The department store has, in many ways, had one of the most tumultuous journeys of all, of those on the High Street. Whilst some key players in the sector are seeking to innovate and fast - in terms of new ranges, refurbishments of key sites, and investment in new services as they seek to make their stores real destinations for customers - the fact remains, we have seen huge numbers of store closures this year.
For many, the department store’s fall from grace has come to symbolise all that is ‘wrong’ with traditional, bricks and mortar retail. Disconnected with their customer base, lack of investment in the look and feel of shopping in store, uninspiring product, lack of innovation in online offer - whilst these were already problems for companies like Debenhams, the ongoing pandemic certainly accelerated the effects.
But companies like Debenhams, John Lewis and Frasers have historically occupied truly *enormous* spaces on our High Streets for decades; they are cornerstones of shopping centres. And some of the buildings they occupy are beautiful, important culturally to their towns, and are amongst the most iconic buildings in this country.
So what’s going to happen to them now? How do we preserve these buildings for future generations? And how do we stop them falling into disrepair and neglect, like many of the companies that once occupied them?
We’ll be exploring this and lots more with Catherine and Coco from Twentieth Century Society today. We discuss potential new uses for these beautiful buildings, why it’s important we protect them, and how you can get involved in their efforts to save these buildings that are at the heart of our town centres. Enjoy!
If you liked this episode - I highly recommend episode 1 and 6 of series 2, with Midsteeple Quarter and Dr Sarah Montano respectively, as we discuss potential uses for empty spaces on our high streets.
Find out more here: https://c20society.org.uk/campaigns/department-stores