The collapse into administration of The Works adds another chapter to the tale of how the high street is being transformed under pressure from the internet and the increasing dominance of certain key brands. But this is also a story where almost nothing is clear-cut and the fate of the protagonists is often not easy to predict.
The Works can blame some of its troubles on Amazon, the online giant, but, paradoxically, it was also affected by Waterstone’s and the newly assertive WH Smith.
The problems of Dolcis, the shoe store that went into administration last month, also arise from a combination of apparently contradictory trends. Dolcis is in the doldrums even though sales of footwear are up. But we are looking either to buy online, or at a bargain price from Asda or Tesco, or to spoil ourselves at Kurt Geiger.
These are not the only examples of consumers’ contradictory habits. Gambling websites are hugely popular, but bookies such as BetFred still think that it is worth adding high street branches.
These players may be moving into the premises likely to be vacated by estate agents, whose numbers swelled in town centres during the property boom. The estate agency sector is expected to contract as the volume of housing transactions declines in the slowdown.
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There may be employment for some of the out-of-work estate agency staff in the mobile phone stores that will appear this year. Mobile operators want more of a high street presence to cut out middlemen such as Carphone Warehouse. Yet Carphone Warehouse, which already has 805 outlets, opened yet another branch yesterday, in Great Yarmouth.
Need a sit down to understand what’s happening in your high street? Don’t worry, there’s bound to be a coffee shop near by. And another one opening soon.