If Marks and Spencer closes this year, we may look back on its departure from the Walworth Road as a turning point for the high street. But that begs the question; in which direction is it headed?
It’s a real pity the shutters look set to come down on a shop that has served customers for over 100 years. Even though Marks and Spencer is a behemoth PLC company, ranked 81st in the FTSE 100, shoppers still view the brand with a sense of ownership and nostalgia, making its closure all the more disheartening.
Anecdotally, shoppers have speculated that theft is to blame – that no business, even one as successful as M&S – can sustain itself if shoplifters are swiping food from shelves with near impunity.
After all, while we can’t speak for this store specifically, we already know that stealing is a scourge on inner London businesses, with retailers urging the police to take a more proactive approach in following up on thefts from their stores.
M&S bosses have said this is only a ‘proposal to close’ but our conversations with the company have led us to believe it’s practically a foregone conclusion. People’s thoughts will inevitably now turn to what will replace it.
Without knowing who owns the building – we are still pressing the retailer to share this information – it’s difficult to know what’s on the horizon. But if it does stay as a shop, you imagine it could go one of two ways.
On the one hand, it could become another budget store; joining the betting shops, takeaways and phone shops that line the street. Or, it could become a more upmarket outlet along the lines of the recently relocated Louie Louie cafe or Rude N Boomin.
Meanwhile, there is an ongoing debate about the direction East Street Market is taking. Do we retain its current stallholders, primarily providing cheap fruit and veg? Or do we try to cultivate a new atmosphere – one where artisanal traders sell Italian cheeses while live musicians play in the background?
As is often the case, the answer probably lies in striking a balance between the two. Just as the regeneration of Elephant and Castle and the Aylesbury will mean an influx of wealthy residents to the area, there is still a deeply entrenched working-class core which, despite soaring rents and house prices, isn’t going to disappear any time soon.
The sad thing is that Marks and Spencer appealed to just about everyone. Customers told us that despite its reputation for quality, many of its products were cheaper than Morrisons across the road.
Whatever comes in to replace Marks and Spencer has to make a statement and serve us all, regardless of our means or background. Anything less will feel like a painful blow to the high street.
I love the way local authorities and the public in general expect the private sector to step in and provide a solution to a problem caused by decades of neglect (just look at rents and rates) in improving and maintaining British shopping areas and high streets. Repurposing of large units like the M&S site requires a degree of public funding in collaboration with private sponsers, which is simply absent in the UK. Expect a big fat nothing to happen in the coming years except a boarded up premises, a hole in the high street and domino effect on other businesses.