So far, ten businesses in the city centre have applied for the new licenses for on-street dining/drinking. Not in Hull, but Cave Bar & Grill have spent a few bob on their new outside bar and dining area...
A step up from Moderation, which is scant praise. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
High street carnage part 732 - John Lewis to axe 1,300 jobs as eight stores are closed - Croydon, Swindon, Tamworth, Newbury, Heathrow Terminal two, London st Pancras station, Birmingham Bullring and Watford will all close permanently.
Heathrow and St Pancras are little more than gift shops, but the Birmingham one is a decent size iirc. Wasn’t it the key/anchor store in the groovy mirrored end of the bullring? feels like end times are coming when John Lewis and Boots are under threat.
We worked on the St Pan project - massive Design gig. The aspiration was for it to be full of very high end outlets - Louis Vuitton, Pravda, Boss. Premium brands, no idea if they had to accept a lower level retailers. Haven’t been back. I would be very disappointed if it was full of “gift shops”
Very impressive engineering and design, no doubt. It is posh shops like you mentioned, but effectively posh gift shops because they’re not big shops, more like what you get at airports, so the range of stock is limited to what appeals to wealthy business men having to grab gifts for family back home. If you were a woman going to drop several thousand spend friends on a handbag, surely you'd want to do it in serene environment where minions brought you champagne and waited on you in silk and Chanel No 5. Not in a frantic railway undercroft rammed full of excitable french schoolkids knocking you sideways with their massive rucksacks, or grannies taking out your ankles with their wheelie cases. I quite like the food market at the end near the M&S, could always pick up something interesting in the deli to eat on the train home. But last time I was there, just before lockdown, they’ve turned more of it into a bar and less space for the food.
Boots have been struggling a while though. Went in today to get an electric toothbrush, very little stock and all at rrp. Superdrug across the road, loads of stock, 50% off rrp.
Ahhhh I get you..... I misunderstood, when you said gift shops I thought you meant tourists gift shops - the cheap n nasty oxford street type offering millions of plastic ****e red buses etc
I quite like St Pancras, always has a buzz about it. Haven't been since covid though so it must be quieter now. Wonder if the piano players still turn up?