Retail Woes

[SGWilko]

With the demise of Comet last year, and the announcement today that Jessups was in administration from today, who will be the next big name to fall?

I also note that Virgin in France (megastores) is gone too now.....

How do physical retailers compete with online retailers?

[SGWilko]

Well, given the overheads related to a physical store, logic dictates that they'd 'have' to charge more than the online retailers.

However - I've used the Comet 'click and collect' in the past which beat their own store price!

Maybe the current lack of finance is resulting in a natural sorting of the 'chaff from the wheat'.

I see HMV as the next potential victim.

[BDunnell]

Maybe the current lack of finance is resulting in a natural sorting of the 'chaff from the wheat'.

Perhaps, but Jessops was very much the 'wheat' in the days before digital photography, which, I'd argue, is what's killed it.

More generally, I believe there needs to be serious consideration given on the part of central government, councils and communities as to the future of British high streets as more shops, inevitably, bite the dust. How are they going to look in 20 years' time? What can be done to lessen the negative impact in terms of empty shops, etc, rendering the centres of certain towns desperately sad-looking places to be?

[SGWilko]

digital photography, which, I'd argue, is what's killed it.

I quite agree. However, my wife used to work for a photographer, and the mind boggles as to how they survived before digital photography. The cost of film alone, and the lack of ability to view instantly the shot taken. I guess it has removed a lot of skill from the art of the photographer.

As the cost of food/living increases, the appeal of cheaper cuts of meat may well become popular again, and we may the see the rise of the local butcher again. But what else should be in the high street?

Chemist, Butcher, Greengrocer, Post Office, Bakery?

[SGWilko]

Comet also relied heavily on stupid people gullible enough to buy extended warranties on electrical products. I think people became wise as to their rights and Comet realised they had to rise prices to counter it. Unfortunately for them people were going to rivals (not just online) who didn't have a '10 mile radius' price match policy and would match online retailers.

True, but electrical goods are becoming throw away these days. You can get 32" tv's for under £200! The cost of a warranty over the 1year manufacturer guarantee would have to be small to make it appealing, as within a year the better spec stuff will have dropped in price.

DSG have survived by making Dixons online only, and amalgemating Currys with PCW. Plus they flogged Freeserve no doubt for a killing.....

[BDunnell]

Excellent topic, by the way.

How do physical retailers compete with online retailers?

My thoughts on this may turn into something of a ramble, but here goes. One primary means of doing this is, surely, to make one's premises somewhere people actively want to go. The small, mainly food-related, businesses I frequent in my area are all examples of this — nice surroundings, nice (but not unduly expensive) product ranges, truly friendly staff. Easier for smaller places to do, of course, but I believe there are wider lessons there. No way would I forsake any of these businesses for supermarkets, let alone online retailers, such is the extremely pleasant experience of doing my shopping there. Now I have a good selection of such places in my vicinity, I rarely ever use supermarkets for food purchases. I much enjoy going out to my local greengrocers, butcher, baker and deli — it's never a chore, they're nice shops to visit, the staff are welcoming, the produce is excellent and they're hardly any pricier (if at all) than anywhere else. And, of course, it's a good reason to get out of the house when working from home, something I believe will become increasingly common in the years ahead.

Some might argue that not every area can be expected, realistically, to sustain a range of good-quality independent outlets. This is probably true, but this is not to say that small shops will all be forced out. Far from it, in fact. I believe that, if they're clever at building up and sustaining a loyal clientele — critically, not an entirely aging one, for example through use of social media — smaller shops need not only survive, but also thrive. This even goes for those operating in sectors where competition comes from global online retailers like Amazon. You can't beat the joy of exploring a really good secondhand bookshop, for example. This is not something that can simply be replaced by online purchasing.

There are probably many more towns in the UK like that from which I originally hail — where the local populace has come mainly to consist of people on lower incomes, where supermarkets offer everything most people seem to want, and where almost all the good independent (as opposed to crap independent, of which there are still many, along with charity shops) outlets have closed or moved away, because there just aren't the more discerning shoppers to sustain them. I do hope this trend can be reversed, but it will be difficult, and I think it will need a more pro-active approach on the part of local authorities and the like.

[BDunnell]

I quite agree. However, my wife used to work for a photographer, and the mind boggles as to how they survived before digital photography. The cost of film alone, and the lack of ability to view instantly the shot taken.

As a photographer myself since before the digital era, I can safely say that it was just what people did.

Regarding Jessops specifically, it and its like were 'one-stop shops'. You went in to buy your film, your equipment, get your films processed and so forth. Now, I don't think I've been in a Jessops branch for, probably, close on a decade. My purchases of camera-related equipment have all been online (or from the physical outlets now run by some specialist online retailers, which also seem very popular and worthwhile). A different form of purchasing for a different form of hobby.

I wonder how much, by comparison with its other offerings, the demise of photo processing hurt Jessops' business?

I guess it has removed a lot of skill from the art of the photographer.

I don't necessarily agree with that. Digital photography has certainly allowed a lot more people to become, or think of themselves as, photographers, but the skills required are definitely just different, not less.

As the cost of food/living increases, the appeal of cheaper cuts of meat may well become popular again, and we may the see the rise of the local butcher again. But what else should be in the high street?

Chemist, Butcher, Greengrocer, Post Office, Bakery?

Depends on the high street, as I've said in my longer previous post.

[SGWilko]

I also see the re-emergence of the independants - and thus the rise of the high street - as an education issue. Not as in schooling, but education of the mindset. The personal touch of the local butcher, the community spirit if you like.

It is all too easy to do everything in the one supermarket - and maybe the 'lifes too short' mindset of the working family has led to the proliferation of the supermarket.

I remember when almost every high street had a Dewhusrt. The co-operative was also a stallwort - the department style store, where you could do your banking too.

Maybe it is nostalgia, and we should accept change for what it is?

[SGWilko]

I don't necessarily agree with that. Digital photography has certainly allowed a lot more people to become, or think of themselves as, photographers, but the skills required are definitely just different, not less.

OK, What I was getting at was that, when you were limited to the number of shots you could take due to film (knowing the lengthy process of developing the negs etc and cost etc) the skill of the photographer in getting the right shot with less presses of the shutter is now lost with the ability to take shot after shot with no real overhead other than storage.

[BDunnell]

I also see the re-emergence of the independants - and thus the rise of the high street - as an education issue. Not as in schooling, but education of the mindset. The personal touch of the local butcher, the community spirit if you like.

I do hope so. I also hope there's greater awareness relating to food in particular — the need not to use pesticides

It is all too easy to do everything in the one supermarket - and maybe the 'lifes too short' mindset of the working family has led to the proliferation of the supermarket.

I'm quite sure you're right, but I, for one, find the really big ones hugely stressful places in which to shop. There may also be no real choice in some areas.

I remember when almost every high street had a Dewhusrt. The co-operative was also a stallwort - the department style store, where you could do your banking too.

Maybe it is nostalgia, and we should accept change for what it is?

In those cases, yes, it is nostalgia — and I'm rather glad to see the back of them, since I view the likes of Dewhurst and the Co-Op entirely separately from the really good independent stores. There were, and in the case of the Co-Op are, many better outlets around, even amongst the supermarkets, let alone the independents. If the future of the high street is less quantity but more quality, I'm all for it. There are signs this may be the case.