New Club Shop in Worthing?

[studio150]

Also time for a club shop in Croydon

 

[Giraffe]

This thread passed me by the first time. Durrington Tesco would be the most obscure place to have a seagull shop. Weird, just very weird. But maybe it isn’t actually happening now?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

This thread passed me by the first time. Durrington Tesco would be the most obscure place to have a seagull shop. Weird, just very weird. But maybe it isn’t actually happening now?

I'd heard the plan had faltered and may now not happen.

 

[Giraffe]

I'd heard the plan had faltered and may now not happen.

Good would be a ridiculous place to have a “Worthing” shop. Would be like having a “Brighton” shop in Mile Oak!!

 

[Bozza]

Good would be a ridiculous place to have a “Worthing” shop. Would be like having a “Brighton” shop in Mile Oak!!

I disagree.

It wouldn’t be a/the “Worthing shop” it would just be an Albion shop, and one that...

- gets a huge amount of passing trade
- is/was available for a modest rent
- is in a hotbed of Albion support
- has plentiful free parking in a non-traffic-clogged area for those who may wish to visit specifically for the shop.

 

[Buzzer]

Durrington Tesco would be the most obscure place to have a seagull shop.

Bodmin Moor would be obscure. In one of the most populous areas of possibly/probably the town with the biggest Brighton support outside of Brighton and Hove itself would be far from obscure.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Haven’t heard this

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Good would be a ridiculous place to have a “Worthing” shop. Would be like having a “Brighton” shop in Mile Oak!!

Completely disagree. What a very odd thing to say.

I disagree.

It wouldn’t be a/the “Worthing shop” it would just be an Albion shop, and one that...

- gets a huge amount of passing trade
- is/was available for a modest rent
- is in a hotbed of Albion support
- has plentiful free parking in a non-traffic-clogged area for those who may wish to visit specifically for the shop.

Exactly. Worthing I'm certain has the highest Albion fans per 1000 of any town or City in Sussex. A shop in this location would be very popular.

Bodmin Moor would be obscure. In one of the most populous areas of possibly/probably the town with the biggest Brighton support outside of Brighton and Hove itself would be far from obscure.

Yep.

 

[Giraffe]

My point was not about the idea of having a shop in Worthing. I have said for about 30 years that that would be a good thing. Just don’t stick it in the arse end of the town. Tesco’s Durrington is the equivalent of Mile Oak to Brighton. Well perhaps Whitehawk to Brighton to be fair. So why put it there? Yes it will be cheap, but that is all it’s got going for it. There are plenty of cheap units in town now. And what about trying for the new Teville Gate site?

 

[mune ni kamome]

Oh no. Hope that doesn't mean that marvellous charity shop is closing

 

[Justice]

Also time for a club shop in Croydon

I raise you Charlton buses available straight to the Amex on match days.

 

[Bozza]

My point was not about the idea of having a shop in Worthing. I have said for about 30 years that that would be a good thing. Just don’t stick it in the arse end of the town. Tesco’s Durrington is the equivalent of Mile Oak to Brighton. Well perhaps Whitehawk to Brighton to be fair. So why put it there? Yes it will be cheap, but that is all it’s got going for it. There are plenty of cheap units in town now. And what about trying for the new Teville Gate site?

I think you're getting a bit hung up on it being THE shop in Worthing.

Perhaps think about it as just a shop in an easily-accessible area with considerable footfall in an area well-populated by Albion fans.

We go months on end without visiting Worthing town centre and although you could make a case that an Albion shop is exactly the sort of thing that could help regenerate it, it's going to take a whole lot more than that.

Teville Gate? You're not planning on a shop any time soon then?

 

[Springal]

My point was not about the idea of having a shop in Worthing. I have said for about 30 years that that would be a good thing. Just don’t stick it in the arse end of the town. Tesco’s Durrington is the equivalent of Mile Oak to Brighton. Well perhaps Whitehawk to Brighton to be fair. So why put it there? Yes it will be cheap, but that is all it’s got going for it. There are plenty of cheap units in town now. And what about trying for the new Teville Gate site?

What 'cheap units' have you seen in Worthing town out of interest? And what kind of leases? I thought the fact that a lot of shops were moving out of towns was because of sky high rents and fees.

 

[Giraffe]

I think you're getting a bit hung up on it being THE shop in Worthing.

Perhaps think about it as just a shop in an easily-accessible area with considerable footfall in an area well-populated by Albion fans.

We go months on end without visiting Worthing town centre and although you could make a case that an Albion shop is exactly the sort of thing that could help regenerate it, it's going to take a whole lot more than that.

Teville Gate? You're not planning on a shop any time soon then?

I guess if this is the start of a network of Albion shops then it's a cheap trial way of entering that market. Perhaps I am too hung up on the club being associated with a place that I view as generally poor. Costa does good business there as does the dry cleaners, but I'm told the WHSmiths there is the least profitable in the South East. I'm just not convinced that as a retail site it is a very good option. The service type units do a lot better than the "shops". But a short term lease leading up to Christmas and then see how it goes until something better (like the Teville Gate site) comes along would make sense. I can see that.

 

[Giraffe]

What 'cheap units' have you seen in Worthing town out of interest? And what kind of leases? I thought the fact that a lot of shops were moving out of towns was because of sky high rents and fees.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-to-let/Worthing.html

Don't believe the headline rents shown. You will get them a lot cheaper in the current market. BUT you would be tied in to a longer lease, so I can see a shorter lease at Durrington makes sense initially.

 

[Bozza]

I guess if this is the start of a network of Albion shops then it's a cheap trial way of entering that market. Perhaps I am too hung up on the club being associated with a place that I view as generally poor. Costa does good business there as does the dry cleaners, but I'm told the WHSmiths there is the least profitable in the South East. I'm just not convinced that as a retail site it is a very good option. The service type units do a lot better than the "shops". But a short term lease leading up to Christmas and then see how it goes until something better (like the Teville Gate site) comes along would make sense. I can see that.

That's surely no shock re: WH Smith. Almost everything they sell can be bought in Tesco itself and generally significantly cheaper. I'm not sure why anyone would think that would be a good location for a shop that sells what Tesco sells.

The pet shop there is an utter disaster too. I popped in yesterday evening as our puppy has just about destroyed every one of his toys this week. A Kong Extreme thing was £16.99 in there. I checked Amazon on my phone and it was £7.49. It's being delivered today. I don't mind paying a bit more for the convenience of having something NOW, but that was just ridiculous. Even more ridiculously, everything they sell is individually priced with sticky price labels. What's that all about in 2017?

 

[Springal]

The pet shop there is an utter disaster too. I popped in yesterday evening as our puppy has just about destroyed every one of his toys this week. A Kong Extreme thing was £16.99 in there. I checked Amazon on my phone and it was £7.49. It's being delivered today. I don't mind paying a bit more for the convenience of having something NOW, but that was just ridiculous. Even more ridiculously, everything they sell is individually priced with sticky price labels. What's that all about in 2017?

That is pretty much the case anywhere now. The only I reason I go into town is eat/drink, or M&S Food. Or possibly some toiletries but pretty much anything else day to day or clothing wise I buy online and have done for a long time. Can't even remember last time I went into WH Smiths

 

[Napper]

Are any shirts in stock yet or are we still waiting mid November ?

 

[Brovion]

That is pretty much the case anywhere now. The only I reason I go into town is eat/drink, or M&S Food. Or possibly some toiletries but pretty much anything else day to day or clothing wise I buy online and have done for a long time. Can't even remember last time I went into WH Smiths

Precisely. There is already an Albion shop in Worthing, and indeed in any other town in the world with an internet connection. It's called Seagulls Direct. I don't see why people are so hung up on having a physical shop. Yes it would be 'nice', but given that we're in nearly the third decade of the 21st century and you can do so much online, is it really the best approach?

 

[227 BHA]

I disagree.

It wouldn’t be a/the “Worthing shop” it would just be an Albion shop, and one that...

- gets a huge amount of passing trade
- is/was available for a modest rent
- is in a hotbed of Albion support
- has plentiful free parking in a non-traffic-clogged area for those who may wish to visit specifically for the shop.

Agree, far more sensible nowadays having an out of town shop with free parking by a supermarket with a huge footfall than a town centre shop.
Would be a good central location to catch all the West Sussex Albion fans