Postby chorister » Mon May 25, 2020 11:16 pm
gkc: I get that, and I think there need to be compromises. But (1) White Stuff is a bad example on which to make a stand and (2) we - all of us - are complicit in this. I knew Andy who ran Northcote Music pretty well. He told me a story of someone who came in to buy a keyboard for his daughter, took about 20 minutes of Andy's time discussing alternatives, made a choice, fiddled with his phone, showed it to Andy and asked "can you match this price". When Andy said "no" he shrugged, said "well I've bought it" and walked out.
The moral is that if we want the high street to survive, then we all need to make sacrifices in terms of being willing to pay higher prices and often accept less convenience and less choice. It's up to us, not the landlords. White Stuff is reducing staff and closing stores not because of rents, but because for 2 - 3 years we have been buying less in its stores.