p20 Columnist mar12 9/3/10 17:44 Page 20
news comment
ttglive.com
Kane Pirie Travel Republic
“The migration online leaves
behind so much empty retail
space that some towns are
resorting to fake shop fronts”
T
hreshers, Woolworths and Borders – the customer. They just cannot compete with
who will be the next big high street the efficiency of Amazon.
fatality? The “age of austerity” and How different is travel? Increasingly, people
migration of shopping online is prefer to run their own searches online. They
leaving behind so much empty retail space that do not want the inconvenience or awkwardness
some towns have resorted to fake shop fronts of working through another person.
to mask the decline. Tour operators still have a large network of
Even at £1,500 a throw, North Tyneside high street outlets. But these are not independ-
Council believe they have to act to slow the ent or “true” travel agents in the traditional
decline in the borough which already has sense – they sell the flights and packages of the
140 empty shops. This has presumably helped tour operator that controls them. Even though
to stimulate a business which previously was Thomson has announced an intention to open
unimaginable – the supply and installation of 30 new stores, I don’t see the long-term
pretend shop fronts. future here. Such stores, like commis-
Things are changing nationwide and it sion for third-party agents, are an
is clear the high street in 2020 will look interim measure only pending
radically different. achievement of enough business
First, there will be much less of it. direct on their own website.
We don’t need all this physical Anyone relying on commission
shopping space any more. from tour operators large enough
Slowly, it will be con- to market effectively direct to
verted to other pur- consumers is, I suspect, living on
poses, including borrowed time.
residential. Third, the desperation of North
Second, Tyneside Council signals an opportu-
certain types of nity – if there is money for fake shops
shop will cease surely there is money for real shops? Is
to exist. now the perfect time to be setting up a
Pre-Christmas I physical presence? There must be landlords
wasted hours hunting keen to find credible tenants; perhaps one of
round town for specific the independent high street specialists can
children’s books until my wife invent a pioneering new model?
pointed out we could do it all at The empty shop epidemic is not simply a
home, online, at a fraction of the recession blip. The internet-sparked distri-
cost. Moreover, it is quicker to bution revolution is still gathering pace, and
buy books online than in a high streets will never be the same again.
shop. The extra costs incurred
by the high street book Kane Pirie is managing director of
retailer don’t actually benefit Travel Republic
20 12.03.2010
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