Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Just as with buying any sort of property, it's costs money to repay the loans/mortgage.


The bigger picture is that even with zero rents and zero business rates, the shops would struggle.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

They all seem to be agreeing to the CVAs which suggests they are being flexible.
One issue they face is that when they do it for one tenant, the other tenants request a reduction too. This impacts the returns they provide for their owners, typically pension funds. And pensioners are not usually keen to accept lower pensions. ;)

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

This is a big store in our main High Street, four floors I think. Only just up the road from Debenhams that is also teetering.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Link for those not wanting to read The Sun

BBC News - Department store Beales collapses into administration
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51176418

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Sadly unless there is proper long term change with a series of measures to help our High Street the High Street as we know it will not exist in the future in its current form..

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Like what? Rents and rates aren't the problem, as the sales are not there in the first place for so many shops. The big superstores sell so much of everybody's regular and more occasional needs that they don't need to go elsewhere.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Beecles is buggered then, most of the shops are Beales, I was there in 2018.

---------- Post added at 18:14 ---------- Previous post was at 18:11 ----------

I blame scandelous rents charged by landlords, then out out of date trading laws that restrict Sunday trading hours.

I the late 80's I worked for W.H.Smith Do It All, I worked 9 till 6 on Sundays along with colledge students, now I can buy something on Saturday and get it delivered on Sunday before the shops open.

Thats why the high street is suffering.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

High streets are suffering because businesses there pay businesses rates, in return for which they get bugger all, except for badly designed pedestrianisation schemes, dirty streets with cracked pavements, overflowing bins and outrageously expensive council run car parks, and because the shops themselves charge more for a narrower range of goods. Out of town centres far better because they’re under cover, and usually clean, and the parking is free. Internet shopping does best of all because it’s always open, doesn’t pay business rates and offers a broader range of products.

It’s worth mentioning by the way that there are no restrictions on Sunday trading hours in Scotland but there’s no evidence high streets are doing any better here than elsewhere. It’s a combination of factors, not just one thing.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

I wish we got rid of the Sunday trading laws anyway, it's so annoying to suddenly remember you need 'x or y' and you can't just get it.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Business rates and rents have always been there. The complaints are that people aren't visiting the high streets and buying anything. Rents and rates are immaterial in that.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

Eh? Of course they’re material.

They are part of the cost of doing business in a high street. They are part of the reason why products cost more in a high street shop than from a web store like Amazon. The cost per square foot is one of the factors restricting the size of shops, in turn restricting the range of products on offer, again in comparison to the seemingly limitless choices on sites like Amazon.

Shoppers are not dim witted. They know they get less choice for more money on the high street, and are beginning to stay away in droves. The places making a fist of resisting this trend are the ones which can credibly sell themselves as a destination, so a family might make a day out of it and do some shopping amidst the eating and coffee stops.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

High streets need to change, and are changing, to places of leisure. bars, cafes, restaurants, boutique shops etc.

Large department stores will exist mainly in large Malls.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

If you're not selling anything then even if rent and rates were zero, you'd still be making a loss. The restricting factors on size of shops are the physical buildings, along with parking availability. The elephant in the room on costs is the minimum wage.



How much of what Amazon provides has ever been on the high street? Eg just try finding the same range(type, length, colour) of HDMI cables anywhere else. Just not possible. It's impossible for any shop to provide the huge range from a variety of different manufacturers that is available nowadays.

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

But they are selling things and their rent and rates aren't zero, so your straw man argument is invalid (unlike Chris's points, which are based in the real world).

Re: House of Fraser in trouble...
 

The bigger stores may still be selling some things, but is it enough to cover their costs, even if rents and rates were zero? Rents and rates haven't suddenly been sprung on them from nowhere, they've been there all along. Reducing rents and rates isn't going to have that much of an impact. The frequent complaint is that less people are visiting the high street in the first place, therefore they can't be buying that much.
Link
Link