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Mags
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11-05-2019, 07:21 PM
31

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
I agree. Cost us £6 to park in Exeter for just over 3 hours.
Same here today when we parked in Weston LD, £6 for up to 4 hours
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11-05-2019, 07:22 PM
32

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by Mags ->
Same here today when we parked in Weston LD, £6 for up to 4 hours
Annoying isn't it. It really does put you off going to these places.
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12-05-2019, 12:32 AM
33

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
I see it as a balance. Yes, the small shops in my town charge more than the supermarkets but I would rather pay over the top occasionally and keep local businesses going or we will end up a ghost town.
Yes this is a key point well made.

I think it is worth distinguishing between the average high street store (home wares, electrical goods, jewellers etc) and local trades.

The supermarkets are responsible for killing the plethora of great local trade shops we used to have. The butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers and real bread makers.

As customers we were duped into having everything in one place at supermarkets and we know deep down that we're being ripped off and cajoled into buying stuff we wouldn't ordinarily buy and at high prices to boot.

We've done this to ourselves. We've given foreign moguls far too much power by going to supermarkets. Sainsbury's is pretty much owned and controlled by QATAR as are huge parts of London.

This has pushed out our former trades who can't compete.

We need to realise what we have done and reverse that situation.

I no longer buy meat from supermarkets. I buy loads of different meat products in a single trip at a very reputable farm shop with good provenance (not your crappy farm shop that just buys in crap meat!).

Yesterday was our regular 3 month trip and we spent £177 just on meat which will stock the freezer up nicely.

I would love to see all our regular trades come back again but for that to happen we have to start boycotting the supermarkets no matter how convenient they are.

I'd like to see a load of "mini markets" arise where you could go and find a real butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger and baker all under one roof. If they did that I believe people would flock to them instead of to the supermarket.
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12-05-2019, 08:48 AM
34

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by carol ->
I agree with you Azure - and as for markets!!

Our local one is pathetic now. No more than 6 stalls where there used to be 4 dozen or more.

Too much rent charged for the stalls...
The market in a local town to me growing up called Heckmondwike has completely gone. I remember as a child on Saturdays the market covered a huge area of the town and people used to visit from miles around. It was a bustling town packed with people backn in the day.

I decided to go have a look round a couple of weeks ago and it was like a ghost town. The only shops worth a look in was a Superdrug, a clothes shop called Peacocks, poundstretchers, the rest were charity shops, a pound shop, and loads of Indian food takeaways. So many shops stand empty. I remember one shop owner that was closing down told me he couldn't afford the rent anymore as the rent charges had been raised so much.

It was quite a depressing visit and I won't bother going again.

I would dearly love the market and shops to he back as they were. It used to be a great social outing chatting with so many people.

I was thinking the other day I wonder if all the town centres will one day be demolished and apartments will be built as it seems the modern living are apartment dwellings.
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12-05-2019, 09:05 AM
35

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

I am afraid greedy has contributed to the demise of the high street, exorbitant business rates ,rent and car parking fees. Even our tiny local high street car park demands a £1 an hour parking fees. Town is better, I can use Waitrose car park free.

If I drive the 10 miles to Worcester using petrol, I then have to pay high car parking fees around £5 for a couple of hours that is if I can find a space. It is cheaper to buy online and pay postage of around £3 or nothing if I am lucky and free returns.
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12-05-2019, 09:53 PM
36

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by Realist ->
The high street collapse is simply the end of the "rip off" era.

For years and years, all these shops and stores have been making hay, wilfully ripping the people of the UK off with ridiculously high prices.

The people of the UK for the longest time either didn't really know they were being ripped off or didn't really have a viable alternative.

People travelling abroad saw how cheap products were there and would bring things back with them on their vacations.

But by and large the retail street stores of Britain had for years, preyed on an unsuspecting ignorant public who continually coughed up the readies for products.

Then the internet happened.

And suddenly people could see the horrific mark-up that shop stores had been charging. How ripped off we have been.

And things began to change.

Why would I pay £5 for a music CD in a store when I can buy it for £2 on the internet?

Why would I buy an expensive fridge from Currys when I can order online for half the price for exactly the same product?

Bit by bit the "Rip Off Britain" situation was revealed to the masses who responded as you would expect.

Now the retail outlets are collapsing. And rightly so.

One by one the former rip-off giants are falling. The emperors have been revealed as having no clothes. They have ruthlessly charged the people of Britain excessive amounts for too long. The people have seen the truth and have had enough.

That's how it started. Then it began to change.

Suddenly the streets began filling with Pound shops and Bargain shops. Suddenly we found we can buy tons of things for just £1 that we were previously being charged extortionate amounts for in large stores. We realised at that point just how badly we had been ripped off in the past.

What we are seeing now is the aftermath of all this.

The high street stores have only themselves to blame. They created a lucrative business model for themselves based on ripping people off with high prices. Now the demand has disappeared their business models don't work, and they are collapsing.

Even today there remain high street stores clinging on, still ripping people off. Take the high street jewellers. They are still charging almost 50% to 100% more for basic gems than online providers. Exactly the same products, just with a huge mark-up. It is patently ridiculous but they are clinging on. They have survived over people like Debenhams because jewellery is expensive and people are afraid to spend £1000s online without first seeing a product. But in time it will become second nature to do so.

I have absolutely no problem with what is happening. It is a necessary period of change to oust the greedy rip-off merchants and to instead create a new industry with new business models that will treat the customer with respect.

Those landlords who own the properties on the high street will likewise have to adjust their business models or go out of business too.

All in all it just means we will get a different type of store, one with better prices for the customer but likely one that sells high volume of product. Coffee shops are doing well in this environment.

Good Sir

I disagree with most of your summery
British Retail trade has not always ripped off Britain
You should be proud of British Manufactures and Retail Trade shop and not run them down.

They have to consider The High Rent and Rates, Staff Wages, Insurance, Public liability Theft and Shareholders.
Staff expect a decent wage and do not work for .5p per hour in a dungeon like some poor people including children, from the Far East
The Mark up is usually, 33.1/3 or 50%. except if you Phillip Greddy Green who charges 200% or more so that he can give himself and family £Million dividends Tax-free happily endorsed by the Government.
This is disgraceful and should be stopped.

The whole Country has been dumbed down and everything is Cheap and Cheerful so clothes especially are binned and new cheap ones bought
There was a time when people with very little money would save up for a year to but a Quality British Garment that lasted for years
I have fashions from Jaeger 40 years old that are indestructible.

It is true that many household articles from £1.00 Shops are very Cheap, but as for their tools, no UK Tradesmen would dream of buying them. They prefer to pay a decent price for tools that last a lifetime, as do Chefs who happily pay £100.00 for a set of quality knives.

The main culprit until the advent of On-line shopping was the greedy Landlords who put many shops out of business
Also, the Banks who refused to invest in Retail trade.
I'm sure you would not want to work for A Big Apple!
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12-05-2019, 10:12 PM
37

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by Lion Queen ->
The market in a local town to me growing up called Heckmondwike has completely gone. I remember as a child on Saturdays the market covered a huge area of the town and people used to visit from miles around. It was a bustling town packed with people backn in the day.

I decided to go have a look round a couple of weeks ago and it was like a ghost town. The only shops worth a look in was a Superdrug, a clothes shop called Peacocks, poundstretchers, the rest were charity shops, a pound shop, and loads of Indian food takeaways. So many shops stand empty. I remember one shop owner that was closing down told me he couldn't afford the rent anymore as the rent charges had been raised so much.

It was quite a depressing visit and I won't bother going again.

I would dearly love the market and shops to he back as they were. It used to be a great social outing chatting with so many people.

I was thinking the other day I wonder if all the town centres will one day be demolished and apartments will be built as it seems the modern living are apartment dwellings.
I think that's in common with a few markets including ours in Huddersfield. Where once it was thriving with a full range of stalls including food, bric a brac, clothing and even carpets it's now a shadow of its former self - gone are the bustling crowds on the lookout for a bargain to be replaced by a few drifting by. The market's decline is also down to rent increases for the pitches.
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12-05-2019, 10:46 PM
38

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Are the councils' rent increases in all the towns due to the government cuts to councils?
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12-05-2019, 11:07 PM
39

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

That's certainly the reason the cooncils will give.
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13-05-2019, 11:02 AM
40

Re: Empty Shops in Town Centres

Originally Posted by meg ->
i am afraid greedy has contributed to the demise of the high street, exorbitant business rates ,rent and car parking fees. Even our tiny local high street car park demands a £1 an hour parking fees. Town is better, i can use waitrose car park free.

If i drive the 10 miles to worcester using petrol, i then have to pay high car parking fees around £5 for a couple of hours that is if i can find a space. It is cheaper to buy online and pay postage of around £3 or nothing if i am lucky and free returns.
 
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