It's just surreal to look back through many of the big names to go under. If you had told me 5 years ago that would lose woolies, Adams, focus, la senza all to this recession I wouldn't believe you. Who is next?

I am still pissed about Woolies, it could have been saved had that b'stard RBS not pulled the plug, there was a reasonable chance of restructuring the business into a more leaner but profitable company but that f-in bank and then government screwed them over.

I shed tears the day they closed. It was like i was being booted in the nads by a wrecking ball while my happy memories of visiting every saturday with parents were stolen from me.

The one in my local high street is too (I believe). For a long time they had big posters up saying they were closing down for a refit, but I noticed the other week the posters had been changed and now just say 'closing down'...

Stead and Simpsons' don't tend to stay open for long. The company takes out really short leeses and opens them next to other places like Shoe Zone and realise they cannot compete with them.

Yes, I'm still anoyed my local one closed down. We've now got one of those horrible 99p stores there. If I do go in there, I'm always thinking to myself about where in the store they sold the electrical items/cd's or where the passport photo machine was or what shelves they kept the easter eggs on.


They just spent some weeks refurbishing my local one and has got a nice new sign outside..


Half of Clintons Cards has closed down & a hundred branches of Johnsons cleaners are closing.

La Senza's still around, I was in there the other day and they've got a sale on atm There is only 5 shops left now though.

Hawkin's Bazaar reopened the other week too after closing down about 6 months ago. Didn't even know the company started back up again?

And Clinton's have taken their 'Closing Down' signs down.
Birthday's in shopping park is still closing though, no idea when.

Have La Senza really only got 5 shops left? The Leeds one is open, I was there yesterday!

I like the sort of shops that HB are. Doesn't appear to have reopened in Westfield Stratford.

The only one I saw with closing down signs on actually closed down. I think they closed about 450of them.

According to their website, La Senza have 60 stores in the UK.

The Hawkins Bazaar website indicates they still have some stores open.

Julian Graves

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...istration.html

no idea what happened to Choices the video rental place. my local one closed ages ago and I can't find them online so I guess they must have gone bust as well. shame cuz the local blockbuster was forced to close when they demolished a 60s shopping centre and rebuilt it from the ground up with a Tesco. Now all chain stores there as opposed to little mom and pop stores

Our local Peacocks are all closed, Poundworld has opened in one of them, the other is still an empty premises. Also, a few Carpetright stores near to me are apparently closing, is the company in trouble or is it just local stores have closed.

ah yes...the health shop that sold 95% unhealthy rubbish.

I was in Vans on Saturday with my daughter who wanted to buy a pair of their pumps with her birthday money. It was standing room only. They were flying out of the door at around £40 a pop so the money is there for stuff that people value.
Our nearest high street has been decimated. Charity and empty shops out number open ones.

Apparently they were bought out by the people who used to own them.

The problem with Hawkins Bazaar is that the majority of the shops only tended to be pop-up shops which opened around Christmas time, so I think it's hard to tell which were closed as normal in the New Year or which were closed due to administration.

Choices went under five years ago. They expanded to quickly in to what was a dieing market. The directors of Choices must never have Questioned why big players like Global and Blockbuster were rapidley down sizing their operations when they were drawing up their expansion plans.

Even though Choices closed, their DVD website was still going, although having just Googled it, I see that that is no more too. I bought a few things off there.

Our Peacocks opened in May 2011, closed in February and re-opened again in June.

It's a handy guide for single men - if a place has a La Senza, you've a 98% chance of getting laid on a night out there.

I'd keep an eye on Body Shop. The amount of sale emails I get '50% off everything, buy 1 get 2 free' makes me think there might be something wrong. Past Times were doing the same before they went under.

It surprises me the Body Shop hasn't closed down before now. They sell fairly mediocre quality toiletries at vastly inflated prices. Their shop staff are intrusive and annoying to the extreme and pounce on you as soon as you walk through the door.

Still, my biggest issue is the fact they don't sell anything particularly "premium" but charge premium prices for everything. Look at the ingredients of their £12 shower gels and look at the ingredients of a Boots own £1.50 shower gel - they are almost identical.

Ethel Austin's has gone into Adminstraion for the 4th time iin a space of 2 years

This is bad news. I've just recently changed my ringtone from Wanderin Star to Fistful of dollars!

Will I get my money back?