Stafford shops opening - Turning into a boom town?

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Why take more fields, why not reuse the warehouse Argos are vacating? :( :(

But yeah, let's all be happy about 800 minimum wage, unskilled part time posts filled by Eastern Europeans and the loss more of more green fields and another increase in juggernauts using the town as a cut through.
From what I've been told by staff, Argos didn't want to leave that warehouse, the landowner wanted them out. Think he has an alternative use in mind for the site.
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Crested School Wear based on St Mary's mews is relocating to the old Monsoon on Gaolgate St...

School uniform is apparently profitable enough to take over a high footfall high street unit?

Unusual mind you, given uniform shops are fairly safe wherever they are thanks to the racket... sorry, exclusive deals they barter with the local schools for obligatory branded uniform. Must have been a good deal to make it worthwhile.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
School uniform is apparently profitable enough to take over a high footfall high street unit?

Unusual mind you, given uniform shops are fairly safe wherever they are thanks to the racket... sorry, exclusive deals they barter with the local schools for obligatory branded uniform. Must have been a good deal to make it worthwhile.

Only shop in town I've ever known to have sizable queues outside of it.
 

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
Only shop in town I've ever known to have sizable queues outside of it.
Because it’s such a tiny shop & you can’t buy the stuff anywhere else at all. It certainly isn’t because it’s either cheap or good value. Also it’s amazing how many people leave it till a week or 2 before the start of term & then moan that they can’t get the sizes they need.
I’m glad I don’t need to shop there now.
 
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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
School uniform is apparently profitable enough to take over a high footfall high street unit?

Unusual mind you, given uniform shops are fairly safe wherever they are thanks to the racket... sorry, exclusive deals they barter with the local schools for obligatory branded uniform. Must have been a good deal to make it worthwhile.
I went to one school for a single year. The school uniform requirements were rather extravagant.

The cap badge on its own, just the badge, not even the whole cap, would have cost, translated into today's money, £29.

It was a sterling silver 'dove descending' - I still have it somewhere.
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
School uniform is apparently profitable enough to take over a high footfall high street unit?

Profitable enough that by the time the kids actually need to start wearing a uniform again many will have outgrown them.

I'm thinking of starting a working from home uniform shop for kids. I bet no-ones thought of that one.

Oh hang on that's a clothes shop selling pyjamas isn't it? :)
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Profitable enough that by the time the kids actually need to start wearing a uniform again many will have outgrown them.

I'm thinking of starting a working from home uniform shop for kids. I bet no-ones thought of that one.

Oh hang on that's a clothes shop selling pyjamas isn't it? :)

Gotta get those deals with the schools though, otherwise nobody will use you


Because it’s such a tiny shop & you can’t buy the stuff anywhere else at all. It certainly isn’t because it’s either cheap or good value. Also it’s amazing how many people leave it till a week or 2 before the start of term & then moan that they can’t get the sizes they need.
I’m glad I don’t need to shop there now.

I went to one school for a single year. The school uniform requirements were rather extravagant.

The cap badge on its own, just the badge, not even the whole cap, would have cost, translated into today's money, £29.

It was a sterling silver 'dove descending' - I still have it somewhere.

Sounds about right. Every uniform shop would go out of business overnight (or would have to actually be competitive) if they ruled that you can’t be forced to buy branded uniform or just axed the concept altogether.

I’m all for local small businesses but if you need to make shady exclusivity deals to keep afloat and overcharge purely because you have a monopoly maybe you shouldn’t stay afloat.
 
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tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Gotta get those deals with the schools though, otherwise nobody will use you






Sounds about right. Every uniform shop would go out of business overnight (or would have to actually be competitive) if they ruled that you can’t be forced to buy branded uniform or just axed the concept altogether.

I’m all for local small businesses but if you need to make shady exclusivity deals to keep afloat and overcharge purely because you have a monopoly maybe you shouldn’t stay afloat.
In my day you just told the school you were too poor to buy their crap, and if they were going yo enforce it they better provide it. They invariably gave you a tie and were lax on the rest.
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
School uniform is apparently profitable enough to take over a high footfall high street unit?

Unusual mind you, given uniform shops are fairly safe wherever they are thanks to the racket... sorry, exclusive deals they barter with the local schools for obligatory branded uniform. Must have been a good deal to make it worthwhile.
Uniforms were only for secondary schools when I were a lad.
I don't know why that's changed.
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
I went to one school for a single year. The school uniform requirements were rather extravagant.

The cap badge on its own, just the badge, not even the whole cap, would have cost, translated into today's money, £29.

It was a sterling silver 'dove descending' - I still have it somewhere.
'dove descending' - not ascending like at a crematorium ?
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
Peer pressure probably. Non uniform days were horrible in my day, if you wanted to keep up with the cool kids (I didn't). If your parents can't afford all the labels then uniform is a better way to go.
But when I was at infant school and junior school none of us took any notice of what any of our classmates were wearing.
What's gone wrong ?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
'dove descending' - not ascending like at a crematorium ?
No, descending.

QMSB-vintage-school-cap-with-silver-dove-pin.jpg


Known to some of us as the 'dead pigeon'.
 
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