Following a number of recent business and store closures throughout Devon and the Exeter City centre, popular news source Devon Live decided to meet with David Kirk to discuss the issues facing the region and what may be behind the worrying trend.
Throughout the last 12 months, there has been a noticeable increase in businesses closing and popular stores disappearing from the high street. Businesses like BHS that were once a high street essential have been forced to close their doors on thousands of loyal shoppers, leaving many people concerned over the state of the economy and the safety of their own jobs. Unfortunately, this story is similar in towns and cities all over the country and if you speak to business owners, you’re likely to receive a number of reasons why the offline retail sector seems to be on the downfall.
Recent research also paints a relatively bleak picture of the high street economy, with average wages being overtaken by inflation and the rising cost of consumer goods, alongside a consumer debt crisis that only looks to get worse. So what’s behind the problem and what can directors do to avoid their business suffering the same fate?
Abbie Bray from Devon Live caught up with David Kirk in the Exeter high street to find out his thoughts on the situation. You can watch the video here:
What’s changing in High Street, with business rescue expert David Kirk
Posted by Devon Live What’s On on Monday, 25 September 2017
It’s clear that people around the City are concerned by the recent business closures, which is more than understandable since thousands of people are employed directly by the retail sector. During the video, it’s discussed how rising employment costs, business overheads and substantial rent costs as just a few of the primary reasons why individual stores are struggling to cope. Most high streets today are filled with well-known chains and although this gives consumers peace of mind about the quality and service they’re getting, can also drive up the rent costs and make it much harder for smaller independent shops to gain adequate customer footfall.
It’ll be interesting to see how the UK high street will adapt over the next few years and how storeowners will cope with the increasing pressures put upon them by rising costs and the competitiveness of online shopping, but for the time-being at least, it looks like the high street is here to stay.
If your business is struggling and you’re considering your options, call Kirks Insolvency for a free confidential discussion about the best route for you.