IceLand

[nxjen]

The Brixton and Eltham M&S stores are probably survivors from the times when M&S sold only clothes and were not seen as particularly middle class. It was only when they introduced their food range in the early 1980s that they began to appeal more to the middle classes. Their food was comparatively speaking very very expensive and gradually their marketing was pitched towards the middle classes and the aspirational, for their food products at least.

[Jeremy]

nxjen Wrote:

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

> The Brixton and Eltham M&S stores are probably

> survivors from the times when M&S sold only

> clothes and were not seen as particularly middle

> class.

Yep. Although these days Brixton is full of affluent professionals, and a house on a nice road is probably more expensive than ED. It's moved with the times.

[LondonMix]

I was in the M&S in Charlton on Saturday. It opened this year and was very busy. My brother in law lives in Charlton and while its not a bad area its not really upmarket either. M&S are everywhere. It doesn't mark East Dulwich out as especially rich to have one.

I think there haven't been many in this part of SE London because our highstreet units are too small. Now that M&S and Waitrose are both rolling out smaller store formats, they'll become much more ubiquitous. To date, they have been opened in large retail units available in places like Brixton or in new retail parks like the one in Charlton where they could operate at scale.

[Sue]

nxjen Wrote:

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

> The Brixton and Eltham M&S stores are probably

> survivors from the times when M&S sold only

> clothes and were not seen as particularly middle

> class.

The Brixton store was definitely there in the sixties, and possibly the fifties as well.

My (rather snobby) grandmother viewed M&S as very downmarket, even though some of the royal family were reputed to buy their underwear there (not from the Brixton branch, I presume :)) )

[DulwichFox]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is it not true that the rise in Mini Supermarkets is due to Sunday trading laws.

where if the square footage of a store is under a certain limit, stores can remain open longer and are not

limited to open 10.00 till 16.00 ??

DulwichFox

[LondonMix]

Not sure-- what I've read about it before was that it was developed operationally for market penetration.

In this article, Waitrose said it was part of their strategy to double the size of their business in 10 years. Almost all of the new M&S stores are in the Simply Food format.

There was some discussion on the other thread if the one on LL would be simply food or a Food Hall (slightly different offering). However M&S have publicly stated they won't open anymore stores retailing clothing because of online sales.

[nxjen]

"Now that M&S and Waitrose are both rolling out smaller store formats, they'll become much more ubiquitous. To date, they have been opened in large retail units available in places like Brixton or in new retail parks like the one in Charlton where they could operate at scale."

The Brixton M&S store predates any roll out of smaller store formats, it is a remnant of the old style M&S before the introduction of their food range. I can remember it definitely from the 80s, Sue can remember it from at least the 60s, and I suspect it originally opened some time in the 30s.

[LondonMix]

I agree with that 100%.

My point was that before the small store format which started in 2001, M&S could only open in large retail units on historical high streets such as the large store in Brixton or in new large retail parks like in Charlton. SE London (with numerous exceptions, including Rye Lane) primarily has high streets with small retailing units that prevent chains that need to operate at a certain scale from opening. To better penetrate these suburban markets (not just here but across the country) retailers are developing retailing strategies for smaller format stores (the pricing and logistics are very different).

[steve 1975]

5800+ posts on this site!

[Gadge]

The larger stores especially those outside urban areas are suffering reduced sales due to a gradual change in shopping habits. Twenty years ago most people would do a massive shop once per week at the superstore. Today more people eat out, and more people shop two or three times per week buying locally and cooking more fresh food. In a way it goes back to how things probably before the superstores. The big supermarkets are now selling off the larger plots in their land banks and backing out of building large stores.

[DulwichFox]

When I was working I would do a weekly shop at the week end..

Being retired I tend to be out most days shopping locally on foot although I take the car when I need

heavy / bulky stuff like Bleach / paper towels / washing powder and tinned produce.. bottled Beer.. Wine.

DulwichFox