Six months austerity in the High Street

• So far this year, 15 UK High Street chains* have gone bust
• Some blame the consumer, others the multiples
• Real issue is supply and demand mismatch
• Consumers are cutting back predictably in response to unprecedented economic pressures,
• Savvy shoppers demand convincing of value
• All Multiples started as 1-shop operators
• Grew by matching demand with efficiency
• Efficiency driven by shopper-focused management of state-of-art retailing
• Doing simple things very, very well..
• …and minding the money, driving down prices to match need
• Others can survive, perhaps even thrive, by doing the same
• Rocket-science comes later…

In case you had not noticed, the year so far…

January

British Bookshops & Stationers Bust, 40 jobs lost

March

Henleys Clothing In administration, closed all 18 stores and lost 200 jobs.

Officers Club Clothing shop into administration; lost hundreds of jobs.

April

Oddbins Administration, 300 jobs lost.

May

Focus DIY Administration, 55 stores sold, 3,000 jobs being lost.

HMV Closing 60 stores.

Mothercare Up to 120 stores to close.

JJB Sports In difficulty, with 95 stores.

June

Homeform Announced some stores to close, 1,300 staff jobs under threat, plus jobs of 1,500 fitters used by firm.

Haldanes Supermarket Administration; 26 stores and 600 jobs threatened.

Habitat Administration, 30 shops closed, 750 jobs at risk.

Thorntons (below) Plans to close up to 180 stores, putting 1,125 jobs at risk.

Jane Norman Administration, sold 30 stores but 1,000 jobs at risk.

TJ Hughes Administration, 57 stores, 4,000 jobs at risk.

Carpetright Profit warnings, closure of up to 50 stores