This is the 66 blog
Catherine Tate’s return to our screens started me thinking. ‘Am I bovvered’ was one of her characters’ famed catch phrases – made renowned by the then PM, Tony Blair, using it in the 2007 Comic Relief show.
Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle puzzled. He deduced everything has two values: a primary use for which it is made and as an item to be sold or bartered. A monetary value then arises as we place trust in each other … and exchange.
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters produced an album in the late 1980’s called Radio KAOS. The closing track was titled ‘The Tide Is Turning’. Now, I am not getting all Floyd-esque, but it has made me think. The last few years have been chaotic in the world of retail, but I get a sense that the …
The government has given up on English High Streets. Despite all their show, sending Mary Portas out with the defibrillator to breathe life back into our ailing towns and cities, they now have the tape measures out and are dialling the undertakers.
The Guardian’s ‘SocialEnterprise’ has just published a piece quoting Dragon, Theo Paphitis, saying that the future of our High Streets is in the hands of young entrepreneurs. The same article also quotes the Centre for Retail Research’s Armageddon-like report on the High Street that claims 20% of all stores will close in the next 5 …
Our high streets (apparently) attracted 1.4% more shoppers in June this year compared with June 2012. And (drum roll) this trend is growing.Mary Portas has just headed off on her summer hols. She told us via Twitter: “I’m heading offline for family holiday and some R&R. Back in a few weeks (if I can keep …
Mary Portas, Queen of the High Street, is back on TV. This time she is heading to Liskeard in Cornwall.?? C4’s own pre-broadcast preamble tells us that Mary is in for a testing time. A box delivery scheme for a grocer and butcher. A ‘local shop’ as a community approach. And then we’re left hanging …
Wasting money. That’s something my Granny and her amazing generation would never have condoned. Waste not, want not … So why do we blindly accept it? I learned a long time ago that trying to show some companies or organisations that they can save money is like pushing water uphill. Pretty pointless. They’ll either nick …
A quick line to say that at 11am tomorrow (Wed 27th), I am running the third and final webinar in our series. This will cover ‘Total Engagement’ for shopping centres. It focuses on digital and social media planning, delivery and support for the Centre, its retailers and shoppers. What has become very clear after many …
Over the last two years I have helped to develop a unique product for the UK’s shopping centre industry – Mall-to-Mobile. Having worked with shopping destinations for more than 20 years, I have seen most things. In particular, I have seen how shopping centre marketing has changed. The work through 2012 was to realise what …