The changing face of the High Street?

When I moved to St Ninian's last summer, I took the decision to move to Kilmarnock. I had never been in Kilmarnock let alone considered living there before but I must admit I quite enjoy it. Having lived in cities since I left home to go to university, it's a nice feeling to finish a day or a week at school and get away from it all. 

However, in recent weeks I have noticed a real change in the town. Shops in the High Street have been offering massive sales for what seems like an eternity - 50%, 60%, even 90% off sales whichever way you look. But sales seem to have become commonplace in recent years with the traditional January and July sales giving way to drawn out "clearances" or "giveaway bonanzas." The difference this time is that usually, the sale ends and the store remains. On a recent walk, I noticed an Arnold Clark dealership completely boarded up which only a week previously seemed to have been trading well. As I walked up the High Street, I was aware of the number of empty shops and "To Let" signs. Kilmarnock is a town which seems to be genuinely suffering from the economic downturn and is probably similar to many provincial towns across the country. 

As a Business Studies teacher, I have had a keen interest in the developing economic situation but it always seemed to be happening elsewhere. The evidence in Kilmarnock is that it is happening close to home. 

And the news that the Icelandic Baugur group is expected to fall into administration poses the problem that the changing landscape of our high streets is likely to spread to the main cities. Baugur owns stakes in Debenhams, Karen Millen, Oasis, Nine West, Fraser, Hamleys and Iceland. Although Baugur don't own any of them outright, many of them did rely on now-collapsed Icelandic banks and now need to find new financial backers. Although it is likely that many of them will be bought, either through private equity firms or through management buy outs, the chances of empty shops in Buchanan Street, Princes Street and George Street is a growing possibility.