Booming 99p Stores Spark Downmarket Fears
2:20am UK, Friday August 21, 2009
Sara Merchant, Sky News reporter
Discount stores are thriving in the recession - prompting fears that Britain's high streets are being dragged downmarket.
The 99p Store will double its number of shops by the end of the year and opens its 99th outlet in Ashford in Kent today.
But not everyone loves a bargain.
Eileen Ricks, 75, of Ashford, said: "We've already got a Poundland and a Wilkinsons.
"What we need here is a shop that will give the high street a bit of oomph not something that lowers the tone.
"Anyone of my generation will tell you the same."
Joy Puttock, 60, who works in the toy shop next to the new 99p Store, said: "It's not nice to have an empty shop but I wish it wasn't a cheap one opening.
"I hope it doesn't make the place more downmarket. I wouldn't go there."
The types of things you can buy from The 99p Store
The types of things you can buy from The 99p Store
The Ashford store is opening in a former Woolworths building.
Co-founder of the chain Hussein Lalani said: "We have opened in 30 old Woolworths stores and we'll have 50 by the end of the year.
"The closure of Woolies has helped us expand at the rate we have.
"Landlords don't want to be paying rates on empty shops, so they are happy to have us."
The people of Stroud, Gloucestershire, are not so welcoming.
More than 1,000 people have joined a Facebook group which opposes the planned 99p Store in the Cotswold market town.
There was also opposition when the chain opened branches in Muswell Hill, north London, and Lymington, in Dorset.
Mr Lalani said: "There is snobbery in certain areas but people vote with their feet.
"In Muswell Hill, one OAP told me she was pleased we'd opened because she couldn't afford to shop in Planet Organic.
"What people want when they're suffering during the credit crunch is a place they can get bargains.
"What a high street doesn't need are empty shops. That becomes contagious and other businesses suffer."
2:20am UK, Friday August 21, 2009
Sara Merchant, Sky News reporter
Discount stores are thriving in the recession - prompting fears that Britain's high streets are being dragged downmarket.
The 99p Store will double its number of shops by the end of the year and opens its 99th outlet in Ashford in Kent today.
But not everyone loves a bargain.
Eileen Ricks, 75, of Ashford, said: "We've already got a Poundland and a Wilkinsons.
"What we need here is a shop that will give the high street a bit of oomph not something that lowers the tone.
"Anyone of my generation will tell you the same."
Joy Puttock, 60, who works in the toy shop next to the new 99p Store, said: "It's not nice to have an empty shop but I wish it wasn't a cheap one opening.
"I hope it doesn't make the place more downmarket. I wouldn't go there."
The types of things you can buy from The 99p Store
The types of things you can buy from The 99p Store
The Ashford store is opening in a former Woolworths building.
Co-founder of the chain Hussein Lalani said: "We have opened in 30 old Woolworths stores and we'll have 50 by the end of the year.
"The closure of Woolies has helped us expand at the rate we have.
"Landlords don't want to be paying rates on empty shops, so they are happy to have us."
The people of Stroud, Gloucestershire, are not so welcoming.
More than 1,000 people have joined a Facebook group which opposes the planned 99p Store in the Cotswold market town.
There was also opposition when the chain opened branches in Muswell Hill, north London, and Lymington, in Dorset.
Mr Lalani said: "There is snobbery in certain areas but people vote with their feet.
"In Muswell Hill, one OAP told me she was pleased we'd opened because she couldn't afford to shop in Planet Organic.
"What people want when they're suffering during the credit crunch is a place they can get bargains.
"What a high street doesn't need are empty shops. That becomes contagious and other businesses suffer."
