QUICK DISCLAIMER: All views & OPINIONS expressed in Matt's Column are his own and the topics are that of his own choice. Comments are welcome below, however please make them relevant to the topic only.
Good on Mary Portas for telling Prime Minister David Cameron exactly how it is in Britain’s High Streets today! She didn’t tell him in a softly manner, she didn’t mince her words and quite frankly gave it to him brash and straight to the point... quite rightly so by stating that our Town Centre’s have hit “crisis point” she then went onto say about the amount of stores on our high street that there are “thousands too many shops. They will have to close and do other things”
Mary was brought in by the government in order to establish what exactly is wrong with our once loved rows of shops and what exactly the reason is to why for the dramatic slump in sales, even when Christmas is looming. Mary unveiled 28 bullet points as to why Markets should make a reappearance into every high street and also that retail shops are a thing of the past. She went onto say:
‘The big boom years are over. We will never go back to those retail shops we had. The future is not more shopping. ‘I am not going to be nostalgic about our high streets as they will never be what they were.
‘We need to stop seeing our high streets as just shops. We now need to get people back into our high streets and that requires creating a place that is about enjoyment, creativity, learning, socialising, well being, health.’
Other things mentioned where the abolishment of car parking charging and to encourage car-boot sales to appear within the heart of local towns.
Research shows that more than 20 shops are closing each day and experts have even warned that Miss Portas’s research is “too little too late!”
What better person to discuss the future of the High Street than Mary Portas? She has proven that she does indeed live up to her title of a retail expert and her sheer knowledge I’m sure shall be used in advantage in order to simply try to regenerate all local towns which have simply been left abandoned by us all in recent times. She discusses that shops need to get away from the norm and instead be turned into the likes of gyms, crèches, youth clubs, arts buildings, coffee bars and community town halls and I for one think she is talking some sense! We are all moving on with the times in terms of technology & lifestyles and simply the high street no longer cuts the mustard and is required for modern day living. Internet shopping has quite frankly shook the retail market up more than anything else and it is clear that town centre chain stores can simply not compete. The younger members of society have suddenly found an interest in traditional Markets and the idea to incorporate them into most towns I would brand to be a genius idea! There is simply nothing better than looking round a traditional British market with fresh produce at your fingertips. Mary also went onto slamming retail store W H Smiths by branding it a “dump!” I hope the government sit up and listen. A sudden miracle isn’t going to happen as quite frankly the sheer thought of strolling up into town feels to be nothing other than than a nightmare. They brought Mary in for a reason and if no action is taken the High Street can only decline further!
Good on Miss Portas for proving she is not just full of hot air!
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