentioned earlier, City Books is surviving despite the cost advantage enjoyed by Amazon (I know that CB is not in North Laine but it's a NL type of shop).

I'm talking purely about high street stories - it won't surprise me to see more vacant properties in Churchill Square by the end of the year.

 

[Mtoto]

The loss of Borders was felt very keenly in our house. It opened (about five minutes away) about a month after my son was born, and as soon as he could sit up by himself he would sit on the floor there and go through book after book. It became part of our routine to go to Borders at least once a week to get a coffee and read some books. When he was in Year One at school and had to fill in a questionnaire about himself, he even answered the question "What makes you happy?" with: "going to Borders with my dad."
He is now an 11-year-old who still reads voraciously, and when he heard Borders was closing, I guess he felt a little like I did 15-odd years ago when it seemed the Albion might go out of business. It was just a part of his life that had always been there, and it broke his heart to think it might go.
It's only a shop, of course, but we really did spend hundreds of happy hours there. By all accounts, that particular shop was profitable (just), but it was dragged down by the overall UK business plan, which envisaged people going out-of-town to sip coffee and read books. But a bookshop that size can't survive on its own - all those books, many of which sit on the shelves for months waiting for someone to come in and buy them, and all the while they are paying for the staff, the heating, the lighting etc.

 

[Helter]

Bookstores will disappear. You can get most for a fraction of the original price via Amazon and so on and the digital age of books is upon us. Sad.

Went into Brighton at Christmas and borders was closed as used to buy my books there so Now I use the net, just ordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for £5.99

where’s in shops it’s 8.99. Thought I was being smart by saving but it cost an extra £9 for special delivery, Didn't realise I had to pay for that service, do’h!

 

[Pavilionaire]

But you forget that a very large number of people enjoy the act of shopping -its a day out, its a town centre to visit, its a social occasion, its a chance to browse, its fun. They said cinemas would die when video came out, but like all things it adapted and grew.

In order to open a shop you need working capital, access to bank loans, you must be prepared to commit to a lease of usually 5 years, then there's employing shop staff with all the usual red tape bollocks.

Given that we live in an age of dwindling commitment when the young enter the workplace saddled by debt it's less likely people will either willing or able to take the risk.

I can only see things changing if overheads such as rent and rates are reduced significantly.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

How do DVD rental shops keep going? You can buy so many DVDS (admittedly not new releases) for around the £4 mark online, which is almost the same as the rental price. Surely their days are numbered too, especially with people renting new releases through TV packages like Virgin as well?

 

[Jamie]

"... too much fighting on the dance floor.."