Times change and things move on that is a fact of life. Ten brands that disappeared over the past decade
Hopefully the BBC are starting to sweat a bit... Maplin's is probably the odd one in that it went from mail order (back in the day) and internet to bricks and mortar. Why the hell would you do that in the modern age without an escape plan?
We all lament the death of the High Street, but then continue to buy on line, me very much included. I have been driving up and down the M1 lately, just after junction 13 there are newly built warehouses of massive size. One of these is an Amazon monster, it is a sign of the times.
Easy answer Don’t buy online, make a small effort to go and find a shop, talk to someone before you lose that faculty as well, everyone is islolating themselves which means they will rely more and more with online shopping and delivering it to your door, to the point you will never leave your home The answer is in your own as hands TD
In most parts of our world there are great shops that sell anything you want and can always get it for you in a few days
The death of retail is somewhat exaggerated. For many people it remains a pleasurable pastime. Some changes will be permanent, especially for commodity items like books, music and movies. They aren't coming back. There is a definite transition taking place but on-line will likely level off at some point in merchandise categories where size, colour and style choices lead to higher returns. In North America, return rates are already above 10% and that is creating issues for on-line sellers. The very same dynamic which limited direct mail catalogue shopping decades ago as returns and adjustments are the single biggest drag on profitability. After all, once you have pointed and clicked, it becomes a basic logistics exercise. I have heard that in early December, in the greater Toronto region, there were over 1,000,000 parcel deliveries per day. I think the good bricks and mortar retailers, who also do a good job integrating their on-line business, will be the winners. The smaller, local shops as well as the generalist department stores, may face the biggest challenges just as they did when Walmart and big box stores arrived. I did try and follow Dicky's advice and speak with someone but apparently he does not accept Collect calls!
I think many of us try to shop locally Re books or just about anything Book in shop is £15 if on internet it was £14 I would go with the touchy-feely bookshop But 99 out 100 the book will be half the price on the internet. In Blighty we now have more coffee shops both chains and indies on the high street to match the charity shops ( mentioned elsewhere on the forum whereby they have become book price wise). Times move on Many small towns have their go to shops that sell widgets or the like and they will stick around for a while yet
To get to my nearest bookshop is a fifty mile round trip by car and also requires using an expensive car park. To get to a decent 2nd hand bookshop requires a seventy miles round trip.
Personally I prefer when I can to shop locally and independent because I like the idea of supporting someone who decided "I'm going to open a shop". Maybe it was their dream - hopefully! But as noted it's pretty hard to find all the history books we might want in a local shop!
Disappearing brands are the norm, not the exception. Of the Fortune 500 list in 1955, only 60 firms remained by 2017. I happen to think that the rate of attrition will only accelerate in the digital age.
And even being long established and a household name is no guarantee of survival as some complaisant (and incompetent) managements have discovered
It's a bit like a list of completely useless/irritating shops. Oh... I only lament Maplin, as while it made me laugh with it's prices, it could still sell me small tools that I'd never use from it's discount heap. "Need a watch case opener, you say? Rubber or vice type?" Adapt or die. Some shops get it, and some don't.
Tools you say? If you have the DIY gene, as I do, the 'go to' shop in Ontario is Princess Auto. They even have a page on their website for mad inventors to post pics of their projects. Project Showcase | Princess Auto
