Money invested in the new found pleasure of shopping is quickly spent. Between 1980 and 1987 retail space has increased by 50%, and even long established companies like Debenhams and BHS have been caught up in the designer shopping trend. These two became the first in a long line to employ famous designers such as Ralph Halpern and Terence Conran and helped the failing British design business declare huge rises in profit. The estimated value of such businesses has climbed to around £1.7 billion and this is surely allied to the increase in graphics and interior design used in the building of these new centres. These companies employ hundreds and have a multi-million pound turn-over, but the question looming is whether this can be sustained.
Gardner uses “Trade Winds” (South East Economic Development strategy document) co-written by Ken Worpole to offer up some argument against this type of centre, only to knock most of them down with his own arguments.
Worpole predicts the death of the high-street due to large out of town retail schemes and rising bitterness between those who can afford to support their retail “habit” and those who cannot. He believes this will lead to an increase in crime and uses strong words to make his point when he states it could “pose tremendous danger to the quality of civic life”.
Gardner points out that the death of the high-street has been predicted for many years and has, as yet, failed to happen. In fact the opposite may be true as retailers and councils realise that if they want to keep some of the trade they must themselves invest to improve the local areas. He also indicated that these new centres are not simply to buy and sell goods but also have a social side. People come together to eat in the central food courts, sit, talk and generally just pass the time, and a few hours shopping can soon turn into a day long outing for the whole family. Even those who just want somewhere to hide from the inclement British weather can find real entertainment, as retail is combined with such pastimes as dining out, street theatre, ‘pleasure parks’ and visits to the cinema, all under one roof.
It is a fact that this boom in the retail area has its foundations in low paid female labour that, all too often, work long and antisocial hours and this seems to be the reasoning behind the government enforced opening restrictions. Gardner feels that this is short-sighted and states that if the masses want to shop twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week then they should be allowed.
The retail boom has also been helped along by the ease with which credit is now available, not only through banks, but with most stores offering their own credit cards.
There seems to be less of a link between waged income and “must have” commodities than ever before, as the trend is set to buy the most up to date items. Unemployment seems to have had little effect on the retail market as people feel the need to buy anything, it doesn’t seem to matter what, just as long as you’re not seen to be one of the “have nots” by the “haves”.
With retail growth for 1985 a mere 1-1.5% and the chance of higher interest rates on the horizon after the Christmas spending spree, it seems the country may be slipping from the “boom” to the “bust”.
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