[Closed] High Street january dead pool...

This is one thing I really like about Italy.

95% of all shops are independent non chain stores. you go into a town centre and you are lucky/unlucky to see a chain store.

Nah C_G town used to get unbearable. I have to say though I find people's attitudes strange, first we bang on about being in so much debt everyone needs to take stock and cut back then when we do we get told to get spending as our High street 'culture' is disappearing and it's all our fault because we aren't the consumerist greedy pigs lining fat cats pockets like we once were. It's a nightmare now and I really feel for those losing their jobs but this is just the ending of the way things are, new things will come and replace it soon. I'm probably way off the mark but that's just what I think.

And when I say 'people' I mostly mean either people trying to flog us stuff and politicians not you lot 😀 fwiw my local butchers is alwAys heaving and sold out of all stock by 4 pm every day

Watch out for Tesco and Asda, if they can sell your product better/cheaper they will.

Well no business is going to survive if it sells product worse and more expensive! I agree that some balance is required but retailers and town planners/councils really have to be imaginative. Our lives will be poorer if retailing is monopolised and if it is poor quality.

In my village/small town there was a big petition to save the "historic" village bookshop from Ottakers (?) and then on-line. I tried to have sympathy but everytime I went in, I met nice people with knowledge but no stock. We can get it in a few days at 2-3x the price of Amazon. Sorry, but that doesn't work and it didn't - the shop closed.

But I really fear for book retailing. E-books could and are completely decimating the traditional business model.

Nick, yes you are right. I was confusing it with Ottokars which was better and was bought out by waterstones...

They used to have more local independence with the shop manager deciding what to stock, etc. Apparently it's all laid down 'from above'.

Mind you it's not the model to challenge amazon though is it...

Looks like HMV is about to have the last rights administered

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16241326 ]Thank you and goodnight[/url]

Blacks are going under because they're not very good. They're no cheaper than the better quality stores like Cotswold but the quality isn't as good and the staff know less. Simple.
High Streets are suffering in part because we, the customer, prefer the convenience and pricing of the supermarkets. Simple. Our choice too and if we don't like it we just have to stop shopping at the supermarket.

And actually there's a more important bigger picture. Most of the growth in UK retail over the last decade came from debt - the companies used debt to open new stores and we used debt to buy more stuff than we needed. All that's happening now is a correction back to something more sustainable and sensible. We're buying less stuff, getting a sense of perspective back about what's important and as a result, retailers will close down.
Personally I think that's good. We lost the plot getting so focussed on buying 'stuff'

This. All over.

I like the supermarket because:

* I can park near to the shopping area for free
* I can push the trolley between the "shops"
* I don't have to contend with traffic
* There is a single point of sale.

I dislike:
* the lack of competition
* few specialisms
* no expert sales staff

Perhaps the next evolution is for Tesco to lease the "High Street" from town councils, and to organize it to have the same benefits as shopping in a supermarket.

Surely though it is not all doom and gloom, there are some retailers doing well(or as well as can be excpected in a contracted economy) I'd imagine, John Lewis, M&S. Places where service is good and the staff are friendly?

Something I spotted recently which reminds me of the local 'bubble' of wealth we reportedly live in, VW have given up some lot space to open Cambridge Bentley. I'm not likley to be shpping there anytime soon though, so no need to flame me 😉

It was better for the landlord to have an empty premises with a notional rentable value of, say £3000pm, than an occupied premises bringing in £2000pm.

Can someone explain this?

I personally would rather have £24K a year coming in than spend £10K maintaining an empty property.

Because the mortgage that the landlord has for the property is assessed on a rentable value of £3000pm (as he may have taken a big mortgage out when everything was rosy and banks were throwing cash at anyone who said please). If he takes £2000pm he's accepting that the figure of £3000pm is too high, and the £2000 may not be a sufficient rentable value to support the mortgage at a time when banks are increasingly itchy about the credit that they give. He therefore runs the risk of them foreclosing.

So it's better to have an empty unit where he [i]might[/i] get £3000, than a full one where he definitely won't.

In-sane.

buzz-lightyear - Member
I like the supermarket because:

* I can park near to the shopping area for free
* I can push the trolley between the "shops"
* I don't have to contend with traffic
* There is a single point of sale.

I dislike:
* the lack of competition
* few specialisms
* no expert sales staff

Perhaps the next evolution is for Tesco to lease the "High Street" from town councils, and to organize it to have the same benefits as shopping in a supermarket.

Don't morrisons try and push this idea in their marketing (Don't shop there so can't tell you about it in practice).

Things I like about supermarkets also include the more shopper friendly opening hours. The majority (?) of people in this country work 9-5 or similar. These are the people who have spending money. I have a choice of shopping on saturday morning or one evening during the week. I like to spend my sturdays doing thing like riding bikes not shopping, so I go to the supermarket at 8pm midweek.

I would love to be able to get all my stuff locally produced, have fresh bread by someone who is a skilled baker or meat from a good farm and a skilled butcher and my veg from a green grocer. In reality I value other things more highly so I don't, I go to Sainsbury's which is on the same street as all these shops but open when all these other shops aren't and It's quicker with a single point of sale and having everything close together.

Supermarkets exist and thrive because "we" prefer to shop there...

I would love to be able to get all my stuff locally produced, have fresh bread by someone who is a skilled baker or meat from a good farm and a skilled butcher and my veg from a green grocer.

I think there's an opening for a local supermarket. A one-stop-shop selling produce from local butchers, bakers and greengrocers but all under one roof. With home delivery and online shopping too.

I think there's an opening for a local supermarket. A one-stop-shop selling produce from local butchers, bakers and greengrocers but all under one roof.

[url= http://www.booths.co.uk/ ]A bit like this[/url]

Soon available darn saaaaaaaarf apparently. Or south-er anyway

Booths is still very supermarket-y. I mean a shop selling meat from that butcher and bread from that baker. Basically, just replicating local shops but with longer opening hours.

I still don't get why shops close at 5pm on a weekday.

As miketually says, most people work in the day so have to get things in the evening. If Tesco is open and the local bakers isn't guess where I go. There are even some stores that close at lunch time which is just plain stupid.

It's something that infuriates me with LBS's as well. I need some chain lube before I go for my next ride tomorrow night. I don't have an LBS within walking distance of the office. I do however have one near to my house which will not be open at 7:30pm tonight. Halford is open though. I'll let you work out the rest...

Surely though it is not all doom and gloom, there are some retailers doing well

Thats a very valid point, good retailers are doing well. Maybe we are more descerning consumers during a recesion.

Maybe we are more discerning consumers during a recession.

We are indeedy. This place is booming:

[img] [/img]

as is:

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

😀

[i]I still don't get why shops close at 5pm on a weekday[/i]

Thing is, I was in Germany a bit over the summer. Shops there all close at 5-ish and, get this, they are all closed on a Sunday! I mean, can you imagine? Plus, loads of people knock off at lunchtime on a Friday.

And they all still manage to buy everything that they need to and indeed have the strongest economy in Europe (if not the world).

How do they do it? Answers on a postcard please...

Binners, you are correct yet I still agree with itnava.

When times are heard we will either buy cheap (Primark, Matalan) or buy premium to treat ourselves (M&S, John Lewis) and/or feel like we are getting a nicer shopping experience. What we won't do is buy Ok stuff at near to premium prices.

I still don't get why shops close at 5pm on a weekday.

Partly because they could be self-sustaining on those hours. Partly because communities weren't so fragmented, and there was a period when women didn't work as much. Partly because that was the expectation. Partly because customers didn't *need* something that night.

Napolean famously described us as a nation of shopkeepers. And he'd be right. We like to have a little shop selling us little things.

Then, when we weren't all looking, some people got so good at that we found ourselves with big shops selling us lots of stuff and we thought we had "choice".

How wrong we were.

IHN, that is Germany, in the UK we have a culture of working long hours and not taking lunch. We also have a pile of out of town stores that are open all hours. If the High Street wants to compete they need to look at why people go else where and I am sure opening hours are one of those.

I agree with you lunge. It seems to be either end of the spectrum doing well.

I'd be interested to see how Tesco's and Sainsbury's "Best/Taste the Difference" ranges are selling nowadays? Their sales must have nose-dived

Thing is, I was in Germany a bit over the summer. Shops there all close at 5-ish and, get this, they are all closed on a Sunday!

German is an odd one because, unlike Britain, the consumers don't actually consume that much.

All the talk of the German economy is because it's parsimonious public don't spend, and so its manufacturers are forced to export.

Brits like to spend, but are apparently less choosy.

EDIT:

If the High Street wants to compete they need to look at why people go else where and I am sure opening hours are one of those.

It's slightly wrong end of the telescope, as we need to recall the reasons for late night opening - largely because of the planning concessions granted to enable these places to be built to begin with (opening hours being one of them).

Surely there are enough people on this thread to remember the political and local battles over Sunday opening hours? Many of the naysayers have been proved right.

So, leaving aside how we got here, we need to decide where to go next: we could ask the high street to behave like a large out of town retailer, but unless everyone on a high street can offer everything we value in a shopping centre/retail park and still run a business, how will that get better?

I fear that, as a nation, we have got exactly what we deserve.

Binners, that range is doing well apparently. Same principle as the shops in general, we are either buying the value range or the premium range, just not the standard middle of the road products.

Aaaaaah. All becomes clear. I did see that the biggest increase in sales in supermarkets is branded products that are on offer

[i]IHN, that is Germany, in the UK we have a culture of working long hours and not taking lunch[/i]

That's kind of my point. They don't have that culture, yet they have a much stronger economy than ours and the time to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

And because we work such ridiculous hours, we feel that other time must be kept to a minimum, so we want all our stuff in one out-of-town place so we have time to get it on a Sunday, because that's the only day free to do it, but that means that a lot of people actually work Sunday too to man those places, so they want late openings so they can get their stuff, etc etc...

I liked Germany.

[i]I'd be interested to see how Tesco's and Sainsbury's "Best/Taste the Difference" ranges are selling nowadays? Their sales must have nose-dived [/i]

I bet they're doing okay, especially the 'Two Courses for a Tenner' type stuff. I know I've had a few of those with the little lady instead of going out for a meal.

I still don't get why shops close at 5pm on a weekday

This.

My wife's from Brazil. After 2 years in the UK she still can't understand why the majority of businesses don't open until 9 & are closed by 5/5:30. She thinks the British are just lazy 🙂 ... in Brazil, stuff generally opens 7:7:30 and stays open 'til late evening.

Perhaps UK businesses need to re-think things like opening hours to encourage custome (although they'll never be as convenient as sitting on your sofa clicking a mouse).

The other thing my wife has noticed is the general level of customer service in the UK - i.e. pretty poor overall.

Businesses here generally seem to want to get away with the bare minimum, almost like we should feel privileged enough just to be consdered a customer.

E.g. the greetings card shop we used a few months back: nobody else in the shop, assistant sat behind the counter doing ab-so-lut-ely nothing, we bought some wrapping paper & my wife asks the ASSistant if she can wrap the present - "sorry we don't do wrapping" 🙄 .. well, thanks for your help ... they closed down shortly after. not at all surprised. blimmin useless.

I've been shopping in Brazil where places have re-opened their doors if they spot you arriving after 'closing time', and people actually seem to want to help rather than making you feel like you're inconveniencing them by daring to use their shop ...

The Value and Premium thing is something I have found myself doing. I now do my main shop in Aldi for about 60% of the cost if I were to do it in Sainsbury's/Tesco. This means I have a bit spare in the pot for a nice bottle of wine and some good meat rather than supermarket stuff.

Booths is great, especially the beer selection, wish they would open one in Shrewsbury, nearest is Knutsford.

She thinks the British are just lazy

I think she's right. Although we'll instantly start bleating about how much time we have to spend at work (not where I am - place is deserted by 5.05).

Or, as my father in law (a Sunderland-er - similar to Sao Paolo..) would put it: self-entitlement.

And I think he's right too.

Support your local shop. Busy villages are good for your house price.
Anyone who loves supermarkets are welcome to go to my local Tesco and say how much you enjoy the experience. Inbred chavs stocking up on crisps and swearing at each other while they do it.
That's after they have had a bust up in the carpark as they couldn't park right next to the door and have had to walk 30 yards.

Soon the big boys will own everything and YOU will work there for minimum wage. Sure their stuff may be cheap but just how do you think you can buy a pair of jeans for £4.
Pay more keep your right to have a choice.

She thinks the British are just lazy

I think she's right.

I agree.

I include myself in that too. The British approach to the working day is "what's the least that I can get away with before I can go home?". The Germans' seems to be "what can we get done in the time?"

lol @ hora

I saw a broken light fitting in Tesco. 100% guarenteed they'll be bust tomorrow.

good for your house price.

TBH looking at news feeds the top 3 for the crunch next year if not sooner are:

HMV - Game - Comet

All 3 have heavy losses and have made poor business decisions and have not moved with the times, although HMV Online has made some profit, HMV or whatever the top company is called for them is considering selling off the Online business as its the most profitable of the company.

Game went under before between the after the original PS and N64 era died and we have a lull between consoles this killed Game off in the UK, current age of digital download will eventually see these 2 dinosaurs off the highstreet.

As for the british being lazy, i don't think its that its more we want to spend time with family and friends, i work in retail and its not easy, we have to work to high targets and put in 12 hrs a day but only paid for 7.5, i know time management and all that, but its tough it really is, we have waste targets, availability, sales etc, try doing that in an ethnic built up area and we have a supermarket in the middle, i can't remember the last time work was as tough as it is now.

I do think we are open too much, the store i work in only shuts for 18hrs a week the rest of the week its open, thats only due to sunday trading law. Its crap and thats the only word for it, someone should have the balls to go actually we are going to shut all shops over 3,000 sq ft on a sunday, give these sunday workers time at home.

My dad has a theory that the online shopping will kill of the high street, there'll be a crap couple of years and then small, local shops will start to reappear in town centres. I hope he's right.

Anotherdeadhero try a better analogy. Visit some comet stores and sadly the carpet etc abit tired.

Remember hmv used to have listening stations so you could listen/try before buying. Removed them so your in there, notice a CD...would you take the risk or would you go home, listen samples online then click order?

How many of us have bought a 12quid CD and thought 'this is shit'? You tend to get stung only once...

So did the likes of hmv help condition buyers out of their stores? Those that grazed, increasing valuable footfall?

Plus why should I pay circa 4quid for a brief parking window in central Manchester 8-8 7days a week. Bye!

I've bought a couple of times from amazon but do they pay UK taxes? I stopped shopping with moonpig and play.com for this reason.

La Senza look to have gone tits-up first!

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16322404 ]La Senza[/url]

Hawkins bazaar...

who?

Hawkins Bizar sells novelty toys to fools and kids,

A big jeans company has gone bust as well,

Yep, am expecting Mrs S to have a short term rush of buying some more of their cheap sh1te, then that'll fade into oblivion!

Can we work on candle makers and places like Lush next? 8)

Small local shops - opening hours and working patterns. This.

When I was a lad, mum stayed at home. And shopped locally. The local bakers was really good, and the bread was really nice.

Fast forward a few years, and I find myself back living in town. A few local shops survive (a pale shadow of what I remember from childhood though). One survivor is the local bakers.

While first and then second child were still little(r) we were regularly treated to the locally made, and really quite yummy, bread from said bakery.

Kids are now a little bigger. Mrs edlong is now at work most of the week. The bread now comes from Sainsburys, because they are open when we are available to buy bread, and the local shop isn't. Bummer.

My two penneth worth on this topic.
I really dont like shopping anyway so on line is very easy when you know you need. I assume it is cheaper but I don't really compare with the high street as I try not to venture to them.
The long term problem could be that a lot (possibly the majority) of the large shopping centres are owned by pension funds. So fast forward ten years and the Trafford centre is empty of retailers. Do you just go there for the cinema shoes and coffee? Unlikely and that won't support the place so that investment risk hasn't paid off so the fund takes a hit felt by the private pension holders, me n thee. Gloomy times indeed.
On the flip side, it was packed near work in birstall this week with the cinema, various chain restaurants and a few big retailers. I expect it will quieten off by the end of jan tho.

The trend towards the out-of-town retail parks (all controlled by one of the big supermarkets) is the main issue for me. I'd actually like to shop in a proper butchers but I'm not driving 5 miles to one when I'm doing the rest of my shopping in the local Tesco retail park - and ofc Tesco won't allow a butcher's there even if one wanted to set up.

I'd second Game failing soon to, not that I'll lose any sleep over it as the staff I've come across are pretty useless and arrogant. I'd guess a big name jewellers can't be far off failing either. Although I noticed a new shop opened up for those Pandora things, how can enough people afford that stuff to warrant a dedicated shop?

crappy mouse button :p

I prefer online shopping for most of my consumerism, i really don't want to pay £4-£6 to park the car (couldn't leave my bike it'd get nicked) and then be ignored or spoken to rudely by a shop assistant on minimum wage who doesn't give a crap.

I use supermarkets but i'm fortunate enought to live in a smallish village with good thriving shops such and have a good butchers, green grocers and deli and also farms selling eggs and other bits.

I have the best of both worlds really, and i don't see me missing many of the high street retailers that are going under, most of the ones that are going under are going under for a reason, i.e. they're crap.

did all our christmass shopping ( 2 adults 2 kids full complement of grand parents aunts uncles etc) online with the exception of food and mrs tts fav perfume.. why would i PAY to drive into Rochdale. PAY to park the car in a carpark ( derelict former mill) negotiate the abandoned highstreet avoiding the telephone and second shops (even the mac donalds has closed!1) then run the guantlet of pickpockets muggers and fone and sky salesmen.. hand over a cash premium for stuff that we didnt want because they didnt have what we did want..
when the alternative is answering the door to a nice man in a van with a brown box under his arm..

Will disagree with one of the above statements that Tesco don't allow butchers on there sites, big retail parks etc..

Inner city Birmingham stores, Hodge Hill, Aston Lane and Springhill, all built in the last 5 years have a separate company runnning the butchers counter, unfortantley they are ran by the National Halal guys, but they have a great reputation and are taking over meat counters across the country in both Tesco and Asda, not your local butchers and no pork, and there methods may disagree with our western ethics but they are successful for all types of customers.

I had to queue out of the door and down the road a bit for our local butchers on Friday before Christmas. It is very good though.

High street looked gloomy amid the supposed post Christmas sales - many people, few with bags and not much tempting me to part with cash while I was out and about.

Did buy a present for a friends birthday from an indie retailer though, wasn't cheap though so maybe I should have looked for it online!

I actively avoid going into town to shop and buy things. I used to hate going shopping and trying on clothes etc. I enjoy shopping now with my feet up, beer in hand and one click and my goods arrive the next day. Once the next generation grow up ingrained with shopping online, high street is dead. All the spare space will be handy for the housing problem.

Blacks very nearly gone..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16437888

But I expect the prepack admin is just debt and unprofitable site dumping for a new owner. Whoever the new owner is, they are going to have a job getting Blacks/Millets back on their feet.

Clinton cards supposedly had a rough x**s, and how the hell is Superdrug still going?

I went into Blacks on Sat, none of the expensive stuff is there anymore. I nearly bought a GPS just before xmas;funnily enough they are all gone now, along with decent boots,tents,sleeping bags;anything worth more than £200 it would seem

I think the expensive stuff was moved out and sold on.

Ive still got a blacks gift card from about a year ago, think its got about a tenner on it.

Do you think they will honour it and what's worth getting for a tenner?

I rarely shop. But this year did all my Christmas shopping in my own town, and it was a revalation.
I got everything I wanted at good prices, enjoyed the touchy feely experience of actually being in a shop, and it was nice to talk to people.
On my home I treated myself and family to a selection of Greek food goodies, after a prolonged taster session (internet beat that)at the market. Then picked up Cycling weekly and drove home.

Big downside is parking. Large portions of car parks are given over to permit holders so empty and out of bounds at weekends. And town centre parking in general is a killer. Having to pay to park is having a strangle hold on retailers I would imagine?
On that subject I tried to visit Giants brand store in Radlett three times and never ever found a free meter, and everything else was residential permit only.

anyone have [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16582233 ]Past Times [/url] ?

Now Peacocks and Bon Marche, yes ive never heard of them either

Good riddance to Peacocks and Bon Marche! The trouble is that the chavettes will waddle over to New Look for their disposable leggingz.

And how did Past Times last this long?

Bon Marche was one of the earliest department stores in London, always had a big plot in Brixton.

there methods may disagree with our western ethics

The Peacocks one is pretty annoying. They made a profit last year, but because RBS* and Barclays refused to restructure their existing debt, they have been forced into closing.

*Yes. That RBS. The one that had to bailed out.

anyone have Past Times ?

Ive still got a blacks gift card from about a year ago, think its got about a tenner on it.

Do you think they will honour it and what's worth getting for a tenner?

Don't see why they wouldn't honor it, as long as it hasn't expired of course. I got one as a present a few months ago but couldn't find anything in Blacks I wanted, but just after New Year I just went and got some socks and dehydrated meals for me and the missus.

and dehydrated meals for me and the missus

You certainly know how to treat a lady 🙂

You certainly know how to treat a lady

50 %off all stock at Past times now.

Probably only on the nety as they have shut a lot of shops.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-16621080 ]peacocks gone too[/url]

Here's a pretty good summary:
[url= http://www.retailresearch.org/whosegonebust.php ]Retail research = who's gone bust[/url]

I'm lucky enough to live in an area where I have three butchers, three fruit shops, a deli, a fishmonger and a Mad Jack's all within a couple of minutes walk. They all open late too - till sixish - so I can get most of my food from them, and only have to venture to supermarkets for bulk stuff like Marmite.

S'good.

Game... No real surprises there though. Some people must have made a killing by buying at 0.5p and riding the rumours of a takeover. I suspect part of it will reappear.

I worked at Gamestation and was there when Game took over. It was obvious back then and said at the time that having 2 shops competing against each other in the smaller towns was a stupid idea. The big scheme was game would sell mostly new games whole gs concentrated on pre-owned. Some provinces just aren't big enough for 2 shops of this nature and ultimately the rent bill killed (or will kill) the company off. Some people I worked with still work for the company, I'm sorry about their jobs.

Not high street exactly my local photo lab just shut down after I think about 25 years in business. Such a shame.

They were great, really passionate about what they did - bit expensive though so I guess most people just went to ASDA or whatever. I know someone that got some of their wedding photos printed on a machine at ASDA (after I recommended the now-shut-down place) and strangely they weren't too happy with the quality.

They were great, really passionate about what they did - bit expensive though

I've been looking for a retail unit where I live, small market town in the SE, 30k people - just seen a 308 sq ft shop, a block back from the High St, no storage, for 24000 a year rent, rates nearly 8000.
How difficult must it be to run a small business like a photo shop, up against the supermarkets etc with their economies and convenience when your costs are frontloaded like that.

Was that town Chichester?

As 1 closes another opens on my high street. Debenhams are coming to town taking over the empty TJ Hughs shop. News agents has opened around the corner and added fresh baked bread, offy and convenience foods. Just happens to be opposite a bus terminal and stays open late. Another £1 shop is closing down but the whole building is getting a makeover, used to be an ironmongers for yrs & yrs. New toy shop has also opened . A supermarket developer has had an out of town plan refused but offered a site in town which will be controversial due to loss of parking unless they can be imaginative with the site. The old Woolies shop is now a thriving Iceland.
Just need to do something about the roads, too many deaths recently and like everywhere else gridlock and potholes 🙄

Best get used to it, if this is anywhere near true

[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/20/high-street-shops-close-deloitte?newsfeed=true ]40% of high street shops face closure[/url]

I worked at Gamestation and was there when Game took over. It was obvious back then and said at the time that having 2 shops competing against each other in the smaller towns was a stupid idea. The big scheme was game would sell mostly new games whole gs concentrated on pre-owned. Some provinces just aren't big enough for 2 shops of this nature and ultimately the rent bill killed (or will kill) the company off. Some people I worked with still work for the company, I'm sorry about their jobs.

I've watched the Game debacle with interest, as a former employee when I was a student, a gamer and a game dev. I remember some towns had three stores - Electronics Boutique bought out Game and rebranded their stores 'Game', so they had two stores, then bought out Gamestation a couple of years later, adding a third... sometimes even afourth if they'd got a store in Debenhams in addition to their standalone shops.

They really shot themselves in the foot by pushing pre-owned so heavily - it meant less room for new stock, particularly the more obscure titles, and earned the wrath of the publishers. It's not really a surprise that the likes of EA and Ubisoft refused to give them any leeway.

News agents has opened around the corner and added fresh baked bread

That's how you play the game.

They really shot themselves in the foot by pushing pre-owned so heavily - it meant less room for new stock, particularly the more obscure titles, and earned the wrath of the publishers. It's not really a surprise that the likes of EA and Ubisoft refused to give them any leeway.

I disagree here, trade in was a good business model. A title is traded in and resold on average 5 times before it loses it's Market value with the retailers head office being able to decide how much it is worth. An example: a copy of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas could earn and extra £65 ontop of the original purchase price when traded in 5 times until Market value is dropped. Trade in also offered titles at a lower price to those who don't have the funds for RRP or wish to part exchange. Trade in works fine in other countries and could do here.

Having stock of more obscure titles will never bump sales anything like a new COD or MOH title with a TV campaign. A shop needs to stock what sells.

Game was spread too thin and the rent bill killed it off. It's now in admin.

I disagree here, trade in was a good business model. A title is traded in and resold on average 5 times before it loses it's Market value with the retailers head office being able to decide how much it is worth. An example: a copy of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas could earn and extra £65 ontop of the original purchase price when traded in 5 times until Market value is dropped. Trade in also offered titles at a lower price to those who don't have the funds for RRP or wish to part exchange. Trade in works fine in other countries and could do here.

The problem is, it screws over the developers and publishers, who don't see any of the cash from the resale of a title. I don't disagree with people being able to trade in and resell their games, but I don't think it's healthy when a specialist retailer makes it their main focus.

Game and Gamestation would actively push their pre-owned stock ahead of new stock. You can pick up second hand stuff in charity shops, but you don't see huge pre-owned sections of second hand books in Waterstones, or pre-owned CDs and DVDs in HMV. It's the main reason why games have started pushing on-line passes and one-time use codes for additional content.

The problem is, it screws over the developers and publishers, who don't see any of the cash from the resale of a title

Game and Gamestation would actively push their pre-owned stock ahead of new stock