Shops gone after years of business

[MikeLA]

Well another of my favourite’s closing down USMC pro. (Used to be USMC pro)

All the others gone
SASS 1st to go a long times ago ( virtually knew them personally by name) bought that much off them.
Survival Aids
Henry DuBora aldershot Best army clothing shop there was.
Stringtown supplies doesn’t sell the same amount of kit anymore
John Bull shop gone all online now

Dam shame

 

[Wildgoose]

There goes my teenage years.

The excitement of a catalogue from any of those fine establishments dropping through the door.

 

[MikeLA]

Exactly but I was about 20 year old , same

 

[Laurentius]

Back in the day Riddy's army surplus stores and Lynes were my go to suppliers in Coventry. Both must have been gone getting on for more than thirty years now. Hard put to find any decent army surplus store these days, nearest that I know of is in Harborne, Brum and after that Kidderminster. My brother tells me there is one out in the black country somewhere, but I have forgotten where.

 

[Pattree]

They’ve been fading away for decades. Covid probably accelerated the process. In my youth most towns had a shop where you could buy a gas mask ( 1/-) or a non functioning Geiger counter (2/6).
The stall in Wellington Market hung on until recently but it’s not there now.

It’s market forces isn’t it. I can get what I want on line. I remember knife shops with that motorised SAK or an Opinel 13 in the window.
Times change.

 

[Woody girl]

No good moaning shops have gone bust if you shop online for everything.
I hear, times change, but if this carries on, there will be no shops. Towns and cities will have the heart taken out of them and become urban jungles.
We see it in the small villages. No shops, no buses, just nothing that made life livable in a small community , housing taken over by townies who want a country home for part of the year. Homes empty the rest of the time, schools closed. Post offices and pubs gone.

But its OK, as you can shop online, and get postie ,white van man , or tesco to deliver your wants.
Fine untill you run out of milk and need to get the car out and travel miles just for that one item.
Quiet country lanes are now dangerous with large vehicles delivering at speed to get their rounds done.
Sigh.

 

[Wander]

I still miss Our Price.

Being serious, though, the history of the high street shop isn't actually that long.
It's mostly a 19th century invention and may go down in history as a passing fad.
Personally, I feel no loyalty to it and see no intrinsic reason why the high street should exist.
Mind you, I've always been someone with minority tastes and I've always struggled to find the things I want in the high street. Before the internet I had to do mail order.
So I feel no sorrow for the passing of the high street. In fact, good riddance to it. The high street never served me so I feel no remorse in its demise.

 

[Laurentius]

No good moaning shops have gone bust if you shop online for everything.

I do love ferreting around for stuff in real shops, however when it comes to hardware and a lot of stuff, you find that your local stores do not keep a lot in stock and items you want are just not available. Could not find a tube of evostik for love nor money in my local Robert Dyas. An old fashioned hardware has closed only recently, due to the owner retiring and no-one wanting to take over the business. If you are stuck for something you have no option but to go online sometimes although I do hate having to be around for deliveries.

 

[Tengu]

And then they havent got it and its "Why dont you get it online??"

 

[MikeLA]

No good moaning shops have gone bust if you shop online for everything.
I hear, times change, but if this carries on, there will be no shops. Towns and cities will have the heart taken out of them and become urban jungles.
We see it in the small villages. No shops, no buses, just nothing that made life livable in a small community , housing taken over by townies who want a country home for part of the year. Homes empty the rest of the time, schools closed. Post offices and pubs gone.

But its OK, as you can shop online, and get postie ,white van man , or tesco to deliver your wants.
Fine untill you run out of milk and need to get the car out and travel miles just for that one item.
Quiet country lanes are now dangerous with large vehicles delivering at speed to get their rounds done.
Sigh.

We already have towns not villages around here with charity shops only all the long term shops which I used to visit from childhood gone.

 

[Goosegog]

johnbull online
still functioning

 

[MikeLA]

Yes, when I was serving, probably their best customer. Hope he does well online, nice guy. Shame about the shop though. It was in the perfect place.

 

[Herman30]

I've always struggled to find the things I want in the high street.

Likewise. Unless you live in a big city or metropol (and I don´t) there are no shops that sell those "tacticool" stuff I want. So internet has been a blessing for me. The whole world is open for business.

 

[Pattree]

The whole world is open for business.

Yep. I too remember buying a pound of nails and a gallon of paraffin.
The world changes. There are little craft and manufacturing businesses all over the place selling their products and services all over the planet. We in the UK aren’t as good at it as some Asian countries (yet) but it’s not all big internationals. Not that there is anything wrong with big organisations as long as they are in genuine competition.
Yes we are losing many little shops from our high streets. My hope is that these can become residences and bring life back to town centres after 6pm and who knows, perhaps they can provide what you are looking for: on line from their back rooms.

 

[demographic]

Used to be fairly simple for sma businezses to se wjthin the EU, then around 2016 some changes started that made that less viable.
You might have heard of it?

 

[demographic]

Jeez, editing. Bah.

 

[Ozmundo]

Yep. I too remember buying a pound of nails and a gallon of paraffin.
The world changes. There are little craft and manufacturing businesses all over the place selling their products and services all over the planet. We in the UK aren’t as good at it as some Asian countries (yet) but it’s not all big internationals. Not that there is anything wrong with big organisations as long as they are in genuine competition.
Yes we are losing many little shops from our high streets. My hope is that these can become residences and bring life back to town centres after 6pm and who knows, perhaps they can provide what you are looking for: on line from their back rooms.

All the ingredients for home made Ironbru then!

The old school motor-factors with hundreds of draws have gone too. And often the knowledge base that went with them.