Quote:
Originally Posted by Madhatter
Now that I do not believe. Coventry may be ugly but that won't stop it turning around becoming something unique.
Shopping in what is basically an open air shopping centre with trees plants and music is quite a nice experience. What puts me off is that Coventry centre seems to attract a lot of young scruffy yobs for some reason, more than the other cities do.
Anyway, we are creating a town of unique individual shops here in Atherstone, another two book sellers have opened up recently, we have shops selling gifts, ornaments, coffees from around the world, antique shops, collectables shops cafe's restaurants, but hardly any major chain store. Atherstone has far more shops than any other with it's population, more events, more character.
Rather than try to mix all that in with chain stores coventry should sellect an area and stick to what it set out to do.
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The rents in the city centre are very high, and many chains can't afford it - have you seen how many stores have closed down recently? Smaller traders have _no chance_ of success, and most of them have closed down.
Outside the precinct, the streets do NOT attract trade as they have low footfall and this means low business and NO passing trade. Shops struggle to survive in places like Spon Street. Furthermore, these streets have no road access either, or very limited road access, so there is no passing motor trade.
A lot of people don't shop in Coventry - and it's proving very difficult to bring them in, especially when most of the stores are closing and being replaced with bargain discount stores.
There are some independents - the Alma Deli, for example, and stuff in City Arcade, but most of these places seem to close after a while.
Setting aside areas rarely works - these things tend to happen organically.