John Lewis to Close

[@owlstalk 51,341]

Just now, Ronnie Starling said:

I don't go shopping in Sheffield every week but if I wanted a choice of something other than a charity shop or pound shop then I'm afraid it would be Leeds or Manchester.

 

 

No it wouldn't
You'd do neither of those

You don't do either of those

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

Just now, @owlstalk said:

 

Because it is profitable

People don't go to the one in Sheffield.
It's always empty
Nobody goes there enough

 

Including you

 

 

Ah right. I didn't realise you worked on the door at John Lewis. I must have missed you as I normally go in from the car park onto the carpet department.

[@owlstalk 51,341]

1 minute ago, Ronnie Starling said:

Ah right. I didn't realise you worked on the door at John Lewis. I must have missed you as I normally go in from the car park onto the carpet department.

How many carpets a week do you buy from John Lewis?

 

 

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

1 minute ago, @owlstalk said:

 

 

No it wouldn't
You'd do neither of those

You don't do either of those

You haven't got a clue about my shopping habits. (I do enjoy a trip to Cambridge too but you probably wouldn't believe that either. Wonderful town centre).

[@owlstalk 51,341]

Just now, Ronnie Starling said:

You haven't got a clue about my shopping habits. (I do enjoy a trip to Cambridge too but you probably wouldn't believe that either. Wonderful town centre).

 

 

Not been to Cambridge - I'm gonna try it tho

My point is that people say how Leeds is better, but they never go to Leeds and don't shop enough in their own shops to make them profitable enough to stay open

That's all

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

6 minutes ago, Sham67 said:

I think the point I was making may have gone over your head.

It will still be there long after they demolish the one in Sheffield.

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

Just now, @owlstalk said:

 

 

Not been to Cambridge - I'm gonna try it tho

My point is that people say how Leeds is better, but they never go to Leeds and don't shop enough in their own shops to make them profitable enough to stay open

That's all

You are missing out big time if you haven't been to Cambridge. The historical colleges are what make it and @Freshfish might take you for a pint. Leeds has always had an advantage as there is more money in the surrounding areas. We seem to have had one big building site in Sheffield ever since I was a kid.

[@owlstalk 51,341]

1 hour ago, Ronnie Starling said:

You are missing out big time if you haven't been to Cambridge. The historical colleges are what make it and @Freshfish might take you for a pint. Leeds has always had an advantage as there is more money in the surrounding areas. We seem to have had one big building site in Sheffield ever since I was a kid.

 

 

Yeah I've been to Oxford but not tried Cambridge yet - thank you for the nudge am definitely going to do that in summer when we can get out about again!

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

40 minutes ago, @owlstalk said:

 

 

Yeah I've been to Oxford but not tried Cambridge yet - thank you for the nudge am definitely going to do that in summer when we can get out about again!

I'll look forward to watching your film of it. You might kill two birds with one stone and make it an away day watching Wednesday!

[Snelldog 0]

This will be devastating for the city centre and confirms Sheffield as very much a second tier city.  
 

The council are to blame.  Sheffield has been abysmally managed over a 25 year period (probably nearer 40 in fact) that has simultaneously seen Manchester and Leeds accelerate and become global cities. 
 

Tragic really.  

[@owlstalk 51,341]

20 minutes ago, Ronnie Starling said:

I'll look forward to watching your film of it. You might kill two birds with one stone and make it an away day watching Wednesday!

Fingers crossed!

[@owlstalk 51,341]

4 minutes ago, Snelldog said:

This will be devastating for the city centre and confirms Sheffield as very much a second tier city.  
 

The council are to blame.  Sheffield has been abysmally managed over a 25 year period (probably nearer 40 in fact) that has simultaneously seen Manchester and Leeds accelerate and become global cities. 
 

Tragic really.  

City Centre's everywhere are dying when it comes to retail
Any council worth it's salt will be planning for their city centre to be residential, leisure space etc instead of chasing retail
That's what Sheffield council is on with

[tom 517]

3 hours ago, Ronnie Starling said:

Hmm I wonder why the one in Leeds I still open then?

That’s more to do with John Lewis leadership.

 

if the various sources online are correct, the biggest difference the two is that Leeds is a substantially newer unit and nothing more. Both we’re losing similar amounts of money. Leeds will have larger amounts of footfall given the fact it has a larger metro population. That looks to be a purely financial decision - nothing more and nothing less.

 

My next point is - realistically, how long is that store in Leeds gonna stay open? I’ll be more than happy to bet that store won’t be there in five years. As Neil and a couple of others have said, retail as we know is dying a horrible death as the business model of department stores are grossly outdated.

 

The biggest stab in the chest for most Sheffield natives is the cultural link between JL/Cole Brothers and the city. The council have also actively spent years trying to court JL to stay in the city centre - the 3.4 mill buyback for the lease scheme and paying for a refurb post-covid.

 

Am I going to go to Leeds to visit a John Lewis store? Absolutely not a chance - they have no real usp to actually get me to part with my hard-earned money and today’s closure and Leeds’ decision to remain open will hurt its brand and reputation locally. The view from friends and family today is that although it’s really sad, they also wouldn’t go all the way to Leeds to visit JL either. Meadowhall sells all the same stuff for a similar price - why drive 30 miles up the road to buy the same thing?

 

 

(PS - I’ve never bought into the whole “we’ll go to Leeds to go shopping cos Sheffield is naff” argument. People just go to Meadowhall instead).

 

 

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

7 hours ago, tom said:

That’s more to do with John Lewis leadership.

 

if the various sources online are correct, the biggest difference the two is that Leeds is a substantially newer unit and nothing more. Both we’re losing similar amounts of money. Leeds will have larger amounts of footfall given the fact it has a larger metro population. That looks to be a purely financial decision - nothing more and nothing less.

 

My next point is - realistically, how long is that store in Leeds gonna stay open? I’ll be more than happy to bet that store won’t be there in five years. As Neil and a couple of others have said, retail as we know is dying a horrible death as the business model of department stores are grossly outdated.

 

The biggest stab in the chest for most Sheffield natives is the cultural link between JL/Cole Brothers and the city. The council have also actively spent years trying to court JL to stay in the city centre - the 3.4 mill buyback for the lease scheme and paying for a refurb post-covid.

 

Am I going to go to Leeds to visit a John Lewis store? Absolutely not a chance - they have no real usp to actually get me to part with my hard-earned money and today’s closure and Leeds’ decision to remain open will hurt its brand and reputation locally. The view from friends and family today is that although it’s really sad, they also wouldn’t go all the way to Leeds to visit JL either. Meadowhall sells all the same stuff for a similar price - why drive 30 miles up the road to buy the same thing?

 

 

(PS - I’ve never bought into the whole “we’ll go to Leeds to go shopping cos Sheffield is naff” argument. People just go to Meadowhall instead).

 

 

I guess Dame Sharon White might revisit her decision to keep Leeds open because Tom on Owlstalk won't go shopping there. Meanwhile many others will go to Leeds or Manchester to shop because of the choice. 

[@owlstalk 51,341]

1 hour ago, Ronnie Starling said:

 Meanwhile many others will go to Leeds or Manchester to shop because of the choice. 

No they won't

[tom 517]

1 hour ago, Ronnie Starling said:

I guess Dame Sharon White might revisit her decision to keep Leeds open because Tom on Owlstalk won't go shopping there. Meanwhile many others will go to Leeds or Manchester to shop because of the choice. 

More than happy to be proved wrong buddy, please provide me figures.

 

Absolutely no need to be snarky though - we’re all respectful adults.

[Ronnie Starling 12,993]

1 hour ago, @owlstalk said:

No they won't

They already do. Now where has that carpet measurement gone!

[Groundhopping Owl 4,586]

On 24/03/2021 at 18:41, @owlstalk said:

 

It's not 1978 anymore mate

Shopping in city centres is OVER

My experience of Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh really goes against this.

 

Newcastle city centre, particularly Eldon Square, is doing so well that it's the Metro Centre which is now half empty.

 

City centre shopping is a difficult thing to sustain in these times yes, but done right it's possible. Sheffield has made a right pig's ear of it and now it's reaping the consequences.

[@owlstalk 51,341]

21 minutes ago, Groundhopping Owl said:

My experience of Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh really goes against this.

 

Newcastle city centre, particularly Eldon Square, is doing so well that it's the Metro Centre which is now half empty.

 

City centre shopping is a difficult thing to sustain in these times yes, but done right it's possible. Sheffield has made a right pig's ear of it and now it's reaping the consequences.

 

 

I guess we chose Meadowhall but then didn't focus on getting people living in the city centre enough which would have helped

[owlinexile 3,187]

The Gen Z'ers are into physical shopping again now.  Do their research online and then enjoy the physical experience of going to buy it in a shop.  It's called 'webrooming' apparently.  You get the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting a local retailer, plus you don't have to pay for shipping and can check the thing before you buy it.

 

Town centres that are actually forward looking and willing to make shopping there an actual pleasant experience were doing fine before COVID.  They have just finished building a new high-end destination shopping centre in the middle of Edinburgh, for example.