Argos is readying a new standalone store in Crewe town centre.
Barclays has opened a new branch in Poole (and two other locations).
“Scotland’s second-oldest record store has unveiled plans to open another shop in a town where it began almost 50 years ago, as its owner hails the so-called ‘vinyl revival’.” (The National).
Three things you might not have imagined reporting at various points in our dozen plus years working with places on tackling highstreet vacancy.
Argos was one of the brands that switched to an ‘inside another’ strategy, banks are typically closing branches not opening them, and when we started this in 2013 it looked like record players were headed to museums not the highstreet.
What else…?
Topshop re-appearing tho (for now at least) as an ‘inside another’, as did toys r us. For a time bookshops seemed like losing their battle with technology alternatives and yet this week BBC News ran with: “Why bookshops are booming in the TikTok age.”
Plus… from two of the locations we’re supporting, a soft play centre (Coleford) and a ceramic & pottery painting cafe (Stirling) have taken on former bookies units.
I’m sure you’ll have your own comeback examples. Do please share…
Whatever, they’re all among the reasons I’m so positive about the future for our town and city centres (while accepting as ever that it remains challenging still and that there’s much more to do).
Now we just need more places to get a tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ on the case, target halving their headline empty shops rate in 18 months, and watch that long-stuck national number finally drop into single figures.
Do get in touch if your town or city centre is keen to get cracking…
