Is it this bad everywhere?

fc123

I cross over S London, E London and Brighton.
S London friends working in City based stuff..already some lay offs but they have found new jobs fairly quickly.

Friends in academic jobs largely unaffected. Likewise Public sector.

S/Employed London retailers I am still in touch with are having a dire time tho' E1 seems to be bucking the trend but as it is niche, it never really boomed either.

Brighton; all shops I know of are down massively, also some restaurants except those bland, corp types rotating their 2 for 1 offers around their fascias...staff still earn their min wage and aren't aware of the effects on profits that the company take a hit on with these offers.
They just know that a 2 for 1 table, generally, doesn't tip at all.


I made myself redundant from the shop 2 weeks ago (to cope with a huge workload generated from e-tail venture) and am sat back in it right now as OH had to go to Wales then London for a couple of days.

It's PAINFUL....It's soooo painful...I am distracting myself on here to minimise the feeling of absolute PAIN....it almost hurts physically.

The pain has been increasd as I have spent the time finalising accounts for 07/08.....they include the drop off of T/O that started last September.

Then, to garnish my pain, I have added on the new, increased rent (the figure that the LL will accept, not the figure requested) + extra business rates.

I hate to sit and think 'What if', being more of a forward thinking type....but IF I hadn't had my e-tail break, and it hadn't worked out....then I actually think, we could have gone bust by Jan 09.


All we know is, this shop has to be got rid of anyway we can as soon as possible...it is draining away all our energy, profits from other work and has done it's time....10 and half years.

Conrad

FC
I cant quite follow your post.
Are u saying you had a shop but have shut it? You say things like "if I had not had my etail break". huh? (confused - whats an etail?)

Pal

Really2 wrote: »

Indeed because of the dowturn it is leagal to cattle prod the local Hag too (providing you have not burnt or drownd it).

We have started to burn them again with winter coming and all that.

The humane culling of peasants and surfs is only legal for your own consumption. Selling the meat on is illegal.

I assume that there is also a breeding season during which culling is not permitted, even if they are on your land?

I gather from the recent changes to the law that prodding the village hag is now only legal if she has not been forced into it.

neverdespairgirl

Conrad wrote: »

FC
I cant quite follow your post.
Are u saying you had a shop but have shut it? You say things like "if I had not had my etail break". huh? (confused - whats an etail?)

From FC's past posts, she has a shop, which is opening more limited hours from soon, owing to lower sales.

The commercial LL is trying to increase the rent by a lot.

"etail" is, I imagine, "electronic retail". FC posted that she'd had a major success with her own designs, made in the UK, selling like hot cakes.

Pal

Conrad wrote: »

FC
I cant quite follow your post.
Are u saying you had a shop but have shut it? You say things like "if I had not had my etail break". huh? (confused - whats an etail?)

Presuambly selling things on t'web. Or a tail that you pretend exists, similar to an electronic christmas card.

Really2

Pal wrote: »

The humane culling of peasants and surfs is only legal for your own consumption. Selling the meat on is illegal.

I assume that there is also a breeding season during which culling is not permitted, even if they are on your land?

I gather from the recent changes to the law that prodding the village hag is now only legal if she has not been forced into it.

It's all leagal.
It my land and I make the rules.:D

fc123

Conrad wrote: »

FC
I cant quite follow your post.
Are u saying you had a shop but have shut it? You say things like "if I had not had my etail break". huh? (confused - whats an etail?)

The pain is making me incoherent

We own a 20yr lease (large boutique shop) with less than 10 yrs left to run. My Glass tower LL wants ti increase rent by 80% but will settle for 50% increase....and some idiot, corp chain have just opened around the corner, setting a new 'High Rent Value' for the area.

I wholesale my own label clothing to a ''premier'' (tongue in cheek) e-tail site and it has gone 'massve''...but in my sector, sometimes you only get a few months of this...just how it is.

OH is now a carpenter who is, instead, supporting the shop for me as we can't afford staff anymore......and it's now driving him up the wall, despite the customers loving him.


Incidentally, one of my celebrity customers popped in this morning and was complaining about the crunch too....she's got to pay more tax (I believe she is worth zillions now)...but she still shopped.;)

fc123

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

From FC's past posts, she has a shop, which is opening more limited hours from soon, owing to lower sales.

The commercial LL is trying to increase the rent by a lot.

"etail" is, I imagine, "electronic retail". FC posted that she'd had a major success with her own designs, made in the UK, selling like hot cakes.

thanks NDG Put much better than me

Conrad

fc123 wrote: »

The pain is making me incoherent

We own a 20yr lease (large boutique shop) with less than 10 yrs left to run. My Glass tower LL wants ti increase rent by 80% but will settle for 50% increase....and some idiot, corp chain have just opened around the corner, setting a new 'High Rent Value' for the area.

I wholesale my own label clothing to a ''premier'' (tongue in cheek) e-tail site and it has gone 'massve''...but in my sector, sometimes you only get a few months of this...just how it is.

OH is now a carpenter who is, instead, supporting the shop for me as we can't afford staff anymore......and it's now driving him up the wall, despite the customers loving him.


Incidentally, one of my celebrity customers popped in this morning and was complaining about the crunch too....she's got to pay more tax (I believe she is worth zillions now)...but she still shopped.;)

Ah, got you now, thx.

I too have a high street shop, and this year has obviously been up and down.
Cant wait to sell up in about 5 years and do something else. I like having a shop, so I'm thinking home furnishings - mirrors, piccies, lamps, curio's and so on.
I do not think the internet can realistically compete with such shops, as I find online furnishings piccies aren't a lot of help and the vastness of choice and slowness and the fact you cant flit easily from one item to another to compare - you really need to see and touch stuff like this.
Would also look to sell coffee and high quality home made (probably made off the premises) food.

I will try and create a freindly warm atmosphere - I have this theory a lot of shops suffer because the atmoshphere is uncomfortable, for example too quiet with a looming person sitting at a desk that faces you as you try and shop.
When Im in a shop like that I want to feel inspired by the atmosphere and lost in my own world - not wondering if the shop keeper is staring at my back.

I love the atmoshphere in those shops under the arches in Camden market, with inscense and atmoshperic drum n bass tracks.:j

fc123

I used to have a similar view about online sales...until my recent experience.

We are a friendly, tactile type of shop in a character area....have always run niche retail businesses...mind you, the london one during the 90's was very lifestyle, quite off the wall and unique in it's product at the beginning....cleaned up for a few years too until the raw concepts were plagiarised to death by the corps.

My Daughter hangs out on the shopping centre with mateys (and spend nothing)...then shops (spends money) online (??!)