Step2two closed yesterday and Bills now gone too. Post Reply

[Annabel (admin)]

So sad to see two more much loved shops close within the week on Northcote Road - Bills closed mid week and Step2two closed yesterday. They follow the closure of Brissi last Sunday.

Stay local and shop local when you can everyone.

Annabel x

[Janet14]

So surprised about Bills, it was always busy!! What a shame....

[BFW]

I am surprised at Step2Two as it was also always buys ?  And ... Kids shoes are the one thing that is tricky to buy online so I wonder what happened there.

Soon the whole street will just be coffee shops / bars and restaurants which is such a shame...disappointing that the council seems to be unable to do anything to protect these independent shops from the greedy landlords.

The rumor I heard was that The Ivy is opening where All Bar One is now ?  But think this rumor has been doing the rounds for a while.

[Denwand]

So surprised about Bills, it was always busy!! What a shame....

Me too!

I have never been to Bills without having to wait for a table - Saturday / Sunday mornings being particularly busy - surprised...

[Labellalavanderina]

How sad, Step2two was very good and always busy. We were there 10 days ago and nothing seemed amiss, they had good stock levels etc. Does anyone know more?

[anett]

There will be a Thai cafe where Bills was...

And one of the charity shops are closing too...rent doubled...

[rubyonrails]

I think that there was a thai retsaurant there before it was Bills? Or am I getting confused?

[Jonny Dyson Property Consultants]

You're correct - there was a Thai there at one point, as well as Fish Works which lasted about a year.  It was actually a bingo hall back in the 70's!!  Apparently Bills were offered a premium to leave and it's going to become Rosa's Thai Cafe - www.rosasthaicafe.com they have a number of other restaurants.

Looks like Mori (yet another baby clothes shop!!) will be going into the old Hive Honey shop.

120 Northcote Road (the old Dandelion) is going to be taken by Smart Medical Clinics.

181 Northcote Road next to SDS is going to be a Skin Clinic performing beauty treatments including facials, Botox and Fillers.

The rumours about The Ivy have been circulating for years, first it was Starbucks, then Byron and now All Bar One.  No idea if it will ever happen.

Jonathan

 

[MarkyG]

A lady at the Wandsworth Debenhams was telling me the landlord of the Clapham Junction building wants to sell so Debenhams has to close. I assume it may be the same for TK maxx. I hope the space is filled quickly as having empty space that large isn't good for the area and could attract more of those people who try to sell posters. Like when maplin closed

[sloaney donkey]

All high street shops overcharge

It is a racket. They pay high rent to a landlord who has made out like a bandit over past 30 years

Then they pass the high costs onto us folk and bleed us dry

Go to amazon

AMAZON I SAY, AMAZON

[namaste1702]

High street businesses pay high rents and exorbitant business rates. Amazon has a huge team of lawyers finding every way possible to arbitrage taxes. Buying everything on amazon helps kill the high street. I understand the convenience etc, but it does have an impact.

[sw11_]

I always thought a local cinema would be a much welcomed addition into the Debenhams site if they ever closed. It would be well used.

[Motherslittlehelper]

There is a massive, amazing cinema very close by at Southside though.

Business rates & high rent costs are bad but a constantly increasing minimum wage is also madly to blame - it’s that’s such a bad policy to want to keep driving this up, who pays ? Fewer jobs are thus created and then (as we constantly see along Northcote road) there are less businesses when their costs increase and revenue doesn’t.

Let the market decide what wage to pay employees.

Amazon becomes the easy answer for many things and that’s why we rarely shop locally anymore. Controversial perhaps, but it’s the way of the world now and there is no way back.

I bet Bertie was Boo Northcote closure was due to the property not being large enough to support such a big costbase. Thus uneconomic.

[dudette]

The thing about low wages is that if people don’t earn enough money then they have to resort to benefits; in other words the state ends up subsidising employers who pay too low. That’s why we need a minimum wage. These businesses are closing down because business rates and site rents are too high. Nothing to do with staff wages.