Booteeki on Melbourne Grove closed?

[Muttley]

Walked past Booteeki today and it was closed up with a sign saying 'shop to let'. Is that the end? That corner of Melbourne Grove has often struggled for business, just not enough passing traffic. The fact that I'm the first one to report the apparent closure says it all.

[karter]

Thats bad news, with the post office to follow. Melbourne grove just doesn't have the foot flow needed unless it's a specialist place like the hair and beauty salons.:-S

[Asset]

Yes, they've been closed for about a week now. I passed the closing day sale.

[karter]

All the way up from southside lighting down to Booteeki shops are not just selling up but CLOSING DOWN. ED is densley populated with lots of money around but what is going on? Is the market correction on its way? Perhaps. MacRoban,speak.

[DaveR]

I think some retailers have over-estimated the demand for luxury (read expensive) stuff. I'm surprised Booteeki lasted as long as it did.

[Asset]

online shop closed also.

[Muttley]

So far all the victims of the downturn have been independents - Booteeki, Raisin, Inside 72, Picture Room, even Southside Lighting. I never once entered any of these establishments, but somehow it added to the character of East Dulwich to have them there. In contrast, we still find ourselves with all dozen or so estate agents intact, each offering the same service and with minimal connection with the community. I've never been into most of them, either. If anyone else is to go under, please let it be an EA. Preferably a big one. Ideally, one that pollutes the area with its neon lighting and garish cars.

[sazzle]

its such a shame that all the quirky little places that made each dulwich what it is are no longer able to afford to operate.

Anyone else afraid the place will be taken over by chains as they are the only ones who can afford the rent?

[Moos]

The trouble is that lots of people who liked the little independent shops and thought they make ED what it is never actually spent anything in them. Shops aren't like artwork - they can't just hang around looking pretty for ever. So if you like your local shops, buy something in them - in this case voting with your feet is not enough.

[Ted Max]

This isn't actually a very rich area, despite the continual mood music to the contrary on this forum. Of the newer, supposedly more wealthy, demographic you've got families with big mortgages and relatively new-to-the-city "professionals" - most of them at the lower end of the passport signature acceptibility chart, and most of them stretching it either in rent or mortgage to afford to live here. Many of those Bugaboos out there have been bought by the grandparents as presents for the little 'un, let me tell you. Or borrowed for the duration.

I think a few business plans too many contained guessswork factoring in the amount of distressed denim and vintage clobber walking the streets, rather than the amount of folding stuff inside the jeans pockets.

A few quid extra for a nice bottle of wine from GnB on the way home is a whole different thing from having a few hundred spare for a piece of commercial art, or a couple of hundred for a nice, but unexceptional, dress, or 40 quid for a kids' "wear twice" cardigan.

Is it possible that one or two of these businesses (Raisin, the art shop, gallery on Upland Road) have been too far ahead of the curve?

[Ultraconsultancy]

Quite right too moos - I recently offended a friend of mine who was complaining about the closure of our last local bookshop, simply by asking her if she spent more than a hundred pounds a year in there. An amount equal to a paperback per fortnight and a couple of kids birthday gifts, not a huge commitment. but it's that level of spending that your charming local indie needs, just to pay its bills. No point bemoaning it after it's gone...

[snorky]

As snorky is soon joining the ranks of the redundant, snorky is proud to announce the snorky business consultancy service

An example

Booteeki " Hi Snorky, Im thinking of opening up an overpriced kids designer wear and nick nacks shop in Ed, on a road that gets precious little footfall except between 8-9Am and 5-6.30PM, apart from builders going to the caff next door or someone hopeflessly trtying to buy bar furniture from the never actually open Scope bar fixtures and fittings outlet"

Snorky says " bad idea "

Pictures room " Snorky,I know that it seems these days of one dimensional people and the importance of image , everybody wants their art to say something about what ezxciting hip people they are- be it Banksy for street cred or something they picked up whilst "travelling" to places they cant even spell, so how about an outlet for inoffensive original art and prints of dubious bland merit, on LL, not far from an established framers, but has plenty of footfall ? "

Snorky says " good location,wrong product"

[kford]

Snorky, you should go on Dragon's Den.

[*Bob*]

Who will be next? (sideways glance at cook shop)

[DaveR]

I think the idea of "supporting local businesses" is a strange one. Buy what you want from whoever sells it at the right price and offers you the best service - why would you do otherwise? This doesn't mean that independent retailers can't compete - just that they have to do so effectively.

As an example, I buy cheese from the place in the ED Warehouse frequently, because it's really good cheese, and the service is great - they are knowledgeable about their products, friendly, they encourage you to taste etc. It's a lot more expensive than a supermarket, but it's worth it - to me. If it's worth it to enough people they will do well.

I never bought anything from Booteeki or Raisin (and I have 2 kids of my own and hordes of nephews and nieces) because I didn't think their stuff was worth the money. I guess a lot of other people thought the same.

[*Bob*]

Don't you see though, Dave..?

If we all go out tomorrow and buy six high-quality saucepans we don't need, then the cookshop will be ok.

[DaveR]

They will be OK, but I would be a tw@t with 6 saucepans - hey presto, Jamie Oliver!

[Keef]

Moos Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The trouble is that lots of people who liked the

> little independent shops and thought they make ED

> what it is never actually spent anything in them.

> Shops aren't like artwork - they can't just hang

> around looking pretty for ever. So if you like

> your local shops, buy something in them - in this

> case voting with your feet is not enough.

EXACTLY what Moos said!!!

I'm saying what you said quite a bit at the moment Moos :)

[Moos]

What Keef said. :))

Seriously though *Bob* and DaveR my point was not that people should support their local shops regardless of whether they like them / think they are good value. It was that if you like having those shops around, you have to buy stuff from them, not just walk past, i.e. put your money where your window-shopping-eyes are*.

*maybe there's a reason why that's not a saying.

[kford]

The bloody amusement arcade survives, though. It's the LL shop equivalent of a cockroach.

Someone's going to tell me it's closing now...

[Mark]

there's a planning application outside the amusement arcade to turn it into an apple shop wine bar.

[*Bob*]

It'll never be as good as the the wine bar I used to go to before, therefore I fully intend to slag it off before it's even opened.

[Moos]

Quite right too, *Bob*, and then when it goes out of business you can be all smug about how right you were.

[SteveT]

Isn't it already a 'whine' bar......

boo hooooo...... I've lost all my money

[Moos]

Trying to get out of buying the first round again, Steve?

:)-D