Ever changing face of Wolves

[fizzwolf]

Beatties going (HOF). Debenhams took the plunge moving into Owen Owen store. C&A a pound shop. Littlewoods a Primark, Woolworths split with H&M taking one of the floors. The indoor market a car park the outdoor market replaces Netto etc. BHS empty along with Mothercare. So Debenhams aside just cheap shops left.

Beatties going though!

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Beatties doesn't have much of a purpose any more I'm afraid.

- Is it high end enough to attract people from outside Wolverhampton to come and visit, or for it to be seen as a bit of a status symbol to shop there, like say Harvey Nicks in Leeds? No

- We are a city with a fairly high proportion of residents on low incomes, does Beatties in any way cater for them? No

- Do they do anything that differentiates them completely from other shops, is there anything that Beatties specifically do that no-one else offers? No

- Do they have any kind of online business that you might want to follow up on in person? No

Strikes me that they've had people at the helm who just thought it'd be 1987 forever.

 

[Tony Towner]

HOF changes ownership every couple of years. Every new owner thinks they are the ones who can reverse their fortunes, but they never are. On branded goods they aren't cheap and in a digital market place where it's easy to compare and ensure you are getting VFM they are always going to struggle. Debenhams put out profit warnings on a regular basis and will be another who in time cut back their estate. Being from a family that gravitated towards Brum rather than Wolvo the two big Dept. stores when I was a kid were Lewis' and Rackhams one is long gone and the other will be in a few months. It's sad in a misty eyed kind of way - my first Wolves kit was from Rackhams in the days Umbro sold a top shorts and socks together in a box, but the World moves on and they haven't.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It's increasingly a losing battle in Wolves (the council could pull their finger out a bit, lower rates, deliver free parking, encourage late night shopping, but they've already done the damage themselves and it's probably too late now). On the one hand we live in a world where you don't have to leave your sofa to buy many items, on the other hand we're less than 20 minutes away on the train from Birmingham which if you're after a proper retail experience is always going to deliver far more. Or you can drive to Merry Hill.

It's encouraging that the pub/bar scene is WAY better now than it was 8-10 years ago in the city centre (and I hope that continues) but I don't know what they do as far as retail goes. Not really my area of expertise.

 

[Tony Towner]

I'm not sure there's a lot you can do unless one of the large developers like Intu or Westfield get involved and with Brum and Merry Hill relatively local I can't see that happening. Derby used to be similar to Wolverhampton in size and outlay, but Westfield bought what was the old Eagle Centre demolished it and turned it in to a modern style mall and now retains a lot of the locals who used to go to Nottingham. The downside was shops that weren't in the old centre relocated from elsewhere in town so those areas became a bit tatty, what was Debenhams for instance is now a cheap discount furniture store.

As Mancs will tell you the IRA did them a favour when they bombed the Arndale, the redevelopment that has gone on there is a million miles away from what the area was like pre bomb.

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

As Mancs will tell you the IRA did them a favour when they bombed the Arndale, the redevelopment that has gone on there is a million miles away from what the area was like pre bomb.

Was only saying this to my Missus when we were in Manchester town centre last month. I remember the Arndale in the 90's, it was grotty and smelled of old grease. Cannon st up towards Market st was no better, and Shudehill bus station was dark, dingy and dangerous.

The whole of that area now is really nice, especially the square in front of the Arndale, where the bomb actually went off. Even Market st looks nice and clean and has a new vibe, with buskers and organic food stalls etc.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Unless something has changed fairly recently and I've missed it, fairly sure this unit is still empty in the Mander Centre:

Our Price closed in either late 2003 or early 2004! People have looked at taking it over but the rates are obscene and the sums never add up.

 

[Keef]

Bentley bridge in wednesfield seems to have helped kill Wolverhampton as well,free parking,sainsbury,Argos,sports direct/jb sports(it's one of them) couple of other shops I can't remember,McDonald's,pizza hut,cinema,pub everything you need basically

 

[fizzwolf]

I was drinking a coffee in Costa (Debenhams) when I posted the OP and was looking directly at that place but for the life of me couldn’t recall what it used to be.

 

[fizzwolf]

Surprised how busy the area behind “The Elephant and Castle” has become since they put those cheap food etc shops there. I remember it being the total opposite with The World of Leather and the rest back then

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I was surprised that the Wolves store wasn't one of the proposed M&S closures a few weeks ago. It's as tatty as fuck in there and the building is diabolical. It's got all the hallmarks of a shop that's being deliberately run down in advance, but it seems to have survived (for now anyway).

 

[lemonjelly]

Wasn't the mander centre taken over a year ago by some investors?
Not that I'm overly hopeful, that new debenhams store is rubbish, and akin to beatties, debenhams doesn't really cater for the wallets of most wulfrunians.

Wolves town centre needs to regenerate and reinvent itself. retail is unlikely to be the way to go, other than niche independent traders. Big stores like John Lewis etc need the guaranteed footfall, so will target Bham, merry hell and the like.

I also think that shopping as a past-time is no longer such a desirous social activity.

Problem with addressing wolverhampton, is there's such a big area needs addressing - pipers row, summer row, everywhere from the wulfrun centre side outwards. The whole xleveland street/temple street/victoria street area is horrendous, and is worsening.

 

[Parkins left foot]

As a non resident then there are worse places I have been in (though TBF I am not coming up for a shopping trip)

All shopping centres have serious problems in the current environment

 

[Boozad]

Wolverhampton is a retail graveyard, and the refurbished Mander Centre reminds me of a giant pound shop. I never go there any more and while I do miss the days of Mike Lloyd’s Megastore I prefer to shop online these days. As for Bentley Bridge I think that’s shit as well unless I want something to eat or watch a film.

 

[Keef]

A dull fact coming up for you,Owen Owen of the shop "fame" is buried in Machynlleth cemetery,and a few properties(shops and flats) are still owned by a trust fund of his family

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Wolverhampton is a retail graveyard, and the refurbished Mander Centre reminds me of a giant pound shop. I never go there any more and while I do miss the days of Mike Lloyd’s Megastore I prefer to shop online these days. As for Bentley Bridge I think that’s shit as well unless I want something to eat or watch a film.

Don't get me wrong, I despise shopping. It's an occasional necessity, not a leisure activity. Doesn't matter a single fuck to me if Beatties is taken over by TK Maxx or Harrods in terms of whether I personally spend any time there.

I'd just rather not see Wolverhampton City Centre condemned if possible.

 

[fizzwolf]

I’m no fan of shopping either - bought plenty of stuff from Beatties over the decades, had many cups of coffee and bites to eat in the cafe upstairs and cafe nero. Used to use it as a drop in centre when I was a kid too.

Complete change of how we live shopping online, watching tv/films online, banking online and the one that does my head in more than any other is Social Media. It seems everyone and their dead dogs nan would rather talk over a computer or mobile phone screen by means of written communication. I fleetingly use this Forum together with reading stuff online but I’d much rather speak to a person preferably in their company than type everything.

 

[Boozad]

Don't get me wrong, I despise shopping. It's an occasional necessity, not a leisure activity. Doesn't matter a single fuck to me if Beatties is taken over by TK Maxx or Harrods in terms of whether I personally spend any time there.

I'd just rather not see Wolverhampton City Centre condemned if possible.

I totally agree mate, I hate seeing the place the way it is. The actual centre is bad enough and as LJ said as you move outwards it gets really bad really quick, it's pretty sad to see how run down it's become. Even though I still wouldn't go much I'd love to see it completely revamped into a city centre people actually wanted to visit.

 

[Derby Wolf]

I think it shows how much losing Summer Row hurt Wolves as a city but we can't keep dwelling on something pretty shit happening. I know it goes against the very spirit of capitalism but if these companies settled for a reasonable market share instead of over extending themselves they'd be better off for it and all we're really seeing with the HOF closures is them reverting to more sustainable levels.

At 18 I worked at Poundland just as it started really taking off, living in Derby now we have three(!) branches. I think we're edging towards warehousing like in American supermarkets if you go to Sainsburys you can already find Argos, Patisserie Valerie, Lloyds Pharmacy etc etc.

I'm not sure there's a lot you can do unless one of the large developers like Intu or Westfield get involved and with Brum and Merry Hill relatively local I can't see that happening. Derby used to be similar to Wolverhampton in size and outlay, but Westfield bought what was the old Eagle Centre demolished it and turned it in to a modern style mall and now retains a lot of the locals who used to go to Nottingham. The downside was shops that weren't in the old centre relocated from elsewhere in town so those areas became a bit tatty, what was Debenhams for instance is now a cheap discount furniture store.

b.

In terms of population and size Derby and Wolverhampton are pretty much neck and neck so a good comparison point.

I can't stand the Intu centre unless I go first thing or on a Thursday after 6 but I guess that's down to taste. Like you say it's vastly better than the Victoria/Broadmarsh in Nottingham though.

I find Iron/Saddlergate nice and that's where Derby does better than Wolves as a city centre IMO, but the High Street after PureGym to Wardwick is pretty ghastly especially with all the works they've being doing. The level of homelessness/Mamba smokers in town is a disgrace. I don't know what Wolves is like for that tbh these days.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Surprised how busy the area behind “The Elephant and Castle” has become since they put those cheap food etc shops there. I remember it being the total opposite with The World of Leather and the rest back then

It is a MASSIVE pain in the arse for traffic going up Stafford Road to town with that fucking bus lane and then letting everyone out of there. And then the council put a pedestrian traffic light in a bit further back as well. And they wonder why five ways is gridlocked EVERY SINGLE RUSH HOUR.