Boots

S

Scaramanga

Guest
Laying off upto 4000 people. Is the High street doomed for ever.
 
I don't see how armageddon in the high street can be avoided. Few were visiting the shops even before the pandemic. Boots is a good example. Huge premises, high prices and nobody in the store. WH Smith is another business with massive stores full of stock that nobody wants.
 
tangerinenotorange said:
I don't see how armageddon in the high street can be avoided. Few were visiting the shops even before the pandemic. Boots is a good example. Huge premises, high prices and nobody in the store. WH Smith is another business with massive stores full of stock that nobody wants.
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I think WH Smith survives on it's train station and hospital shops.
 
High street is dead as we knew it, COVID has speeded up the inevitable. Anyone who is vulnerable or shielding will usually just opt to have stuff delivered rather than go to a shop in these times. I did hear that the UK government were going to make it easier to convert retail premisis to residential in terms of planning and usage restrictions. That IMO is a big step in the right direction.
 
What people forget is that high street shops are a conduit for other leisure activities- bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres etc

Take shops away and there are less reasons to support other businesses. A vacant high street means less value in a location which means lower house prices which means major issues for the millions of homeowners in the U.K. The high street needs government and local council support.
 
straightatthewall said:
What people forget is that high street shops are a conduit for other leisure activities- bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres etc

Take shops away and there are less reasons to support other businesses. A vacant high street means less value in a location which means lower house prices which means major issues for the millions of homeowners in the U.K. The high street needs government and local council support.
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But by converting a fraction of existing retail space (of which there is a surplus) to residential creates more demand for the businesses that are left.
 
After riding the Garvy train for years, and putting very little back they finaly missed the Internet Bus. These large stores (Boots, John Lewis, Debenhams amd HMV etc) have been failing for a while now Covid 19 has just given them a push. Just sad for those that lose their jobs
 
straightatthewall said:
What people forget is that high street shops are a conduit for other leisure activities- bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres etc

Take shops away and there are less reasons to support other businesses. A vacant high street means less value in a location which means lower house prices which means major issues for the millions of homeowners in the U.K. The high street needs government and local council support.
Click to expand...
I would seriously miss it, maybe it’s more of a pastime for females.The whole day out shopping and having coffee is good for the soul for some of us.
Plus it gets you out of the house, physically moving and engaging.
I will reduce my online purchases again now lockdown is over and be supporting our high street businesses with great gusto 👍
 
There was a time when Boots was considered the most trustworthy name on the High Street.
That was until they were taken over by a US venture capital firm with offices in nearly every tax haven going making tax avoidance the priority over environmental, workplace or consumer ethical standards.
 
It’ll be crap if we do lose the high street stores. But short of intervention & levy’s on internet sales it will happen.
 
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Hopefully at the end of it’ll we’ll end up with a more retail/residential mix in town centres. People living in attractive town centres and using the small, local, independently owned outlets.

Bit like it used to be, before Big Was Beautiful.
 
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