We have to stop the rot in Town C'trs.

Pobby

I had a shop for many years also. Did very well at times was always a pain in the b.... .Loads of hassle. Most shop owners I know now keep hearing the same thing. " I`ve got a printout here of an XYZ, it`s off the internet, can you match the price? "

baby_boomer

Torquay - 20% of shops are shut - informative BBC video on "Ghost Town Britain"

And there's worse to come. Don't forget we've not had a recession in 15 years.

Even the £1 shops have passed on the VAT cut! There's little that be done, short of banning internet shopping. And I know one businessman who is doing a good trade in arranging displays in vacant shop windows - paid for by a combination of the Council and adjoining shops.

Pobby

I can`t stress how important internet trading has become. How many shops now have become the unpaid show rooms for the internet companies. Some suppliers in my sector are refusing to supply anyone without a shop front. So I rent a back street cheapo shop and it`s job done.The shop is the front for the internet business.

dopester

bo_drinker wrote: »

But will anyone take any notice

Save Our High Streets: We have to stop the rot in town centres
By Stephen Alambritis Federation Of Small Businesses 26/03/2009


Britain is rapidly losing its label as a nation of shopkeepers as the worst economic crisis in 60 years ravages the high street.
Some 200 stores a day have shut since January and there could be 135,000 boarded up by the end of the year.

Don't worry. Someone could find an opportunity.. for example, they could buy one of those shops. You could buy the shop at a cheaper prices than it would have cost before, so that must make it a bargain. Sell stuff people need to buy.

Sorry DD. You get my point. I must have missed this thread in March but have just discovered it during a search. Going to bump it back up for you.

dopester

The photo of shops used in the BBC report is from Margate.

Even Ben on last night's `The Apprentice` task of re-branding Margate was commenting on all the boarded-up shops.


http://www.pearsongore.co.uk/ComDetails.aspx?id=1320

bo_drinker

Pobby wrote: »

I can`t stress how important internet trading has become. How many shops now have become the unpaid show rooms for the internet companies. Some suppliers in my sector are refusing to supply anyone without a shop front. So I rent a back street cheapo shop and it`s job done.The shop is the front for the internet business.

I am researching a business due to having to diversify and in the my sector it is the same with many suppliers, you would have thought the suppliers would be glad of the business.
Also supplying to a business with low overheads would have been a safer bet

Pennywise

bo_drinker wrote: »

I am researching a business due to having to diversify and in the my sector it is the same with many suppliers, you would have thought the suppliers would be glad of the business.
Also supplying to a business with low overheads would have been a safer bet

You have to look at the bigger picture - it's in the suppliers' interests to have outlets where the public can view, touch, explore, and ask questions about their products. The suppliers have to keep an optimum number of outlets open for this to be possible. If there was a free for all and internet sites could buy goods on the same terms as shops, but could sell them cheaper online, the shops would go out of business and the supplier's future would then also be in doubt. Would you buy something online that you couldn't inspect in person, when a competitors product was available in a shop to check out? The only alternative is to subsidise shops to enable them to stay in business, which also happens for those suppliers who do freely sell to internet-only sites. But then of course, you have the internet retailers whingeing that they have to pay more than the shops, or don't get retro-discounts or merchandising support packages or whatever. The optimum situation is to have both online and shops but somewhere along the line, there has to be differential to enable them to compete when their overhead structures are so different.