40 stores to close... (part 4)

[Boro Boy]

At last, a high street success story: https://www.business-live.co.uk/retail- ... e-16800667

[Boro Boy]

I now hear Eddie Stobart have problems, this however is noted as accounting inaccuracies and has lead to their shares being currently suspended...!!!

[Chadwick]

I now hear Eddie Stobart have problems, this however is noted as accounting inaccuracies and has lead to their shares being currently suspended...!!!

Yes, it's dodgy accounting (not necessarily illegal, but not completely right). Incoming CFO picked it up a few months ago.
Not a result of high street suffering.

[Richard Frost]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49349703 An interesting article.

I really do fail to see why people continue to call this a crisis (Perhaps because its words like that, that create headlines.) The High Street like every other part of society is evolving and will continue to do so. Gone are the days when we had family businesses that needed to make enough to look after their family on. Nowadays we have big corporates that need to make enough to satisfy CEO's on exorbitant salaries and shareholders that demand bigger profits year on year.

[pakefield]

And high business rates plus often high rents that were agreed to when there was less online and more instore shopping

[pabenny]

Nowadays we have big corporates [with] shareholders that demand bigger profits year on year.

And those shareholders are the likes of you and me, through our private or company pensions.

[Richard Frost]

Nowadays we have big corporates [with] shareholders that demand bigger profits year on year.

And those shareholders are the likes of you and me, through our private or company pensions.

I do not disagree and make no comment on whether it is right or wrong. But the fact remains that they are there and demand better and bigger profits/performance year on year. Whereas historically the High Street was run mainly by family businesses that did not have that type of overhead.

[AAAlphaThunder]

Nowadays we have big corporates [with] shareholders that demand bigger profits year on year.

And those shareholders are the likes of you and me, through our private or company pensions.

I do not disagree and make no comment on whether it is right or wrong. But the fact remains that they are there and demand better and bigger profits/performance year on year. Whereas historically the High Street was run mainly by family businesses that did not have that type of overhead.

The world has changed in favour of big business.

[Constantine]

..... Whereas historically the High Street was run mainly by family businesses...

When exactly?

Today's high street is clearly not run by family businesses. I can't recall a time when it was mainly run by family businesses. WH Smith's dates back to 1848, John Lewis dates back to 1864. I suspect chain stores of various kinds dominated the high street by the 1930s.

Besides all big businesses started off as small family businesses, and got to be big by being good at what they do. I'd have thought that was a good thing.

that did not have that type of overhead.

What type of overhead?

[Constantine]

....

The world has changed in favour of big business.

Technology has changed the retail landscape.

To become even a national b&m retailer it takes years of patiently building up your store portfolio. Online all you need is a website and a distribution centre. And like Amazon, you can go global with just a few websites.

But obviously, some previously big retailers have died as a result. Whilst some small retailers have prospered.