Traditional Markets

0

A pilot project by Tesco to run in-store hair and beauty salons has been described by small-business groups as a further threat to independent retailers, many who are already struggling to survive.

The project will see the ‘Regis Salons’ chain offering “luxury at great Tesco prices” in Tesco Extra  stores in eight towns and cities in England and Wales.

Concern is being expressed by trade bodies that the development could force further small shop closures on our High Street with customers being attracted away from their traditional hair and beauty treatment providers.

The hair and beauty sector has to date avoided facing the challenges created by the continuing development of product and service diversity being driven by the supermarket chains  and, for some, it has been surprising that the hair and beauty sector has not been targeted previously.

For more information click here.

For an up to date review of the impact of the new in store facility in Horwich read the article carried in The Bolton News on the 29th October

 

Regis Salons are part of the Regis Corporation which owns and operates over 400 salons in the United Kingdom, including brands such as Regis, Supercuts and Sassoon Salon.

In addition, Regis maintains an ownership interest in Provalliance, which operates salons primarily in Europe, under the brands of Jean Louis David, Franck Provost and Saint Algue.

0

Whilst Mary Portas is commissioned by No.10 to ponder over what it is that makes our Towns vibrant, economically active and productive trading centres some of us are out their actually helping to address the issues that will undoubtedly surface in Mary’s report.

It did not seem that long ago that there were complaints about the number of Estate Agents entering the High Street, now we are seeing planners allowing change of use from retail to the professional services sector providing an increasing level of High Street presence for Accountants, Solicitors, Financial Advisors etc. Many do not fit well in a retail environment and can dramatically alter the perception of what a town has to offer.

Many of the more locally based Charity Shops within the 9,000 estimated to be operating nationally are now feeling the squeeze as the slick national brands divert opportunity away from the smaller operators.  Now there is not is there just competition for business but  competition for donated stock as well.

Having advised many hundreds of retail/high street businesses, and visited both vibrant and far less than vibrant towns across the Country in the course of my work I have developed an understanding of what makes some towns work more effectively than others, what makes  some of our High Streets full of life and , unfortunately, what can lead to their demise.

I will be presenting the first of my overviews of what makes a town vibrant at the Cheshire East Sustainable Towns Forum  on 1st November and am in the process of writing an article for a national trade magazine on the same issue.

Cheshire East Sustainable Towns Forum Flyer

 

 

0

Public toilets are not always available where or when you need them, there is often a queue at the ladies, and facilities for disabled people, children and for changing babies are not always adequate.

However, public toilet provision is at the discretion of local authorities, and there is currently no legal requirement for Councils to provide any toilets at all. In fact 40% of public toilets have closed in the last ten years. The campaign group ‘We need the Loo’, a joint venture between the Women’s Design Service, the British Toilet Association and the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering has therefore launched an online petition to ask the Government to make adequate public toilet provision a legal requirement.

They are asking for adequate toilet facilities for everybody, including men, women, children, babies and disabled people.

If you would like to play your part in ensuring we have public toilets as part of more sustainable, comfortable and inclusive communities, please publicise this petition. It has its own Facebook page, and the petition can be found by searching for public toilets on the government’s e-petition web site, or by using this link –  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15258

Well maintained, well equipped, clean and easily accessible toilets can make a real contribution to how customers use our towns – a way has to be found to improve, not remove, public toilet provision.

epetition flyer – we need the loo

epetition press release

0

1st July has seen the adoption of our new logo developed for us by Cypher Digital in Milnthorpe.

The refreshing style reflects our commitment to the high street and our role advising, motivating, mentoring and supporting to the needs of the independent retail sector.

Working either directly with private clients or reaching greater sections of the retail community through business or economic development initiatives being delivered thorough  local councils we develop and deliver bespoke programmes individually orienated toward meeting the need of the particular trading environment or retail sector involved.

0

TV Retail ‘Guru’ Mary Portas has today been asked by David Cameron to come up with a plan to help turn around the fortunes of our ailing High Streets.

Central to the review – ordered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – is the worrying level of sales in town centres, which have dramatically under-performed other locations.

Government figures show that between 2005 and 2010, town-centre sales grew by a paltry 1.5%, while those in out of town shopping centres grew 11.5% and non-store (mail order and internet) soared by 71.5%.

As our ‘Shop Doctor’ knows only too well there will be no simple solutions as the picture across the country is extremely complex and compounded by a range of issues that range from the costs associated with operating on the High Street , the state of the local economy, customer demographic and how supermarkets and out of town retail activities interface with the towns themselves.

Underlying this is the poor condition of many of our High Street environments, parking charges and accessibility and the individual presentation of the shops within them – and then there are the challenges of the varying levels of customer service experiences and customer perception (or misperception) of what it actually costs to shop in the High Street.

Read more about this issue from Retail Gazette here