Along with many, many others I am deeply concerned about the deterioration of the quality of the local retail offer within towns in the UK and the insipid aesthetic that has grown like Japanese Knotweed over our high streets. The position of a local retail operator within a community cannot be underestimated, in my opinion. A strong sense of belonging is developed from just being recognised by your local shopkeeper, and the transaction between local independent retailer and a local resident has so much more significance than just using a swipe credit card, interestingly first marketed as a ‘contactless’ card.
What’s on offer on the local high street is becoming too predictable and inclined toward poorly designed generic brands purely because they pay more and make more money. The independent retailer cannot compete and needs support from the community. What’s good for the community should not be judged solely on the basis of what will attract the most money. A successful community relies upon contact and relationships being formed with the retailers supplying it rather than the ‘contactless’ offer from supermarkets and the national brands occupying the High Street. This is having a dramatic effect on our eating habits and our diets, simply because of what is on offer or made available to us by the supermarkets.
A very interesting article appeared in the Guardian yesterday about a small town taking action against a major brand occupying a High Street shop. Its interesting that the paper chose to put forward the premise that the resistance to a major branded bar was founded on snobbery rather than strong local identity and a strong interest in good quality design and retail offer.
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/13/lymington-rejects-wetherspoons-pub