Casandara Shop will soon change to Sue Ryder Charity Shop

[rspca]

Today we were visited by the Regional Manager working for Sue Ryder.

The Casandara shop next to Superdrug will close soon and open as a Sue Ryder charity shop in April.

We look forward to welcoming another charity to the high street.

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[simon]

We look forward to welcoming another charity to the high street.

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I bet you do



How much more have we got to give?

[leenewham]

This is not good news for the other retailers or the high street.

[rspca]

Why is it not good news?

Should high streets only have a particular range of shops?

Many of the people who live in Sydenham rely on the local charities for support and unless income is constant charities would be unable to sustain such services.

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[stuart]

Many of the people who live in Sydenham rely on the local charities for support and unless income is constant charities would be unable to sustain such services.

You also need to look at it from the other angle. The disappearance of another enterprise in the town takes with it employment, no longer pays taxes and hence damages the local and national economy. That increases the need for charity as neither people or the state can afford to sustain a decent standard of living. It can become a vicious circle.

I hope you won't take this the wrong way but charities are a necessary sticking plaster to cover the cracks in society. However, they do need something to stick to. When the only trade in town is charity that is lost and we are really stuffed.

I think that is what Lee was getting at.

Stuart

[rspca]

In terms of our charity we help the voiceless [animals] and the demands on our services are at an all time high by people living in the local area. Sadly there is no law to prevent someone from owning a pet but we have a duty to protect animals from abuse and neglect.

We do not receive any government funding unlike health and kids charities. Without the income from our shops we would not be in a position to fund local animal welfare activities.

Many charity shops also provide an outlet for the unemployment and disabled to gain work experience so there is a double contribution to Society.

Sadly it is not possible to please everyone.

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[leenewham]

Stuart hit the nail on the head. I've always shopped at charity shops, infact the jeans I'm wearing now are from a charity shop, as is the jacket on the back of my chair and my shoes. I give each month to a number of charities and used to sponsor a little girl in Brazil called Mona Lisa. All my 5 month old sons clothes, pram etc are all second hand.

I'm not anti Charity shop (although the sometimes hard sell tactics by door knockers and clip board vendors in high streets annoys me), I'm pro-high street. I designed Billings logo and signage for free (among others).

The problem is that too many charity shops has an effect on the perception of a town centre. I know people who have lived here for over 10 years and have NEVER been in any shop or restaurant in Sydenham Road. Even my old neighbours who were on benefits didn't, if they wanted a treat they went to Beckenham!

Too many fast food places, too many pound shops, too many hairdressers, too many empty shops, too many charity shops signals decline for investors and is therefore bad for other businesses in the area.

Ask Waitrose. They looked at the Greyhound development and liked it. They looked at the high street and said no way.

[CaptainCarCrash]

Ask Waitrose. They looked at the Greyhound development and liked it. They looked at the high street and said no way.

Wos up wiv em? not enough yuppies for them?

Stuff Waitrose, they only like snobs, most high streets are in decline and the recession means a rise in payday loan sharks and charidy shops, it's a sign of the times I'm afraid.

[stuart]

We do not receive any government funding unlike health and kids charities.

The RSPCA receives a huge amount of government funding implicit and explicit. Think Gift-Aid - that is the government directly funding you from the taxes of the working population. I'm not knocking that but to think that the RSPCA could fund itself to its current level of service without government support is unrealistic.

It also benefits in the amount of unpaid help, the excusing of corporation tax etc. This can mean you can undercut commercial retailers and endanger other businesses and employment on the street.

You may be delivering a much needed service but in the end it depends on the wealth creation of others. The trick is not kill the golden goose, or even our pound shops

This is something other charitable retailers have to think through carefully. Checkout FairTrade.

Stuart

[leenewham]

Ask Waitrose. They looked at the Greyhound development and liked it. They looked at the high street and said no way.

Wos up wiv em? not enough yuppies for them?
Stuff Waitrose, they only like snobs, most high streets are in decline and the recession means a rise in payday loan sharks and charidy shops, it's a sign of the times I'm afraid.

I presume you are just being provocative Mike about Waitrose. They are a great company with real ethics and standards. I loved working with them. More new businesses start in recession than at any other time. There are more small businesses now than in 2006.

Many high streets are fighting back. Many are successful or turning the tide. The ones that aren't changing, adapting, that have strong traders groups are failing. It's not a sign of the times, it's a sign of shops and high streets not trying hard enough, greedy landlords, over-inflated rates (and the daft way they are worked out by central government) and councils not giving enough support.

[Janeco]

Sorry if this is slightly off topic but, with the proliferation of charity shops in the area, I wish some of them would consider also offering to sell goods for people on a 50/50 or 40/60 basis. My mother ran a charity shop in Woolwich many years ago and, as well as accepting donations, also sold goods for people. It took a bit more administration but provided a service for local people on low incomes, raised the quality of the stock and raised funds for the charity.
A lot of people sell goods on e-bay but this involves dedication and organisation.
The only shop I know of in the area that sells clothes is Paraphernalia in Brockley Road and they focus on designer goods.
Just a thought but I think such a venture would do well. I would love to run one myself!

[stuart]

I presume you are just being provocative Mike about Waitrose. They are a great company with real ethics and standards.

An example was at the Beckenham Waitrose. Retailers are supposed to not discriminate in their employment policies about disabled people - but they do.

If disabled people are lucky enough to get a job with a major you can almost guarantee they will be hidden away in the warehouse or rack filling. Especially if you are scarred and have bits missing. A lady without a hand does (or did) the checkout at Beckenham. I was fascinated by the way she overcame that issue in such a challenging position. Others, I (and Waitrose) know would be repulsed. It take guts to ignore that and give the girl a chance. Think Abercrombie & Fitch who only have 'pretty' people upfront.

Nope, Waitrose is A REALLY GOOD THING for all. Its a shame they don't think they can make Sydenham work. Its something we should really worry about. Sydenham is a very mixed community but that is not reflected on the high street. We need pound shops AND Waitrose ...

Stuart

[Rachael]

Many high streets are fighting back. Many are successful or turning the tide.

This is true - and on your own doorstep. Anyone been to Forest Hill lately? A year or so ago, FH got three new coffee shops. As everyone knows, build the coffee shops and they will come. Now we have Canvas and Cream, the Sylvan Post (our very own odd-yet-wonderful Antic pub), Bunka boutique and b-cards, a new traditional sweet shop opening next week (Sugar Mountain) to name just a few, and the pools about to re-open.

The frequency and convenience of Overground trains doesn't just bring in new residents, it brings in visitors. Forest Hill is beginning to have a 'unique offer' (bleurgh, horrible marketing speak) with a mix of quirky independents and high street names. I'm betting the charity shops in Forest Hill are benefiting from the new mix of customers. And they are working hard to raise their game - the window displays in the Red Cross shop rival any boutique.

This has been a slow process, starting at least a year to eighteen months ago. It doesn't seem to have started yet in Sydenham - if it ever will.

[leenewham]

Yep. I went to Canvas and Cream last night and it's amazing. Forest Hill and Penge have improved recently in different ways. One sells things people desire, the other sells things people need.

Sydenham is in danger of doing the opposite of both.

[michael]

Lee,
I think you are being a tad harsh on Sydders. Sydenham still has much to offer that Forest Hill would like to emulate, but the two can actually complement each other rather than competing for the same customers.

Sydenham has an excellent health food shop and an independent butcher/fishmonger in the town centre. Kirkdale Village has a number of successful shops, including a fancy dress shop which moved out of Forest Hill town centre a few years ago to find their new home in Sydenham. I've even seen fresh fruit and vegetables being sold in Sydenham by shops that are not supermarkets.

Forest Hill would love to have the £3m investment in Sydenham High Street that is just around the corner and should help businesses in Sydenham.

You know that I am a big supporter of Forest Hill and I predict that by the end of this year shopping in Forest Hill will be even better than it is today. Swimming pools and sweet shops are already on their way, but there are plenty of empty shops to be filled on Dartmouth Road. But we are currently seeing changes all along the East London Line, and success in one area is actually a benefit to the others Dolphin, Antic, and Sue Ryder are very direct examples of how this works.

But the bigger question is what can we learn from Muswell Hill and how quickly can similar mobile apps be developed for businesses along the East London Line

[Rachael]

Is that a fancydress shop in Kirkdale or a shop that sells fancy dresses? I'd be interested in the latter, but not the former.

[CaptainCarCrash]

Internetshoppin and red routes are killing the highstreet as we know it. Most highstreet shops can't compete with the online phenomena, take GAME for example, I thought they were a great place to buy but places such as ebay are better and you don't have to worry about parking.

[leenewham]

Game failed because it only sold games. It offered nothing that the internet couldn't. It offered no customer service, no advice, not friendly welcome, no experience.

Online brands also fail if they aren't doing things well. The best online brands offer interaction and service. Facebook, Twitter, Ebay has a huge forum community that helped shape the business, Amazon has it's reviews which you can say are helpful or not etc. Look at Apple stores, they are showrooms, not shops and offer amazing customer service.

That's why the better businesses, rightly pointed out by Michael such as Billings, Kirkdale Books etc are often talked about and loved by people because they are far more than just a building that sells stuff.

High streets can survive with the right advice, direction, vision and support. But they will change a lot over the next 10 years. Look at how banks changed from being stern, solum places that looked like Greek Temples to being glass fronted showrooms with soft furnishings from convention centres and a costa coffee concession wit staff that look like air hostess's.