High Street not so dead

[Whorty]

But only for the cheep tat shops.

Hundreds queue outside Primark from 5am as shops reopen after lockdown | Metro News

[_V_]

But only for the cheep tat shops.

Early birds?

[Paddy]

But only for the cheep tat shops.

Hundreds queue outside Primark from 5am as shops reopen after lockdown | Metro News

Primark is throw-away quality rather than wash and reuse hence the queue to replace soiled clothes.

[Whorty]

Early birds?

I only saw women queuing up ... so yes

[Hobosapien]

With Debenhams collapsing after 240 odd years it looks like finally they'll do something about all the ghost town high streets where there are as many empty units as occupied (with charity shops, betting shops, coffee shops, various cash only service businesses for 'tax purposes', ...) and the old retail business model no longer works.

Depends if the landlords are making money out of empty units rather than something more flexible than long leases that are typically beyond the realm of the sane for small businesses.

Seeing as it's mainly women that love a bit of shopping, trudging around the high street shops, meeting up with people for a chinwag, I predict the solution is more experience based shopping where there is a mix of shopping and socialising. Seen some attempts where everything in the shop is for sale (price tags on everything including the chairs and furniture) yet it appears to be just a fancy coffee shop. Want an item and it's all done online with home delivery.

That starts with the small independent owners willing to take a risk on something new that may be appealing, then if something turns out popular the big chains copy it, sort of like Apple since it was ressurected from the quagmire in the late 90s.

[ChimpMaster]

Primark is throw-away quality rather than wash and reuse hence the queue to replace soiled clothes.

Very true.

I make sure to only ever soil myself when I'm wearing the latest Primark fashion.

[cojak]

Primark is throw-away quality rather than wash and reuse hence the queue to replace soiled clothes.

Nope, it isn't.

It used to be 4 or 5 years ago but they've improved the quality of their stuff and I'm wearing jumpers and shirts I bought there 2 or 3 years ago.

I'm probably not the norm though, admittedly...

[SueEllen]

Nope, it isn't.

It used to be 4 or 5 years ago but they've improved the quality of their stuff and I'm wearing jumpers and shirts I bought there 2 or 3 years ago.

I'm probably not the norm though, admittedly...

Primark customers are all ages so I suspect it's only those in their teens to 30s who tend to use their clothes as throw away fashion.

[vetran]

Nope, it isn't.

It used to be 4 or 5 years ago but they've improved the quality of their stuff and I'm wearing jumpers and shirts I bought there 2 or 3 years ago.

I'm probably not the norm though, admittedly...

as always it varies, I live in their cargo trousers which are about 4 years old and half the price of apparently similar quality Tesco / ASDA/ Sainsburys ones. Only beaten by LIDL/ALDi work cargo trousers. Key thing is they do them in colours / fabrics other than CAMO and rip stop so I don't look like I raided Army surplus.

Their T shirts are rubbish though lose their shape on the first wash.

[edison]

With Debenhams collapsing after 240 odd years it looks like finally they'll do something about all the ghost town high streets where there are as many empty units as occupied (with charity shops, betting shops, coffee shops, various cash only service businesses for 'tax purposes', ...) and the old retail business model no longer works.

Depends if the landlords are making money out of empty units rather than something more flexible than long leases that are typically beyond the realm of the sane for small businesses.

Seeing as it's mainly women that love a bit of shopping, trudging around the high street shops, meeting up with people for a chinwag, I predict the solution is more experience based shopping where there is a mix of shopping and socialising. Seen some attempts where everything in the shop is for sale (price tags on everything including the chairs and furniture) yet it appears to be just a fancy coffee shop. Want an item and it's all done online with home delivery.

That starts with the small independent owners willing to take a risk on something new that may be appealing, then if something turns out popular the big chains copy it, sort of like Apple since it was ressurected from the quagmire in the late 90s.

The retail sector has been talking about making shopping more experience based for at least a decade. For most large retailers, if you're not an essential or 'destination' store and/or have an enticing experience, then unless you're in a real niche, there isn't much point to your existence now. A pop up shop close to me tried the approach of making almost everything in the shop for sale, it was a cafe/vintage shop/warehouse. It was popular for a while but the attraction faded and it closed after two years.

Councils and landlords are in for a real shock in the next few years when they realise the hit that business rates and rents will take. Particularly at risk will be smaller provincial shopping centres. Once you start to lose tenants, it's difficult to replace them fast enough and the destination as a whole loses its appeal.