I read an article in the financial pages about M&S saying that their stores were doing well in out of town locations but not in city centres. I am not at all surprised. In recent weeks I have been to M&S high street stores in London, Winchester and Edinburgh. It was like walking back in time as the stores are cramped, with 1970s-style ceiling tiles and lights, and a general air of neglect. It is no doubt difficult to improve stores that are in old buildings, some of which have somewhat quirky layout, but unless major firms do something to improve their high street stores, they will just dwindle until they are closed. There are no doubt many other considerations such as rates and rents, but something needs to be done to imrprove the high street, instead of encouraging people to drive out of town to shopping centres.
Incidentally, the quirky layout of Edinburgh means that to get between the escalators to travel to the men’s department, you have to walk through the middle of ladies underwear. At least, I assume that the building layout is the reason, although it could be some sort of misplaced marketing idea to encourage men to buy lacy underwear for their other halves. I can’t imagine that any such purchases will result in anything other elevated expectations ending in disappointment.