The New Economics Foundation argues that chain stores are taking away the identity from an increasing number of our high streets
The New Economics Foundation argues that chain stores are taking away the identity from an increasing number of our high streets
A recent report suggested our town centres and shopping areas were becoming devoid of character, clones full of identikit chain stores.
Where once High Streets had a mix of butchers, bakers and greengrocers, typically there will now be a Tesco, a chain book store, a Boots or a Superdrug, a Topshop, several banks and various charity shops.
So says the New Economics Foundation (NEF), which argues that chain stores are sucking the identity from an increasing number of our towns, leaving High Streets more vulnerable to economic shocks such as the current downturn.
The group's previous report into Clone Town Britain five years ago had Exeter at No 1 in the "clone rankings". Its latest study, Reimagining The High Street, says that of the 117 UK towns it surveyed, 41 per cent are "clone towns", defined as being those with more than two-thirds of their centre being made up of chains. A further 23 per cent are deemed to be on the verge of becoming a "clone".
The remaining 36 per cent were classified as "home towns", where distinctive independent retailers make up more than two-thirds of stores.
The report makes particularly grim reading for the South West, with Exeter sharing No 2 spot in the "clone town top ten" with Reading, behind Cambridge, and St Austell and Penzance at Nos 8 and 10 respectively.
It is not all bad news for our region though, with three of our towns featuring in the "home town" top ten. Torrington came fourth, followed by Crediton at five and Newlyn, ninth.
The report held up Crediton – just seven miles from Exeter – as an example of a traditional yet thriving retail centre boasting an independent butcher, two bakers, two delicatessens and a family-owned general store, as well as a monthly farmers' market.
I use the term "bad news" advisedly though, because I dispute that all retail "cloning" is necessarily a bad thing. Aside from the fact that there is a fine line between what is and isn't a "chain", there is also a fine line between where a town centre begins and ends.
In my experience as a retail specialist with the South West's largest firm of property consultants, it is precisely those towns with a standard list of mainstream retailers that are the ones which are able to support healthy independent retail pitches.
The current planning process is not generally designed to differentiate between the size of retailer, only the individual use, so there is very little to stop smaller retailers being swallowed up by the bigger brands. However, these brands will only go where the customers are, so in order to make the smaller ventures viable, careful attention needs to be paid to the individual shopper and his or her characteristics.
Of course these operators need to be in an environment where they can thrive, so it is important to remember that developers and councils do endeavour to earmark specific parts of new schemes for local independent retailers, to ensure that they have the opportunity to trade alongside the bigger, footfall generating brands.
Take Exeter, where you have areas like the Roman Walk in Princesshay, which is occupied by independent operators plying their trade in what is a prime city centre location. Directly adjacent to the "clone zone" highlighted in the report are the independent retail pitches of Gandy Street, South Street and Fore Street. I would question whether there would be sufficient pedestrian traffic to support these if the High Street "mainstays" were not also represented.
I believe there are two key considerations when looking at retail centres in this way: its suitability for the specific population, ie, the size and mix of tenants, and whether it provides the right balance to allow the independents to flourish. This balance is fundamental, and is something which can get lost amid all the talk of "clone towns." Not all towns – the people who inhabit them and their shopping habits – are the same. The bottom line is that the retail offer needs to be appropriate in each unique case and so direct comparisons between major centres such Exeter, and smaller ones like Crediton, are not really fair or relevant.
When it comes to the long-term future of retail centres, we have known for some time that rows of shops, on their own, are not the answer, and that the leisure pursuit of shopping is crucial to their success.
Rather than judging a town purely by its central retailers, looking at the all-round shopping experience, the amount of time shoppers spend in a centre, and the diversity of the goods they buy, is probably more relevant. I believe that in the South West the majority of our key towns would fare more positively with these criteria.
Article copyright THE CORNISHMAN