With retail chains going out of business on an almost daily basis, the question is who else will no longer be here come December 31st 2012?
Experts are stating that the major retail businesses going into administration will continue to rise and shock us, so what really is the outlook for the UK retail industry and smaller independent retailers both in the high street and online.
One answer could be that the big national retailers will continue to go out of business, leaving space for the re-emergence of small independent business as the cost of rent, competition etc. goes down. This would make way for the smaller independent retailers to take advantage. But another alternative could lie in ‘ghost towns’, boarded up shops etc. Is this really the outcome that we can all cope with? It’s depressing enough to see new retail premises empty, and old town and village pubs shutting at the speed of light, making way for more residential flats etc, let alone this speculated transition of our beautiful UK shopping towns into ‘ghost towns’.
Just this week HMV has gone bust, which is shocking as statistics state that around 25% of overall UK record sales were still via HMV, so how could a company which takes this percentage of an industry sector within the UK, have to go into administration? Over 4000 jobs could potentially be lost with the recent HMV and Blockbuster administration story.
Another factor, which is very sad, is that in this day in age shops such as Waterstones and WHSmith are now for the majority of the time, window shopping opportunities, leading customer’s to then go and shop on Amazon and similar online portals. It is pretty evident that the online retail world is taking over and having a negative effect on the major high street retailers.
With all this fresh in our minds and in our business plans and forecasts for our future, we at Illustrate My Name continue to offer a wide selection of personalised gifts for you, your home, your children, occasions in your life and your lifestyle. Regardless of the general public cutting back on expenses, and what they ‘really’ need when times are hard. We have a strong belief that customers will always buy gifts, especially on the birth of a new baby, wedding or moment in ones life they wish to celebrate, and that’s why we aim to please our customers with our unique range.
Ranging from baby gifts, wedding keepsakes, christening treasures, framed pictures and artwork, typographic prints, offering you the perfect present for any occasion.
With Valentines Day coming up we really think you should take a look at these particular print and framed artwork pieces, tell someone you admire just how much they are your GUIDING LIGHT or who is your HAPPY ENDING and perhaps there is someone in your life that is THE REASON YOU SMILE
We are proud to be an independent retailer and hope that our successful sales over the past 12 months are testament to our product range and our business ethos. Please enjoy the entire shopping experience with Illustrate My Name and JG Artwork
