The UK High Street – terminal decline or natural change?

Mar 2 2015, 1:18 PM7 min read

Another traditional high street store has announced store closures due to falling revenues and profits – is this the latest step in the terminal decline of the UK high street?

UK chocolate retailer Thorntons has reported a fall in revenues for the six months to January 2015 of 8 per cent to £128.2m. This comes hot on the heels of the pre-Christmas profit warning issued by the company and the closure of just under half of its stores.

Thorntons has suffered from falling sales and unprofitable stores for a couple of years and made the decision to move more of its sales to other outlets and retailers. This move has since been compounded by the announcement of the loss of shelf space at two major UK supermarkets.

High-profile casualties

Thorntons are far from alone. According to a report issued by PwC, there was an average of 16 shop closures per day in the UK in 2014. Coupled with a reduction in the number of new shops opening, this is leaving many high streets full of empty units.

In the past year alone, a large number of high-profile names have either been forced to close high street stores or have collapsed entirely. Phones4U and La Senza both collapsed last year, while 2015 has already claimed its first big victims in Bank, USC and Austin Reed (all fashion retailers) and Radio Shack in the US.

Why is this happening?

For many, the main cause is seen as the out of town retail parks, complete with free parking and everything in one place. However, even these shops aren’t immune to the changing environment.

The Office of National Statistics retail statistics have shown an average 12 per cent increase on online sales to the same period the previous year throughout 2014.

Many organisations have failed to keep up with the pace of the digital economy. Poorly designed shops with unclear offerings, poor customer service and unsuccessful marketing just don’t cut it against the convenience of shopping online and having everything delivered to your door.

Organisational Benefits

It’s not just the consumers who are benefiting either. There are major positives for organisations and supply chains for having an online operation. Not having to run a high street store means reduced overhead costs and monthly outgoings and the ability to be located in low-rent areas.

With fewer staff required, the goods or services can be offered at a lower cost, as companies require less mark-up to make a profit. Stock can also be ordered in bulk, further reducing costs, while at the same time ensuring that there is sufficient stock to cover customer orders.

Hope for the Future?

All is not lost though. Many consumers still want shops that they can visit and often, the convenience of online shopping is outweighed by the risk of not getting what they want first time, or not being able to see what it is they are buying.

It is widely felt that organisations that successfully merge the two worlds of digital and physical shopping can help to save the high street. For example, the John Lewis Group now offers ‘click-and-collect’ to any of their department stores or Waitrose supermarkets for online orders.

Special offers can be sent to a smart phone when customers are in store, while augmented reality (think Google Glass) can be used to show you what a sofa would look like in your house. The companies who can tailor their offering best will be the ones who populate the high streets of the future.

So, terminal decline? Probably not. Natural state of change? Arguably yes. And it looks as though it will be for the better.

Read on for the other procurement and supply chain stories making the headlines.

MoD spent £33 million on ‘botched’ defence procurement outsourcing

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) must “sharpen up” its reform of procurement, after “throwing away” £33m on botched changes.
This follows a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), Reforming Defence Acquisition, which examined the MoD’s plans to improve the skills of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) staff, its systems and the way it interacts with the armed forces.
The NAO concluded that improving the performance of DE&S remained the most challenging part of the department’s strategy, although progress has been made. “There is now a clearer separation of responsibilities between the commands, which request equipment, and DE&S as the organisation responsible for delivering the equipment,” the report said.
It also outlined how the department had spent two-and-a-half years and £33 million trying to implement its preferred option of a government-owned, contractor-operated (GoCo) model to reform DE&S, before it was deemed undeliverable and halted in 2013.