Have independents had their day?

On the outskirts of Warrington town centre sits a beautifully decorated, on trend, fashion boutique - a hidden gem frequently referred to as the town’s ‘best kept secret.’ A boutique which, within 12 months of opening its doors, had made a profit and achieved a cult following amongst fashion conscious women, almost entirely due to word of mouth.

Concurrently, BooHoo.com began selling a similar line in clothing. At this time, online fashion retailing online was nothing new, but it was starting to take hold of the market.  Additionally, a large shopping centre was built in the vicinity of the boutique and was filled with mass-market fashion retailers such as H&M, Zara, River Island and Topshop.

Despite this increased competition, and taking into account the country was in the midst of a recession, the small boutique continued to operate successfully.

Sadly, other independent boutiques in the town have not been as fortunate as Warrington’s best kept secret, with a number conceding defeat to the assault on their finances made by expensive car parking, higher rent, increased rates and lower footfall - a direct result of the new shopping centre.

However, Mary Portas is still determined to rescue the high street.  But sadly, and this writer has a close personal connection to an independent high street boutique, it may be too late. As Mary herself has often said, the nation’s shopping habits have changed beyond recognition.

Clearly it’s going to take more than the revival of a few independent businesses to re-direct a nation of shoppers away from the comfort of a large shopping centre and back to a moribund high street.