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Shops You Want to See in Stafford
- Thread starter That-Crazy-Rat-Lady
- Start date
Hayley Roberts
Well-Known Forumite
Stafford really needs some retail shops to bring people back in to the town. It is dire when you walk up the high street to see what we are left with. Phone shops, jewelers and charity shops seem to take precedence.
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Wormella
Well-Known Forumite
That will be it....
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
I wonder what Stafford town centre will look like in 5 years' time at this rate? Will internet shopping completely destroy town centre shopping? It makes you wonder how so many of the shops have survived this long. I was driving past Five Ways Insurance on Newport Road recently and thought to myself how amazed I was that such a place still survives. As useful as I find the internet and wonder how we would ever manage without it now, there's something very sad about it all.
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
Do you mean the old Riverway School? There is a for sale notice outside saying that the site could be used for residential flats or something. I went to Riverway and I felt a bit sad when I saw it was being bulldozed down. Wouldn't it have been cheaper to turn the existing building into something useful?
db
#chaplife
i'd love to know the same thing.. the only time i ever go to shops these days is to look at stuff like clothes (i.e. the sort of thing that you have to try on/have a proper look at before you buy), which i then promptly make a note of and go home to buy more cheaply & with quidco online!
i drive past that every day, and often wonder exactly the same thing! i even got a quote from them one time, when i was having a "must support stafford" moment, but they were miles away from all the usual online suspects
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
I thought they already had plans for it, didn't realise they just bulldozed it for a laugh!
It was stated in the Newsletter about 2 weeka ago by a Councillor that I thinkit is 4 and 5 Martin Street are to be converted into plush town centre apartments. While any work has not stated yet as far as I know. I have seen on 2/3 occasions men in yellow coats, hard hats going in and out of both buildings.
The Hungry Hourse on Castlefields Newport Rd have also received planning permission
The Hungry Hourse on Castlefields Newport Rd have also received planning permission
db
#chaplife
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
Exactly! How could they possibly compete with the internet? There's another shop called In-town Interiors on the Lichfield Road (I notice all these shops because my daughter works at Tesco and until she got her own car I used to take her to work for 6 am, so I noticed them all!). So how long can In-town Interiors last? I'm amazed it ever got off the ground with places like Ikea selling everything a home could possibly need.i'd love to know the same thing.. the only time i ever go to shops these days is to look at stuff like clothes (i.e. the sort of thing that you have to try on/have a proper look at before you buy), which i then promptly make a note of and go home to buy more cheaply & with quidco online!
i drive past that every day, and often wonder exactly the same thing! i even got a quote from them one time, when i was having a "must support stafford" moment, but they were miles away from all the usual online suspects
When you look back at the old photos of Stafford town centre and all the shops that have gone, it's very sad. I remember the town centre when I worked at Denver Clarkson's solicitors in the 70's and it was a different world - a much nicer world, I think. Denver Clarkson was my boss and such a nice man - he used to go to the Eastern House Chinese restaurant in Market Street every day for his lunch. He used to called it 'Hi Yip's' - I presume that was the name of the chap who owned it.
I remember the old market, the Golden Egg cafe, the bus stop in the Market Square, the Chains pub with landlords Jack and Peggy (I thought they were having an affair until my boyfriend pointed out that they were actually married, so they had to be excused!), those little shops by the Brine baths, Jeffs and next door a newsagents called Finlays and Peter Richards in the precinct that became Be-Wise. Peter Richards was the best clothes shop this town has ever had - well, for people of my era/taste. There was Taylors cake shop as well that became Beniton and is now The Body Shop. Taylors sold lovely 'Jefferson Rolls' for 6p! Iced buns basically with currants. My friends and I used to sneak out of Riverway School at lunch time and buy one and got into trouble one day when we were seen by one of the teachers, but it was worth it. Next door(ish) -other side of the Market Arcade was Paige's dress shop that took over Brian's Wallpapers - did that become Woolworths for a time? - it's River Island now. Bring back those good old days, that's what I say!
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Indeed!
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
One gap in the market that has been apparent to me for years is the lack of clothes shops for age range 10 to 14. You get a few in Next but nobody specialises in this age group. Having had a daughter of my own, I always struggled to find clothes for her. There are so many for babies, toddlers and teenagers but nothing in between. My sister has always had the same problem. If we had the resources, we would open a shop to cater for this age range so, if anyone does have the resources, think about it, there really is a gap.
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
Very sad but it won't be long before it's empty with a big For Sale sticker stuck across the window. I'm so sorry for the owners of the business.
Bob
Well-Known Forumite
Don't new look do a good teen range? They always used to.
I'd love a good big Debenhams, they do everything and they do it well.
Also a good Tesco home/Direct store.
A John Lewis would be Brill.
A few nice Chain bars, a Pitcher & Piano or even a Slug and Lettuce would be nice.
I'd like to see the Hogshead open again and a few more botique shops up Mill Street.
A Waitrose so I didn't have to drive out to Newport.
Last but not least a Long Tall Sally so I Don't have to drive to Manchester to buy a non mail order pair of Jeans that go past my ankles.
sarsaparilla
Well-Known Forumite
But a shop specifically geared to the 10 - 14 year range would surely take off?
Dabbler
Well-Known Forumite
Great thread, but the title ought to read, "Shops You Want To Spend Money With In Stafford."
I think this just about sums up the problem, db's quote "the only time i ever go to shops these days is to look at stuff like clothes (i.e. the sort of thing that you have to try on/have a proper look at before you buy), which i then promptly make a note of and go home to buy more cheaply & withquidco online!"
A couple of things spring to mind here - you've already spent time and possibly money to get into town to try on the clothes and what price do you put on the convenience of being able to try on before you buy? Because if everyone did that, there would be no shops at all so you couldn't do that.
The retailers also need to make sure their offer is enticing, and they need to encourage people to spend money in store rather than go home and buy online, so either more retailers need to offer more through the enjoy Stafford card (if that is what it is called) to mitigate the discounts you can get online, or do something else to encourage people to shop in town.
This is a two way street - we all want a town centre, in which case we have to support the retailers that are already there as that will encourage more into the town, but the retailers need to encourage us to leave our warm, comfortable homes into the town to spend what little money we have.
I think this just about sums up the problem, db's quote "the only time i ever go to shops these days is to look at stuff like clothes (i.e. the sort of thing that you have to try on/have a proper look at before you buy), which i then promptly make a note of and go home to buy more cheaply & withquidco online!"
A couple of things spring to mind here - you've already spent time and possibly money to get into town to try on the clothes and what price do you put on the convenience of being able to try on before you buy? Because if everyone did that, there would be no shops at all so you couldn't do that.
The retailers also need to make sure their offer is enticing, and they need to encourage people to spend money in store rather than go home and buy online, so either more retailers need to offer more through the enjoy Stafford card (if that is what it is called) to mitigate the discounts you can get online, or do something else to encourage people to shop in town.
This is a two way street - we all want a town centre, in which case we have to support the retailers that are already there as that will encourage more into the town, but the retailers need to encourage us to leave our warm, comfortable homes into the town to spend what little money we have.
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
I buy clothes online anyway, I hate clothes shopping so just order what I fancy and send it back if I don't like it. Like I said, I'm not helping the high street!
United57
Well-Known Forumite
Then you can try them on in the privacy of your own home. If a size 18 does not fit you can return it.
Wormella
Well-Known Forumite
No, I think it was chatter about Martin Street. Having walked past the demolition site for Riverway I'm not surprised it wasn't re purposed- It looked a cold building with very flimsy walls. I did think however that there was already an interested party ready to take over the land but there you go...