Future british high streets

itboffin

I'm an ecommerce architect for one the largest such companies in the world, a large number of high profile UK and some US brands use us, I can tell you now online business has never been better, but I do sometimes wonder myself if we're killing the high street, then after speaking to those customers in the know "the ladies" I dont think we are, times are a changing and most people want the best prices delivered FOC at their convenience to their own homes where their can without any sales pressure make their own choices and send back what they dont want.

Sounds different I know, but think about it, less storefront locations and staff means lower overheads which reduce cost of sale which in turn should make its way to the consumer, this creates jobs in distribution, support etc which will make up for the high street losses.

Who know's if we take the chain store outlets off the high street we might see a return to local stores for those things you dont need to buy online.

overall i think its far less evil that my last job where I used to kill kittens :twisted:

proto

What I don't understand is why landlords are unable to accept that the value of their high street properties is falling (in some areas) and therefore accept that rental incomes from their properties has to fall. Instead they would rather leave the shops empty. It makes no sense. Similarly with council business rates. They are cripplingly expensive, choking off enterprise.
Shop keeping ought to be the easiest thing in the world. Buy stock, flog it for more than you paid and make a profit, which hopefully covers the rent and your living expenses. If rents and rates were realistic the high street could be thriving with small independent retailers. Grocers, greengrocers, clothes, shoes, electrical goods etc might make a come back.

itboffin

proto wrote:

What I don't understand is why landlords are unable to accept that the value of their high street properties is falling (in some areas) and therefore accept that rental incomes from their properties has to fall. Instead they would rather leave the shops empty. It makes no sense. Similarly with council business rates. They are cripplingly expensive, choking off enterprise.
Shop keeping ought to be the easiest thing in the world. Buy stock, flog it for more than you paid and make a profit, which hopefully covers the rent and your living expenses. If rents and rates were realistic the high street could be thriving with small independent retailers. Grocers, greengrocers, clothes, shoes, electrical goods etc might make a come back.

I suspect many of the landlords are still under the impression that this is just a dip and not a sea change, eventually they will have to realise they'll need to take what the market is offering, then we might just see a return of the local high street.

VTech

I think your mistaken as there are plenty of landlords offering low and even free rents to get the premed is open as landlords must pay rates even in closed business premesis.
Many have the premesis as a pension fund so every year they are empty, the pension fund withers away. I know people will say "so what" but if people have invested into something that is infact their pension, it's a terrible thing to see them fail as self provision is vital to economies.

nevman

Wine shops will be popular in the future.

VTech

nevman wrote:

Wine shops will be popular in the future.

They are now, we call them "Off Licences"