[News] Death on the High Street,Boots.

[Weststander]

Found out that the Clinton’s in George Street closed from yesterday. Sussex Booksmiths are owned by Smiths, so one of them will go before long. It’s our own fault because we decided to go on line. There are fewer and fewer options to buy stuff. Curry’s/PC World will probably just do online before long. Even the betting shops will go before long. Before long we will all be living indoors waiting for a drone to pop by with the shopping.

With Amazon (excellent and incredibly speedy service) sewing up so much of that online market.

As much as we complain about their ever tightening hold over us, and blatant tax avoidance.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Our WH Smiths is the same, and now they're closing the local (very busy) Post Office and putting it into Smiths - which will just mean that will get run down as well....

I used to love the WHSmith of the 1970's & 80's. An example of a very professional and well run business. How times have changed though, what we are left with now is a very poor imitation. So sad to see.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Only a matter of time for the lot of them though.

We are reaching a point in time where many people do ALL of their shopping online.

I can't think of a business model where a physical high street chain will be able to compete with online retailers. There are a few exceptions, such as clothes shops, smelly shops like Body Shop or Lush, furniture shops or anything where a customer wants to feel, touch or try a product before purchasing it.

Boots, WHSmith, HMV, Currys, Robert Dyas, Sports Direct and many others will all be all but gone within 10 years.

Intu took over the running of Watfords main shopping centre, as well as household names flooding in, the original high street has had a major refurb, amazing really in todays climes.

 

[Weststander]

Only a matter of time for the lot of them though.

We are reaching a point in time where many people do ALL of their shopping online.

I can't think of a business model where a physical high street chain will be able to compete with online retailers. There are a few exceptions, such as clothes shops, smelly shops like Body Shop or Lush, furniture shops or anything where a customer wants to feel, touch or try a product before purchasing it.

Boots, WHSmith, HMV, Currys, Robert Dyas, Sports Direct and many others will all be all but gone within 10 years.

High Streets evolve, even before internet shopping, the make up of shops in 1965 Brighton was very different to 2000 Brighton.

A personal view, I think rents and retail business rates will need to fall.

Then there’s transport. Cities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool have excellent and cheap access by park n ride etc. Brighton has the perennial problem of no space for park n ride apparently, high bus fares for a family and huge traffic jams at weekends.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

As human beings it's in our nature to want more for less. If someone can give you something cheaper than anyone else, then deliver it to your front door for nothing, it dings all the little bells in your little Homo Sapien brain...

It's a fact. A sad fact, perhaps - but a fact nonetheless, that it's all a race to the bottom on price and a race to the top on service. Whoever can do that, wins. How do you win? Economy of scale, and the lowest overheads possible. Enter Amazon... who have nailed both.

Our quaint old ways of shopping in the 70's, 80's and 90's were there because there was no alternative. Personally, I loved them - but they're history now.

Town Centre rent and rates need to fall in order to make trading there worthwhile, and the only businesses who can afford to trade there are the huge profit margin ones (coffee, pasta, pizza, burgers, chicken etc - then the huge mark-up or high volume retailers like Sports Direct, JD, Top Shop and so on). Every town centre will be a replica of every town centre eventually.

 

[portslade seagull]

I used to say the typical UK High Street in its current form won't exist in two generations' time and people used to dismiss it. I'm thinking of revising my opinion to in ONE generation. As a business model, it's a busted flush.

Just comeback from France and what struck me was a full high st and plenty of shoppers. Also plenty of banks where here they close them down

 

[Murray 17]

Subway has closed.

I thought it had gone underground! [emoji3]

 

[knocky1]

I prefer Murder on the Dance Floor.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I was under the impression that WH Smith make most of their money from the transport sites (airports, railway stations, ports, etc) and also their wholesale arm. High street stores will be kept alive with the Post Office tie ins as we already have in many towns across Sussex.

 

[Hu_Camus]

Doesn't look good. The Supermarkets have cleaned-up. Go to Leek Sainsbury's and 7am/10pm medical advive/pharmacy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48435802

It just churns. Some stores fall, others spring up.....when was the last time you bought some pick-n-mix at Woolies, or got yourself a nice Macintosh at C&A (although I bought a nice hat in the one in Lisbon recently)
Things change, and yet I'll miss them.

 

[Bodian]

Just comeback from France and what struck me was a full high st and plenty of shoppers. Also plenty of banks where here they close them down

I moved to my small town 15 years ago. We had the four big banks and a building society. HSBC closed about five years ago, Nat West and Barclays have gone this year, and Lloyds is closing in August. Just the building society left. And cash machines in the Co-op and Tesco Express.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I used to say the typical UK High Street in its current form won't exist in two generations' time and people used to dismiss it. I'm thinking of revising my opinion to in ONE generation. As a business model, it's a busted flush.

Yes. Faversham has had 5% of its high street shops boarded up for the last 15 years. Yet....yet....now, since quite recently, there are none. There are instead three new craft beer pubs, plus an Italian wine bar. There are strange and eclectic shops.....the high street has gone local and is vibrant. I didn't expect that. Coming soon to a place near you? We shall see.

 

[Weststander]

Yes. Faversham has had 5% of its high street shops boarded up for the last 15 years. Yet....yet....now, since quite recently, there are none. There are instead three new craft beer pubs, plus an Italian wine bar. There are strange and eclectic shops.....the high street has gone local and is vibrant. I didn't expect that. Coming soon to a place near you? We shall see.

Evolving back to specialists, whilst generalists like Debenhams and Boots struggle as ‘masters of none’.

 

[Hampster Gull]

WH Smiths and Boots have been appalling stores to visit for sooooo long. I feel dirty whenever I go in one of their stores. I hate WHS with a passion

 

[Weststander]

WH Smiths and Boots have been appalling stores to visit for sooooo long. I feel dirty whenever I go in one of their stores. I hate WHS with a passion

Even when you desperately need a pencil case or geometry set?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Coffee chain, charity shop, coffee chain, charity shop, coffee chain, charity shop... Nope, it’s still a thriving model.


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You missed out the 3 betting shops and the tattooist.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Even when you desperately need a pencil case or geometry set?

Needs must

 

[Blue3]

I have checked the figures and they have done pretty good on the figures released for 2018. Decent profit.

I would have thought WH Smiths in train stations, motorway service stations and airports are hugely profitable but much less so on the high street if they are to survive it's these high street shops that require work

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I moved to my small town 15 years ago. We had the four big banks and a building society. HSBC closed about five years ago, Nat West and Barclays have gone this year, and Lloyds is closing in August. Just the building society left. And cash machines in the Co-op and Tesco Express.

Newhaven hasn't had a bank for years. We can pay money in via the post office or go to Seaford.
[MENTION=578]portslade seagull[/MENTION] France still had small family run shops which is why their high streets thrive. They wouldn't dream of doing a one stop shop at the supermarket.

 

[Notters]

I have checked the figures and they have done pretty good on the figures released for 2018. Decent profit.

Yep they're doing really well. It's the US company they bought that is struggling.