Whats Killing The High Street

ejmaztec · 17-01-2013 02:58PM

Scanlas The 2nd wrote: »

I fukcing hate the term " The high street".

We should call it the "Irish city-town main shopping road/street" to avoid confusion with the UK.

Matt_Trakker · 17-01-2013 03:00PM

Such a god awful term to be using.

admiralofthefleet · 17-01-2013 03:01PM

you should see Arklow main street, its a ghost town. everybody shops in the bridgewater centre. i am involved in a petition to have the town council secure a derelict site on the main street to develop for the benefit of the street.

however the council are only interested in putting square pegs in round holes

Fratton Fred · 17-01-2013 03:06PM

N64 wrote: »

I think your talking a load of nonsense to be honest. I just checked my most recent amazon invoice and I was charged 23% Irish vat.

Got to love the AH economists

Amazon don't pay corporation tax, thanks to their offshore model, so they can work on much lower profit margins than a shop can.

VAT is irrelevant.

meoklmrk91 · 17-01-2013 03:07PM

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

The likes of HMV and blockbuster come under the heading of high street shops too

Yes they do but so does comet. JJB's, Woolworths etc. and that can't be blamed on pirating and torrents, frankly I think it's a pitiful excuse for retailers and business models that refuse to evolve instead on whining and failing. I don't think HMV is any great loss, especially seeing how they treat their staff and their customers.

Zascar · 17-01-2013 03:08PM

I prefer to buy from the little guy rather than the big stores if I can - so I buy a lot of stuff on ebay. Yes ebay get a commission but most of the sellers are small operations - I'd prefer someone with a small business to have my money than a big store. I will of course try to buy from an Irish seller as long as its not too much more expensive.

lucylu · 17-01-2013 03:08PM

The exchange rate from UK stores are making a killing on Irish Customers
along with Rent and Commercial rates are killing the high street

Take an example a double duvet cover (nothing spectacular) from Next on Next Directory in Ireland it is €41 + €5 delivery = €46
The same thing sold on the UK Next site is £30 + £3.99 delivery = £33.99

Current exchange rate is 33.99 GBP = 40.7508 Euro

average_runner · 17-01-2013 03:10PM

Shops need to go back to their roots where they treated customers like royality, prices have to at least match the web and just need a whole friendly vibe around it. Make it nice to go to town!

SunnyDub1 · 17-01-2013 03:12PM

I find that most items from the "high street" can be bought for a fraction of the price either on line or in a different store.

Take the likes of top shop & river island. You buy something like a pair of jeans in River island for €50 and you can get more or less the exact style of jeans in Penny's for €15.

johnr1 · 17-01-2013 03:12PM

MarkMc wrote: »

Solution - Put a roof on Grafton Street! Problem solved, recession over

Bullseye1 wrote: »

If its good enough for Fremont Street. Maybe we could also have a light show.

Swindon in England roofed the centre of the town about 25 years ago.

I shopped there 20 years ago and the place was flying. Dont know about now.

.

ITS_A_BADGER · 17-01-2013 03:13PM

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Yes they do but so does comet. JJB's, Woolworths etc. and that can't be blamed on pirating and torrents, frankly I think it's a pitiful excuse for retailers and business models that refuse to evolve instead on whining and failing. I don't think HMV is any great loss, especially seeing how they treat their staff and their customers.

Perhaps i should have made my first post a bit clearer then i was saying HMV and Blockbuster were going down the tubes because of piracy and torrents and when i included amazon i meant that they do goods much cheaper then in these high street retailers and they contribute to the loss of high street shops. i wasnt saying you can pirate stuff from amazon, thats just silly

mike65 · 17-01-2013 03:14PM

History

Beginning about 1,000 years ago the word "high" evolved into a term also referring to excellence or superior rank ("high sheriff", "high society"). "High" also applied to roads as they improved; "highway" emerged during the 17th century to replace "high street",[3] and "High Street" began to be used to describe thoroughfares with significant retail areas in villages and towns.

In recent years, although "High Street" is still used to refer to commerce shopping has begun to shift to purpose-built out-of-town shopping centres and supermarkets. However, compared to the United States town and city-centre shopping remains widespread. The town centre in many larger British towns combines a group of outdoor shopping streets (one or more of which may be pedestrianised), with an adjacent indoor shopping centre. The presence of chain stores on High Streets in settlements around the UK is part of the clone town theory, which has among its concerns the loss of "sociability" offered by traditional shopping. "The demise of the small shop would mean that people will not just be disadvantaged in their role as consumers but also as members of communities – the erosion of small shops is viewed as the erosion of the 'social glue' that binds communities together, entrenching social exclusion in the UK."[4]

Anyway nomenclature aside, whats killing the primary retail streets is a mix of prices and technology, the prices we all know about local council rates, parking costs, etc the other is the internet - there is a real squeeze now which is seeing off "beige" retailing - either you are cheap as chips and ubiquitous (Poundland/Lidl/Aldi etc) or you are upper end niche with quality presentation, products and service.

The rest - your HMVs, Blockbusters, Comets etc are doing nothing that cant be done better online now most people have the net at their fingertips and a credit card account.

ejmaztec · 17-01-2013 03:15PM

lucylu wrote: »

The exchange rate from UK stores are making a killing on Irish Customers
along with Rent and Commercial rates are killing the high street

Take an example a double duvet cover (nothing spectacular) from Next on Next Directory in Ireland it is €41 + €5 delivery = €46
The same thing sold on the UK Next site is £30 + £3.99 delivery = £33.99

Current exchange rate is 33.99 GBP = 40.7508 Euro

You can't ignore the fact that Irish owned stores charge more than would be charged in the UK for the same stuff.

17-01-2013 03:42PM

A sign of companies clearly unable to adapt to change. No? HMV, like come on.

wandatowell · 17-01-2013 03:56PM

Cheapest prices rains supreme for me.

I am being paid less and less every year for 4 years now so whoever has the cheapest prices gets my cash. Its as simple as.

Also people who work in shops (from my experiences) aren't great at times to deal with. I was buying a rather nice little hat and scarf for my girlfriend off a independent retailer in East Cork just before Christmas. The lady behind the counter was yapping on the phone to her friend giving her relationship advice and I was standing there for over a minute waiting to be acknowledged and served. Then the tutting I got when I asked does the shop provide a wrapping service.

You can **** right off high street if that's going to be your attitude.

Though after saying that I went to another shop down the street that was owned and operated by a husband and wife team and they were fantastic to deal with, polite, easy, relaxed and well, nice people. Been back since and will continue to do so.

RossFixxxed · 17-01-2013 04:14PM

Rude staff.
Expensive parking / transport.
Overpriced goods.
Cheaper online.
Cheaper up north (even with petrol costs)
Cheaper local alternatives.
Poor after sale service.
Stock on show but not available.
High rent on properties in city centre.
Greed.
Recession.
Digital distribution of certain media.
Internet ordering of goods, much cheaper and easier for many.
Torrent sites.
Aldi / Lidl / Dealz etc are far cheaper and easier to get to, free parking etc.
Same goods sometimes 60% of the price in UK than in Ireland. (I.e. more rip offs).

Ultimately if an alternative is cheaper / easier people will go for that. Driving into town in the insane traffic, going around and around a car park just to pay 2.90 an hour for the privilige etc is enough to put many off.

The pirates are providing a better service than many legitimate services (EA Origin I'm looking at you). The local centres are providing a better service, cheaper. I've found shops up north much friendlier and far, far cheaper...

gurramok · 17-01-2013 04:16PM

All the Main St retailers charge high prices no matter what business they are in, be it clothes or your local cinema. Expect more closures in the future as they won't\can't reduce their prices due to rates\rents etc and online retailers are competing. The sooner they reduce the prices things will pick up but then again transport costs for the consumer are a sticky problem in a recession.

OneArt · 17-01-2013 04:35PM

smash wrote: »

Why go to Grafton street when you can go to somewhere like Dundrum and be indoors? Then again, why go to Dundrum when you can be at home buying cheaper online?

Because it's nice to get out of the house and go for tea and a bun after.

I want a bun now.

ejmaztec · 17-01-2013 04:38PM

OneArt wrote: »

Because it's nice to get out of the house and go for tea and a bun after.

I want a bun now.

http://www.stickybunsonline.com/

hatrickpatrick · 17-01-2013 04:41PM

Because everything is so ridiculously overpriced.
Bit like when pub owners complain about nightclubs undercutting their business, without acknowledging that you can get a pint for 3 quid in a nightclub versus almost 6 in most pubs.

If you won't compete, you can't complain.

gbee · 17-01-2013 04:47PM

Clamping and tow away has torn the heart out of shopping, even though it's gone in some places, it's abuse legacy lives on.

Price can be an issue too, but being able to take your purchase home cannot be beat, so if its not too much more expensive it's nicer.

The whole town shopping experience has been ruined imo, parking, beggers, thieves ~ and I'm not talking about the stores.

squod · 17-01-2013 04:56PM

Think we should all be given a free pass for one day per year. It'll allow reasonable access to your nearest big town or city.

Imagine this. Driving your car into ''town''. Being able to browse, shop, have a cuppa tea, listen to some street performers/watch a movie or whatever. Then have a nice couple of pints and a nose bag then drive home again in your own car.

No rushing from point A to B. No waiting for a bus. No murderous rage while taking the luas, no fear of being clamped, fined or arrested for D&D.

Y'know. A normal day for normal people. Once a year. Too much to ask?

admiralofthefleet · 17-01-2013 05:02PM

RossFixxxed wrote: »

Rude staff.
Expensive parking / transport.
Overpriced goods.
Cheaper online.
Cheaper up north (even with petrol costs)
Cheaper local alternatives.
Poor after sale service.
Stock on show but not available.
High rent on properties in city centre.
Greed.
Recession.
Digital distribution of certain media.
Internet ordering of goods, much cheaper and easier for many.
Torrent sites.
Aldi / Lidl / Dealz etc are far cheaper and easier to get to, free parking etc.
Same goods sometimes 60% of the price in UK than in Ireland. (I.e. more rip offs).

Ultimately if an alternative is cheaper / easier people will go for that. Driving into town in the insane traffic, going around and around a car park just to pay 2.90 an hour for the privilige etc is enough to put many off.

The pirates are providing a better service than many legitimate services (EA Origin I'm looking at you). The local centres are providing a better service, cheaper. I've found shops up north much friendlier and far, far cheaper...

speaking from a retail background, i can assure you that 9 out of 10 customers are pig ignorant and treat retail staff like dogs on the street

seven_eleven · 17-01-2013 05:04PM

Ridiculous rent rates
Over priced goods
Poor selection of goods
Parking
Having to leave the house
Weather
Time consuming

Lil' Smiler · 17-01-2013 05:10PM

shopping online is more convenient for me, i work 6 days a week, sometimes 7 so it's way easier.

Where To · 17-01-2013 05:15PM

Why should I spend my money in a bricks and mortar shop where the staff don't know or care about the product they are selling? I spend my money where I get proper customer service.

RossFixxxed · 17-01-2013 05:24PM

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

speaking from a retail background, i can assure you that 9 out of 10 customers are pig ignorant and treat retail staff like dogs on the street

I worked in retail years ago and yeah the standard from the public is absolutely appaling. There are a ton of entitled swines out there trying to make your job miserable.

I'm not having a pop at retail staff in general, but it is ONE reason SOME shops will fail. I won't ever go back to places where the staff were rude or unpleasant. I appreciate the crap you guys deal with, don't take it out on me, I go out of my way to be nice and I expect a common courtesy, or at least an absence of rudeness.

Once again: one small reason, for certain retailers and definitely NOT meant as a blanket statement as it seemed in my post. Sorry about that!

Wibbs · 17-01-2013 05:24PM

Godzilla.

mikom · 17-01-2013 05:27PM

The more shops that close, the more room for the cannabis cafes of the future.
Now that's what I call a high street.......

Dostoevsky · 17-01-2013 05:37PM

tajd wrote: »

Whats Killing The High Street

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/what-really-killed-hmv-jessops-and-blockbuster-180416602.html

"high street" followed by link to British article. Should this not be in the British Economy forum, or some such thing?

PS: I was on 'High Street' in Dublin today and it was very much alive. Do you mean the British "high street" (common noun)? If so, at least please make that clear.

Whats Killing The High Street

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