View Full Version : More shops empty than open
Thurso retail sector is in freefall with more shops closed and boarded up than seem to be trading ...Supermarket boom ,small traders gloom ....
Thurso retail sector is in freefall with more shops closed and boarded up than seem to be trading ...Supermarket boom ,small traders gloom ....
How many shops in Thurso are closed and boarded up then?
Murdina Bug
30-Apr-07, 10:25
Thurso retail sector is in freefall with more shops closed and boarded up than seem to be trading ...Supermarket boom ,small traders gloom ....
Absolute rubbish!:roll: Smacks of someone too lazy to come up with an original post so they just trot out some tired old line that has been debated umpteen times already!
Absolute rubbish!:roll: Smacks of someone too lazy to come up with an original post so they just trot out some tired old line that has been debated umpteen times already!
My thoughts entirely!!
Penelope Pitstop
30-Apr-07, 10:37
Absolute rubbish!:roll: Smacks of someone too lazy to come up with an original post so they just trot out some tired old line that has been debated umpteen times already!
Looks like that to me too.
so what if shops are closing, it just proves that they never really had a good business, why is everyone so against caithness been updated rather than being so behind with the times!
so what if shops are closing, it just proves that they never really had a good business, why is everyone so against caithness been updated rather than being so behind with the times!
Perhaps because they have lived in places that were "updated" and seen them die, seen the spirit sucked out of them, seen them turned into dormitory towns full of fast food takeaways and people who don't know one anther.
oh god, the town isnt dying, its being made into a more wonderful place, thurso is beautiful place, with or without shops, majority of the people who are gurning about it are guaranteed to be older, they dont like change but its us the younger generation who have to travel to get less expensive stuff, the shops prices here for simple everday things is horrendous even wick has better stuff, and im sorry but WHY!!!
I find myself agreeing with fred on this - supermarkets spring up on the outskirts of towns and suck the customers away from the small businesses who cannot compete on the pricing or range of goods available to the big players. So they close.
While choice is good, choice from massive companies with no interest in local businesses is bad.
This very phenomenon occurred in the nearest large town to me - after many years of looking like a run down dump (it has an entry in "Crap Towns") life is slowly being put back but I have long since stopped going there because the Town Council has ruined road access in the intervening years.
How many of you that have posted are business owners or have any knowledge of what it takes to run a business locally .
You are good at spouting off in support of what suits you (supermarkets),but you never put your money were you mouth is and start your own business .If you had any knowledge of business you will know that rates ,rent, heat & light and insurance that all these small local traders have to paid, is a greater proportion of their turnover than any supermarket .
We as a community need a good mixture of shops to have a stable and healthy county ,the rundown and closed shops give people the impression that the end is in site ...There are people and bodies paid to help folk start and run business but they are now only interested in helping themselves ..We need a change and quickly before it gone to far ,just like the Old Brewery ..
So.. jaykay,Murdina Bug and Penelope Pitstop what businesses are you going to open ????
You know what, i just typed out a whole load about this thread and its topic, but just deleted it all............... why................. because this is becoming so boring and being covered time and time again !
Change.... progress..........
Would Everyone Just Except Change!
Try this ,why dont the council charge for parking at the supermarkets and use the money to offset the rates paid by small town centre traders .
We get the supermarkets and the choice and the little shops stay open YES?NO?...
Dont run away from the problem find a solution.....
I wouldn't suggest that it has happened yet from what I've seen. It probably will.
It happened to the large town where I moved from and then the town recovered and new and more sucessful shops took their places (after a long stints with endless charity shops). The specialist shops became much more specialist in different products and small grocery and general merchant stores became stocked with cheap goods that were of a lesser quality for sure, but they were cheap.
There was an interim period where it seemed like the town was dying, but then it didn't die, it got much better instead. That said the council spent money that it should have spent maintaining the entire town (sports facilities, community facilities, leisure facilities, elderly facilities, youth facilities etc) on the town centre only. The result was a very posh town centre and a lot of run down sports pavilions, playing fields, community centres etc. It attracted new people in and the increase in revenue is gradually improving the previously neglected facilities. It simply takles time.
How many of you that have posted are business owners or have any knowledge of what it takes to run a business locally .
You are good at spouting off in support of what suits you (supermarkets),but you never put your money were you mouth is and start your own business .If you had any knowledge of business you will know that rates ,rent, heat & light and insurance that all these small local traders have to paid, is a greater proportion of their turnover than any supermarket .
We as a community need a good mixture of shops to have a stable and healthy county ,the rundown and closed shops give people the impression that the end is in site ...There are people and bodies paid to help folk start and run business but they are now only interested in helping themselves ..We need a change and quickly before it gone to far ,just like the Old Brewery ..
So.. jaykay,Murdina Bug and Penelope Pitstop what businesses are you going to open ????
As I already run three successful local businesses I have no plans at present to start a fourth.
...majority of the people who are gurning about it are guaranteed to be older, they dont like change but its us the younger generation who have to travel to get less expensive stuff...
brew,
With respect maybe it's the older folk who might see the big picture more so than the 24hr-want-it-and-want-it-now society which seems to be taking over.
I welcome change and I like variety, as I'm sure all those who voice concerns on this topic also enjoy, but having seen the effects of this precise move to super-everything it is only fair that a warning be issued about the eventual effects such a reliance can bring.
What happens if the major supermarkets decide that running a business in Wick or Thurso is just not worth the financial outlay?
If they pull out, having inadvertently decimated the small town shops where will you go for your loaf of bread, pound of sausages or clothes for the kiddies?
Inverness?
So.. jaykay,Murdina Bug and Penelope Pitstop what businesses are you going to open
So Dozy what business do you run or thinking of starting up !!
This is more twaddle aimed at stirring up unrest again about the supermarket debate ! the stores that i have seen close, have done so not because of the supermarket but other personal reasons ! although i hazard a guess that they might have usedthis as an excuse. Business strive on forward thinking, expansion, new ranges , new stock, cheaper items.. from what i have seen most just sat on their hands and let the business bimble along knowing they had no threat until now.
We also are quick to forget the jobs that these supermarkets create, more jobs.... more folks with a wage...... more folks with a wage to spend money in the area.........
But are those new jobs offset by the redundancies caused when the small businesses close?
"Adapt or die" is a phrase often used in business and in many fields that is fair. But supermarkets have vast buying power and huge profits, which allows them to underprice the long established businesses, who may have had a captive customer base which they may have grow complacent on.
But does turning Wick, for example, into a place you just drive through to get to J'O'G (although do you need to anymore?) with no heart to it, bar takeaways or yet more bars, justify covering the county in supermarkets?
Wick did have the Co-op and Somerfields, then it got Lidl. Now it has Tesco. Four large stores for a population of how many?
Who is next to join the list?
TESCO snapped up half of all the new shopping space in Britain this year once store closures were taken into account, according to data obtained by The Sunday Times.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1265296.ece
Penelope Pitstop
30-Apr-07, 14:51
How many of you that have posted are business owners or have any knowledge of what it takes to run a business locally .
You are good at spouting off in support of what suits you (supermarkets),but you never put your money were you mouth is and start your own business .If you had any knowledge of business you will know that rates ,rent, heat & light and insurance that all these small local traders have to paid, is a greater proportion of their turnover than any supermarket .
We as a community need a good mixture of shops to have a stable and healthy county ,the rundown and closed shops give people the impression that the end is in site ...There are people and bodies paid to help folk start and run business but they are now only interested in helping themselves ..We need a change and quickly before it gone to far ,just like the Old Brewery ..
So.. jaykay,Murdina Bug and Penelope Pitstop what businesses are you going to open ????
Dozy.........I've sent you a PM. Get your facts right first eh!!:confused
Penelope Pitstop
30-Apr-07, 14:55
As I already run three successful local businesses I have no plans at present to start a fourth.
Well Dozy.....seems you got your facts wrong about Jaykay too..............:confused
PP
This is so boring. Walk through Thurso at lunch time and many shops are closed. Try again early evening and most of them are closed. They still have a half day closing. Window displays on the whole are dreary, unimaginative and hopelessly out of date (one or two honourable exceptions such as Aurora). Visitors coming from the south and abroad must think they've stepped back in time. Small shops in other places only thrive because they work hard - open early, stay open late, don't close for lunch. Running your own business is hard work - if you're not prepared for that, then go work for someone else.
As for Wick, who on earth coming in for the first time would want to do anything except drive straight through? There's absolutely nothing about that route to make you want to stop your car and explore.
The Co-op and Somerfields are mainly empty now because they simply don't have the standards of Tesco or offer anything like the same service. If there's a queue for checkouts at Tesco they open more and there's always someone watching out for this. If there's a queue at the other two, nothing happens - you just queue.
I find myself agreeing with fred on this.
Do you patronise smaller shops just because you think "Hmm, I am doing this because I want us all to talk to one and other like in the good 'ol days"?
Personally I go to a shop to buy something at a reasonable price with a reasonable chance that the sell by date hasn't expired.
Admittedly times are a changing, but it isn't the large supermarkets that are changing society but it is actually society that is changing the way we shop.
The bottom line is that any shop that sells good stuff at a reasonable price will survive.
This is so boring. Walk through Thurso at lunch time and many shops are closed. Try again early evening and most of them are closed. They still have a half day closing. Window displays on the whole are dreary, unimaginative and hopelessly out of date (one or two honourable exceptions such as Aurora). Visitors coming from the south and abroad must think they've stepped back in time. Small shops in other places only thrive because they work hard - open early, stay open late, don't close for lunch. Running your own business is hard work - if you're not prepared for that, then go work for someone else.
As for Wick, who on earth coming in for the first time would want to do anything except drive straight through? There's absolutely nothing about that route to make you want to stop your car and explore.
The Co-op and Somerfields are mainly empty now because they simply don't have the standards of Tesco or offer anything like the same service. If there's a queue for checkouts at Tesco they open more and there's always someone watching out for this. If there's a queue at the other two, nothing happens - you just queue.
I don't think that you've said anything there that I disagree with.
I actually very much like Wick but I agree that the signposting is apalling and there is nothing to suggest anywhere to stop, park, relax, picnic, shop, answer nature or anything else, so if you don't happen to already know where you're going then the road out is probably the safest bet. Not tourist friendly.
I agree 100% about half-hearted shop hours. Those shops who manage to make a sufficient living by charging high prices because they have a virtual monopoly are lucky to be able to take lunchtime off. Stuff the customers, they'll 'just have to wait won't they?!'.
Co-Op and Somerfield are half empty because they're too expensive and people are voting every day... with their feet.
Both towns in recent years have seen a large decline in the number of shops open and the choices that are therefore available to customers.
I agree that the centre of both towns could do with some investment to make them appealing for both us and visitors to the towns. Hearing the complaints by some of the businesses in the town centres, a lot of this seems to be down to the cost of rates, etc.
Wouldn't it be sensible if the council were to look at the bigger picture and use some of the rate income from the larger stores to discount the rates in the centres of the town. This would help reduce the overheads incurred by these small businesses and help make them viable.
It would also make it easier to rent out or sell the empty shops to new enterprising individuals who, at the moment, are put off with the large payments that have to be made every year.
Seems a sensible and workable solution to help things, if you ask me.
4 day week thats whats needed
I had the pleasure of visiting a smashing wee town in Derbyshire called Belper, late last year. As I walked down its main street I was struck by how different it was – nearly all the shops were local, independent traders, and there was such a variety and selection it was truly inspiring. There were traditional butcher shops, fishmongers, a fruit and veg shop that made me stop in my tracks as I walked past it wondering what the smell was – guess what it was fresh fruit and veg, when was the last time you smelt that in Tescos? Whilst I do like the convenience of a supermarket – it was great to see a wee town thriving with local and traditional shops.
I had the pleasure of visiting a smashing wee town in Derbyshire called Belper, late last year. As I walked down its main street I was struck by how different it was – nearly all the shops were local, independent traders, and there was such a variety and selection it was truly inspiring. There were traditional butcher shops, fishmongers, a fruit and veg shop that made me stop in my tracks as I walked past it wondering what the smell was – guess what it was fresh fruit and veg, when was the last time you smelt that in Tescos? Whilst I do like the convenience of a supermarket – it was great to see a wee town thriving with local and traditional shops.
sounds marvellous, Derbyshire has some stunning places. Was similarly struck by Morpeth recently (just a bit up from Newcastle upon Tyne). Pretty little place with a thriving local community. Shopping was handled by a big Lidl & a big Morrissons directly opposite each other. By consequence boths shops were doing very well and Morrissons prices were a lot lower than I remember them being in other towns. The town itself had a happy bunch of people and because the local shops didn't dare charge too much (Newcastle wasn't all that far away) the local businesses did very well.
I think the problem comes when shopkeepers get greedy.
Would Everyone Just Except Change!
Why? When you like how it is and don't like what it's changing to why should they?
Liking what you have never used to be a sin, greed never used to be a virtue.
Do you patronise smaller shops just because you think "Hmm, I am doing this because I want us all to talk to one and other like in the good 'ol days"?
Personally I go to a shop to buy something at a reasonable price with a reasonable chance that the sell by date hasn't expired.
Admittedly times are a changing, but it isn't the large supermarkets that are changing society but it is actually society that is changing the way we shop.
The bottom line is that any shop that sells good stuff at a reasonable price will survive.
I actually live in a small village which has a small shop. Yes, I do patronise it. It stocks a good range of the everyday items at competitive prices and no, it's not out of date stock.
The shop has a post office (do you remember them?) and I use it to pay bills, get tax discs, send parcels and even get foreign currency from.
It is an important part of village life and even though there is a Tesco 10 miles away to the east and west and a Waitrose and a Budgens within 3 miles I patronise the 'corner shop'.
Perhaps the five minute walk to the shop rather than the 20 mile round trip to Tescos is doing my bit for reducing my carbon footprint....
The question which needs to be asked is why have people and businesses abandoned Town Centres?
Could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that Town Centres have, in the main, been ruined by interfering politicians intent on Social Engineering?
First they moved people out of Town Centres to the outskirts of Towns. Then they decided that they could make businesses in Town Centres pay whatever Rates they saw fit because they didn’t have a vote. Then they failed to make provision for people to come to Town Centres to shop.
If you provide what people want then people will come. If Town Centres provide what people want then people will use them.
Of course, there are always those who would like to force people to do as they say.
For those who don’t like the idea of Supermarkets the answer is quite simple, don’t use them but stop trying to force others to follow that particular belief system.
Moonboots
01-May-07, 10:42
Thought I would join in on the debate..
Blah Blah Blah
There you go.... Im sick of hearing about the same old story about shops and supermarkets.
Its getting boring now.
Sorry just my opinion...
Thanks for that moonboots...
Thought I would join in on the debate..
Blah Blah Blah
There you go.... Im sick of hearing about the same old story about shops and supermarkets.
Its getting boring now.
Sorry just my opinion...
One benefit of a "same old story" is that it registers peoples opinions, so that in a couple of years, when the high street has died and the tourists drive straight on to Orkney............. We can identify all the ones that welcomed Tesco/Sainsburys/Asda with open arms and nothing but criticism for the small shopkeeper........... and say "TOLD YOU SO!"
F-f-f-f-fetch a cloth....G-g-g-g-Granville :)
It also allows new members, who may have joined since the last time "the same old story" was told, to have their say on the subject.
Don Quixote
08-May-07, 13:43
See W&D Ross have opened another ship down beside Riverside Replicas in Thurso. They are in direct competition with Homebase but do not seem to be worried about them.
They are prepared to work, open as the market dictates and not close on first Monday of month like at lot of others do.
If a shop wants to let their staff have a day off during the week, rotate the staff.
Thurso shopkeepers, keep up with the times or close down!!
luskentyre
08-May-07, 23:14
Talking of times, I went to a shop in Thurso town centre this afternoon, only to find them locking the front door. The time was just after 16:50. I did remark that they were shutting a bit early but just got ignored. That's service for you...
Spring Flower
09-May-07, 16:56
Talking of times, I went to a shop in Thurso town centre this afternoon, only to find them locking the front door. The time was just after 16:50. I did remark that they were shutting a bit early but just got ignored. That's service for you...
are you going to name and shame?
Mr P Cannop
09-May-07, 17:00
Talking of times, I went to a shop in Thurso town centre this afternoon, only to find them locking the front door. The time was just after 16:50. I did remark that they were shutting a bit early but just got ignored. That's service for you...
what shop was you in ??
luskentyre
09-May-07, 23:19
are you going to name and shame?
Well ok - it was the 99p shop. Now I'm shamed - lol
See W&D Ross have opened another ship down beside Riverside Replicas in Thurso. They are in direct competition with Homebase but do not seem to be worried about them.
Hmmm... they should be. We went in there a couple of months ago, found a paper we really liked, but there was no price on it. We gave the assistant our details, yet she never bothered to get back to us. Also, I was surprised that they wouldn't provide me with a small sample from one of the papers on display in the window - I only wanted a wee bit to check it looked ok against my carpet/couch, so again, no sale. [disgust]
Similarly, we spotted a nice paper in the other paper shop in town, and as they didn't have enough on the shelf, asked if they would order it in for us. Again, left our name and number for them to call when they got it in, but they never bothered either.
As it was, Homebase had no hesitations in allowing us to take several samples home, and duly got our business when we found a paper we were happy with.:)
I'm all for supporting local business, but if they don't even try to assist their customers, then I have little sympathy.
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