Stafford shops closing - Turning into a ghost town?

I see the Candle Shop next to Rymans closes this weekend. If memory serves it opened a few years ago with the intention of shutting down the shop in St Marys after they stopped selling Yankee Candles because of all the discounting. Shame for the staff but not a shop I will miss - always seemed a bit grubby to me and you can get Yankee Candles half price almost anywhere.

We can all blame this or that for the decline but as with everything, its the market that shapes things. Collectively we have all started to make different choices in how we buy stuff be that based on price, convenience, choice or whatever. The inevitable outcome of that is business based on the traditional high street presence simply don't have sufficient turnover or profit to be viable.
We can blame landlords, blame the government, blame taxes, blame parking policies, blame retailer consolidation and the emergence of mega-chains to drive down cost and squeeze out the independent or whatever but next time you're online clicking to buy something and have it delivered you're making a choice that delivers another nail in the high street coffin. No point in lamenting the high street's demise when you don't use it or believe its someone else's problem to fix.

Really? said:

I see the Candle Shop next to Rymans closes this weekend. If memory serves it opened a few years ago with the intention of shutting down the shop in St Marys after they stopped selling Yankee Candles because of all the discounting. Shame for the staff but not a shop I will miss - always seemed a bit grubby to me and you can get Yankee Candles half price almost anywhere.

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I'd light a candle in their memory but where to buy one.

joshua said:

We can all blame this or that for the decline but as with everything, its the market that shapes things. Collectively we have all started to make different choices in how we buy stuff be that based on price, convenience, choice or whatever. The inevitable outcome of that is business based on the traditional high street presence simply don't have sufficient turnover or profit to be viable.
We can blame landlords, blame the government, blame taxes, blame parking policies, blame retailer consolidation and the emergence of mega-chains to drive down cost and squeeze out the independent or whatever but next time you're online clicking to buy something and have it delivered you're making a choice that delivers another nail in the high street coffin. No point in lamenting the high street's demise when you don't use it or believe its someone else's problem to fix.

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When I worked in town I bought stuff most days, now I commute I literally can't use the high street other than the weekends. Have you been to town at the weekend? Worth avoiding in most cases!

tek-monkey said:

When I worked in town I bought stuff most days, now I commute I literally can't use the high street other than the weekends. Have you been to town at the weekend? Worth avoiding in most cases!

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So very much this - I try and use the high street add much as I can, when I can but the last few times I've needed something specific (a cable, some art supplies, a book on a specific, but not impossible topic) Stafford hasn't had them, Hanley had some of the things but with little choice - and what I could get I got there - and Amazon furnished me with everything else.

I have no issue with town on the weekend, but I also know town is pretty limited on the range of things available in it - but I think that's a bigger issue then just Stafford.

I don't work in a town centre, let alone ours and my weekends are usually spent in a motorhome in a field. I am part of the problem, essentially if it isn't from asda/aldi/lidl I have bought it online.

joshua said:

We can all blame this or that for the decline but as with everything, its the market that shapes things. Collectively we have all started to make different choices in how we buy stuff be that based on price, convenience, choice or whatever. The inevitable outcome of that is business based on the traditional high street presence simply don't have sufficient turnover or profit to be viable.
We can blame landlords, blame the government, blame taxes, blame parking policies, blame retailer consolidation and the emergence of mega-chains to drive down cost and squeeze out the independent or whatever but next time you're online clicking to buy something and have it delivered you're making a choice that delivers another nail in the high street coffin. No point in lamenting the high street's demise when you don't use it or believe its someone else's problem to fix.

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I’m fully on the side of “it’s a service problem, not my problem”, if I can get a better and more convenient service elsewhere I’ll use that instead.

Much in the same way that I don’t believe bailing out industries that are sinking is a worthwhile endeavour either, though have sympathy for those who will lose their job due to it.

Most of the time we go to the retail parks. The high street is mostly small shops that are handcuffed to leases of tiny units with basically no space* and a poor selection of goods. About the only thing I ever venture into the high street for now is CEX and Cash Converters for the odd deal, I honestly cannot think of anything else I’d go there for unless Santander decided they want to be stuck in the 00s again and force me to go into a branch for something as simple as opening a credit card for my Ltd.

*And thus this is part of the service problem with the high street. It’s nearly always old buildings that can’t have any decent renovations done, so you’re stuck using these old-as-hell units that can’t be made larger and it doesn’t make them terribly appealing to use as a customer, why would I want to cram myself in like a sardine with loads of other shoppers? No wonder businesses are moving to the retail parks where they get a massive unit.

What will realistically end up happening is that high streets will become less shopping and more leisure. There’s a reason there’s so many coffee shops on ours

What will realistically end up happening is that high streets will become less shopping and more leisure. There’s a reason there’s so many coffee shops on ours

The coffee shops want to be on retail parks and stand alone units with drive through. They know that that the high street is not the place for growth.

C

Really? said:

I see the Candle Shop next to Rymans closes this weekend. If memory serves it opened a few years ago with the intention of shutting down the shop in St Marys after they stopped selling Yankee Candles because of all the discounting. Shame for the staff but not a shop I will miss - always seemed a bit grubby to me and you can get Yankee Candles half price almost anywhere.

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Closes today, find it bizarre they're blaming the failure on the town , and not the fact they put a business together on a very niche product, available elsewhere at cheaper prices....

Reminds me on that ship / sailor merchant shop in the old coop. Can't remember the now name, but that was pointless.

Tumble weed said:

C

Reminds me on that ship / sailor merchant shop in the old coop. Can't remember the now name, but that was pointless.

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Nauticalia - which was super useful if you had elderly relatives who'd been in the navy...

Wormella said:

Nauticalia - which was super useful if you had elderly relatives who'd been in the navy...

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I believe Nauticalia may still exist at Bridgemere garden centre.... (Although I haven't been in a while)

*Edit. Apparently permanently closed...

Nauticalia was a floating antiques shop at Shepperton then became a mail order/online business for many years. Still available on-line if you have elderly ex navy relatives or boating friends. They still have 3 or 4 shops dahn sarf.

Cue said:

What will realistically end up happening is that high streets will become less shopping and more leisure. There’s a reason there’s so many coffee shops on ours

Feed The Goat said:

The coffee shops want to be on retail parks and stand alone units with drive through. They know that that the high street is not the place for growth.

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What will actually end up happening is that Town Centres will ultimately become heavily habitated - in Stafford it has already started to happen with the stuff going on next to the river and now in Martin St, those flats on Brunswick Terrace - but in satellites like Stafford this will ultimately be dormitory in nature, ie the 'population' will have their residence here, but will commute to a place of work in, what, Manchester, Birmingham, London is only an hour and a half on a good day?

So small units for morning coffee, convenience stores for milk & sugar, evening meals for when the train is late - service *ting* - will be ideal.

It's already happening before it has properly happened, we're right in the middle of it.

Withnail said:

What will actually end up happening is that Town Centres will ultimately become heavily habitated - in Stafford it has already started to happen with the stuff going on next to the river and now in Martin St, those flats on Brunswick Terrace - but in satellites like Stafford this will ultimately be dormitory in nature, ie the 'population' will have their residence here, but will commute to a place of work in, what, Manchester, Birmingham, London is only an hour and a half on a good day?

So small units for morning coffee, convenience stores for milk & sugar, evening meals for when the train is late - service *ting* - will be ideal.

It's already happening before it has properly happened, we're right in the middle of it.

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Only if they make the pricing sensible. You can’t price a flat as being in the town centre with town centre council tax when the “town centre” doesn’t really exist any more. Just had a quick flick through and the pricing on some flats is ludicrous, I’ve rented 3 bed houses for less. Brunswick Terrace is round the corner from the station, just as convenient and cheaper

Tumble weed said:

C

Closes today, find it bizarre they're blaming the failure on the town , and not the fact they put a business together on a very niche product, available elsewhere at cheaper prices....

Reminds me on that ship / sailor merchant shop in the old coop. Can't remember the now name, but that was pointless.

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I think that the fact the one in St Marys survived them proves it's not the town but the product

The good old days … (more than a century ago in this case.) Even the dog looks bewildered as he decides what wondrous thing he can pee on next.

BobClay said:

The good old days … (more than a century ago in this case.) Even the dog looks bewildered as he decides what wondrous thing he can pee on next.
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Is that you on your first Saturday job?

littleme said:

I believe Nauticalia may still exist at Bridgemere garden centre.... (Although I haven't been in a while)

*Edit. Apparently permanently closed...

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Nauticalia still has shops. There’s one at the docks in Liverpool and one in Greenwich. I’m sure I’ve seen them elsewhere too.

Not sure if the Liverpool Nauticalia is still open. There is one in Lymington & another in Portsmouth

BobClay said:

The good old days … (more than a century ago in this case.) Even the dog looks bewildered as he decides what wondrous thing he can pee on next.
View attachment 6921

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Blinkin' 'eck, I knew you were getting on a bit. But..........