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HMV about to enter adminastration!
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Toni Torino
2299 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 14:45
Squid Tempest wrote:
Toni Torino wrote:
Squid Tempest wrote:
I'm also worried about the death of town centres. Before long all that will be left will be cafes, and they'll go out of business coz no-one has any reason to visit the town centre anymore. Whole communities will die because of the shrinking of the retail sector.

Dark times.


Yeah, Kebab & chicken takeaways & charity shops.

Communities also die because people are either "upwardly mobile", moving to a larger property every few years - at least up to a couple of years ago - or no longer have long-term rental agreements, especially with the council.


Was thinking where I grew up there was a parade of shops either side of a reasonably busy road.

There were 3 butchers, 2 greengrocers, 3 grocers, 1 hardware shop, 1 chippy, 1 barbers, 2 hairdressers, 1 wool shop, 1 shoe shop, 1 bookies, 2 chemists (1 with sub post-office), 1 clothes shop (women & kids), 3 sweetshops/newsagents, 1 pub, 1 launderette, 1 dry cleaners. I wonder what's there now?


Tesco Metro, Starbucks and Help the Aged.



Just a gander on google streetview, July 2012 (It's tuesday afternoon, I'm bored...)

1 pet shop, 2 bookies, 1 cafe, 1 internet cafe, 2 sweetshops/newsagents, 1 dry cleaners, 2 empty shops, 2 hairdressers, 1 offie, 1 barbers, 1 tanning salon, 1 discount store, 1 Chinese takeaway, 1 laundrette, 1 fried chicken takeaway, 2 grocers (1 large co-op), 2 chemists (1 sub post office), 1 hardware shop, 1 chippy, 1 pub, 1 butchers.
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 14:48
Toni Torino wrote:
Squid Tempest wrote:
Toni Torino wrote:
Squid Tempest wrote:
I'm also worried about the death of town centres. Before long all that will be left will be cafes, and they'll go out of business coz no-one has any reason to visit the town centre anymore. Whole communities will die because of the shrinking of the retail sector.

Dark times.


Yeah, Kebab & chicken takeaways & charity shops.

Communities also die because people are either "upwardly mobile", moving to a larger property every few years - at least up to a couple of years ago - or no longer have long-term rental agreements, especially with the council.


Was thinking where I grew up there was a parade of shops either side of a reasonably busy road.

There were 3 butchers, 2 greengrocers, 3 grocers, 1 hardware shop, 1 chippy, 1 barbers, 2 hairdressers, 1 wool shop, 1 shoe shop, 1 bookies, 2 chemists (1 with sub post-office), 1 clothes shop (women & kids), 3 sweetshops/newsagents, 1 pub, 1 launderette, 1 dry cleaners. I wonder what's there now?


Tesco Metro, Starbucks and Help the Aged.



Just a gander on google streetview, July 2012 (It's tuesday afternoon, I'm bored...)

1 pet shop, 2 bookies, 1 cafe, 1 internet cafe, 2 sweetshops/newsagents, 1 dry cleaners, 2 empty shops, 2 hairdressers, 1 offie, 1 barbers, 1 tanning salon, 1 discount store, 1 Chinese takeaway, 1 laundrette, 1 fried chicken takeaway, 2 grocers (1 large co-op), 2 chemists (1 sub post office), 1 hardware shop, 1 chippy, 1 pub, 1 butchers.


No Partridge in a pear tree?

That sounds like loads of high-streets in the country now.
Toni Torino
2299 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 14:53
I forgot the bakers on the 1st list! Their bread was gorgeous, crusty rolls with soft doughy bread, bloomers with poppy seeds, cream cakes...
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 15:01
Toni Torino wrote:
I forgot the bakers on the 1st list! Their bread was gorgeous, crusty rolls with soft doughy bread, bloomers with poppy seeds, cream cakes...



It's all digi-baps and code-cobs now.
Kid Calamity
9041 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 15:11
Where chainstores failed to get a foothold - or considered it not really worthwhile, proper little family owned small traders have remained in business, for decades. Thankfully, Shrewsbury seemed to get the balance about right.

Sure we had a Virgin Records, an HMV, Starbucks and all that. Waterstones did their usual 'cuckoo-in-the-nest' thing to several independent bookshops nearby, too. But generally, they've not allowed Tesco and their like into town, thereby preserving some of the town's character. And for that the town planners can be applauded.

They're only small and still quite new, but we do have a vinyl only indie record shop, now.
Spaceship mark
Spaceship mark
1686 posts

Re: HMV - an alternative view
Jan 15, 2013, 15:36
When I worked for them we got a huge staff discount, an hour for lunch and, if you were a good boy like me, could probably sneak off for the odd fag. You even got a discount in Waterstones.
The two Christmasses I worked there everyone in my family got CDs, DVDs and books as presents...
You did have to do a lot of standing up. And a lot of peeling of and sticking on of stickers. That was a ballache.
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Re: HMV - an alternative view
Jan 15, 2013, 15:41
Spaceship mark wrote:
When I worked for them we got a huge staff discount, an hour for lunch and, if you were a good boy like me, could probably sneak off for the odd fag. You even got a discount in Waterstones.
The two Christmasses I worked there everyone in my family got CDs, DVDs and books as presents...
You did have to do a lot of standing up. And a lot of peeling of and sticking on of stickers. That was a ballache.


The irony being that sticking stickers on ones balls is reputedly quite good for ballache.
Spaceship mark
Spaceship mark
1686 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 15:44
Loughton has something like 8 hairdressers/barbers, 4 tanning salons, 3 furniture shops, 2 charity shops, Halfords, WHSmiths, Blockbusters (limping, with a gammy eye and severe arthritis), 1 sweet shop, a few banks and 350 cafe/restauants.
We're quite lucky in that there are only about three chicken shops. I don't know why but gosh they make me angry....anywhere in the East End seems to just be wall to wall shit-fried-chicken. Grr.
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 15:46
Well, obviously its a different picture in a major city centre. Here the independent traders; bars, records, fashion et al, are kind of herded into one sector of the city, in this instance, The Northern Quarter, which seems to be expanding its boundaries.
Actually, it's quite a vibrant area -some new places have opened - but I don't know how healthy business is on the whole.
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Re: HMV about to enter adminastration!
Jan 15, 2013, 15:56
Yeah, cafes and hairdressers everywhere. Soon a trip to town will just involve a latte and a demi-wave. With maybe some fried chicken after.

We'll all be wired on coffee with nice smelling hair and celebrating our new do's with a crispy chicken leg.

ps. Chicken Shops. Tee hee. That made me grin.
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