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Ken Moss · 06-02-2010, 19:20

M & S was one of the shops that you're all interested to know I went into today. I even spent some money there too. I also went to H Samuel, W H Smith, Poundland and a pie shop although personally I'm not sure anyone will be overly-excited to find that out.

The fact is that I spent money in Accrington town centre because I was tempted by what I saw. If you're saying that a few big name stores have closed in the Arndale Centre since it opened I'd be more inclined to suspect that the rent was too high for the returns rather than a lack of sufficient interest from consumers.

Decent shops attract more shoppers but the odd Next or Marks & Spencer buried amongst a sea of charity shops and pound stores is not the answer. The Trafford Centre is an example of concentrated brands attracting millions of shoppers from all across the neighbouring counties but the shops all need each other to do well in order to justify collossal rents.

I'm not saying Accrington is ever going to be on that scale but there needs to be a reasonable incentive for nationwide chains to open stores there. I suspect the rent being charged was simply too high for the amount of custom.

06-02-2010, 19:20	#83
Ken Moss Common Sense Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Rishton Posts: 2,351 Liked: 16 times Rep Power: 7637	Re: Sunday Trading M & S was one of the shops that you're all interested to know I went into today. I even spent some money there too. I also went to H Samuel, W H Smith, Poundland and a pie shop although personally I'm not sure anyone will be overly-excited to find that out. The fact is that I spent money in Accrington town centre because I was tempted by what I saw. If you're saying that a few big name stores have closed in the Arndale Centre since it opened I'd be more inclined to suspect that the rent was too high for the returns rather than a lack of sufficient interest from consumers. Decent shops attract more shoppers but the odd Next or Marks & Spencer buried amongst a sea of charity shops and pound stores is not the answer. The Trafford Centre is an example of concentrated brands attracting millions of shoppers from all across the neighbouring counties but the shops all need each other to do well in order to justify collossal rents. I'm not saying Accrington is ever going to be on that scale but there needs to be a reasonable incentive for nationwide chains to open stores there. I suspect the rent being charged was simply too high for the amount of custom.