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My Belles
- Thread starter 1JKz
- Start date
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
No further response in the last 24 hours.Closed today tooNot a huge fan of the place but still a shame to see it closed
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
No furniture won't be helping either
Eh?? I didn't notice that! Blimey.
OJK
Well-Known Forumite
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
Carole
Well-Known Forumite
markpa12003
Well-Known Forumite
That's a shame. A great place in my opinion.
Tumble weed
Well-Known Forumite
I heard the owner had said it was doing worse than they could have imagined a few months back. I don't think they knew what they actually wanted it to be, whether it was a cake place, a sandwich bar, a cafe, a bar or a place for cocktails. That and it never seemed open from the outside.
Think Verso was the final nail. Shame, as it looked like a nice place,
Think Verso was the final nail. Shame, as it looked like a nice place,
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
1JKz
Well-Known Forumite
I haven't yet!
staffsbizperson
Newbie
I have been finding the comments around the closures of various businesses including MyBelles very depressing and a reflection of Stafford, the council and the landlords and their abject lack of support.
It is standard practice when a business closes that they cannot reveal any information about the situation while rescue options and creditors are informed, so those people on here who talk about lack of professionalism clearly have not ran a business or have taken the time to reflect on the challenges faced by any start up.
I suspect that the independents will be aligned on the fact that 'support' from the council, the landlords and to an extent the local community all share responsibility for the woeful position Stafford and many towns finds itself in. One only has to look at the number of empty units and then the shocking situation where the Morrison's site sat empty for months (that is now replaced by B & M) to see what a mess it is.
One wonders, and this an assumption, that planning permission and enquiries into what shops are opening and when is as transparent as it needs to be. I am pretty certain in the case of MyBelles whether it would have opened had there been disclosure to another cocktail bar and dessert shop opening 100 yds away!
I for one credit whomever opened MyBelles and the chance they took, at least they gave it a shot.
It is standard practice when a business closes that they cannot reveal any information about the situation while rescue options and creditors are informed, so those people on here who talk about lack of professionalism clearly have not ran a business or have taken the time to reflect on the challenges faced by any start up.
I suspect that the independents will be aligned on the fact that 'support' from the council, the landlords and to an extent the local community all share responsibility for the woeful position Stafford and many towns finds itself in. One only has to look at the number of empty units and then the shocking situation where the Morrison's site sat empty for months (that is now replaced by B & M) to see what a mess it is.
One wonders, and this an assumption, that planning permission and enquiries into what shops are opening and when is as transparent as it needs to be. I am pretty certain in the case of MyBelles whether it would have opened had there been disclosure to another cocktail bar and dessert shop opening 100 yds away!
I for one credit whomever opened MyBelles and the chance they took, at least they gave it a shot.
Owners of businesses share responsibility of failure or success, more so than anyone else.
Sometimes this is not helped by others parties, legislation, red tape etc but there are plenty of business ideas most know from the off are likely to fail or struggle while many others survive and / thrive. Should councils then be taking credit for the latter....... I think not.
Poor location, costs of product, poor customer service, over saturation, poor advertising, confusing business model, overheads, uninviting layout premsies, the old fashioned lack of custom and more all contribute to failure.
Failure is not always the fault of government, council, consumer etc etc.
Not sure what you are implying what councils do not disclose. What information should councils be disclosing and to whom, in what form and in what amount and can they disclose what they don't know or legally can't.
Should a council notify a business or planner of something similar, most of which can be found in public domains and it up to the business to do their due diligence, consult or do feasibility studies.
My Belles opened virtually a good year before the little dessert shop, which housed the riverside gallery at the time.
So what the council knew of the potential move of the gallery for the dessert shop in autumn last year I doubt was anything. Let alone My Belles had the better footfall and location though far smaller.
Unfortunately it did not succeed which is a shame, nice premises if offer was a little muddled and the exterior did not imply it was always open. Not sure how much coffee and cake one needs to sell in a limited size premises to make a profit.
I am guessing the business rates were due to kick in after a year, but locally there is little that can be done about that and that is something government need to start over on to be honest. I doubt we will see that anytime soon though.
Sometimes this is not helped by others parties, legislation, red tape etc but there are plenty of business ideas most know from the off are likely to fail or struggle while many others survive and / thrive. Should councils then be taking credit for the latter....... I think not.
Poor location, costs of product, poor customer service, over saturation, poor advertising, confusing business model, overheads, uninviting layout premsies, the old fashioned lack of custom and more all contribute to failure.
Failure is not always the fault of government, council, consumer etc etc.
Not sure what you are implying what councils do not disclose. What information should councils be disclosing and to whom, in what form and in what amount and can they disclose what they don't know or legally can't.
Should a council notify a business or planner of something similar, most of which can be found in public domains and it up to the business to do their due diligence, consult or do feasibility studies.
My Belles opened virtually a good year before the little dessert shop, which housed the riverside gallery at the time.
So what the council knew of the potential move of the gallery for the dessert shop in autumn last year I doubt was anything. Let alone My Belles had the better footfall and location though far smaller.
Unfortunately it did not succeed which is a shame, nice premises if offer was a little muddled and the exterior did not imply it was always open. Not sure how much coffee and cake one needs to sell in a limited size premises to make a profit.
I am guessing the business rates were due to kick in after a year, but locally there is little that can be done about that and that is something government need to start over on to be honest. I doubt we will see that anytime soon though.
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Who the eff in their right mind would go into retail in this country at this time?
The single thing stopping the collapse of the retail sector en masse is the ten year next to nought interest rates
Seen the collapse of beer sales this year?
Staggering...
The single thing stopping the collapse of the retail sector en masse is the ten year next to nought interest rates
Seen the collapse of beer sales this year?
Staggering...
Feed The Goat
Well-Known Forumite
It is going to be a case of every man or woman for himself. I fear for any independent who is trying to retail in Stafford town centre. Stafford generally is a great area to trade from, there is a good living to be had with the right business but anyone in the town centre has got massive odds stacked against them.