On our walk today we braved the high street. We’ve been avoiding it till now because we knew there’d be more people there to dodge, but our wandering took us in that direction so we ran the gauntlet of Other People.
And it was a strange experience. The place looked like those photos in local history books that show exactly the same view but with a few horse and carts, a child in a dress playing with a hoop and stick and a man in an apron standing outside the butcher's looking stern. Devoid of people but with a few parked cars thrown in for that 21st century vibe.
There was hardly any traffic and the only people were those standing two metres apart outside the chemist.
Every shop displayed the same sign in its window: ‘We are closed until further notice’.
Of course, this is the same up and down the country. Hell, in most countries around the world. But in somewhere like Kings Langley, where almost every shop is independent, this episode of enforced closure could be a dangerous, even life-threatening blow.
We have all seen some glorious support for our high streets in recent weeks. Whether it’s people shopping for groceries at the corner shop, or little sandwich bars offering home deliveries to the vulnerable and high-risk.
But this behaviour can’t sustain many of these shops long term.
In our village we have two lovely boutique card and gift shops, both closed. There are two independent coffee shops, both closed. The wine shop and deli is still offering home deliveries and is selling fresh bread and cakes - and is still doing a roaring wine trade - but they will obviously have taken a massive hit on the walk-in trade.
The butcher is still open, but business is slow, and the health food shop has limited hours.
Ironically the places doing the most business are the only two chains in the village - Boots and Spar.
This is a close-knit community and I am confident people will rally round as soon as we are allowed out. But will that be enough?
Rents are sky high and if businesses go under there will be any number of corporates clamouring over the vacant plots. I don’t pretend to know the exact rules but I know many local councils have conditions around who can move into empty retail sites. However, we’ve all seen picture postcard villages with a Costa plonked in between antiques shops and coffee shops.
‘The high street’ has been struggling for years thanks to the rise of online shopping, and I fear this lockdown will only add to the problem. Not only are the physical stores closed for business but there has been a relative rise in new online retailers that sell direct to consumers. Is this where consumers’ loyalties will lie once all this is over?
Meanwhile the corporations, who have the might and resources to survive all this, will then be in the perfect position to come along and buy up any number of previously independent sites that have been unable to survive.
I’m intrigued to see the next set of trading results from the big supermarkets. As the entire country stops eating out and is forced to source virtually every meal from the supermarket, they will be doing a roaring trade. If our barren fridge is anything to go by, feeding a family of five (ok, four and a half) three meals a day for three months is no mean feat.
I am confident our own little high street will come back stronger - I have already pledged to buy every card and gift going forward from our two boutique shops when they're back up and running. And who knows, some of the shops that have adapted to create a delivery service might discover a new long-term revenue opportunity. But what about others?
I urge all of you to consider your local, independent shops when this ends. Have that takeaway curry. Buy a coffee from the non-chain cafe. Pick up your meat from the butchers rather than the Tesco meat counter. I know we have all taken a hit to our finances, but if everyone puts a little bit of disposable income through their own high street, a few more small businesses might survive this nightmare.
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