It’s the age of uncertainty, and don’t we know it. Edging towards the slippery slope to retail retirement this week was Debenhams — once a giant of the fashion world, now a tale of stagnant shop floors and tired, mammoth buildings. Now in the hands of its lenders, it’s down to a successful, savvy and innovative new owner to turn things around.
Department stores have historically been a major draw to high streets across the UK, but when the digital boom shook their foundations, cracks began to spread. It was perhaps an omen that one year after Debenhams marked a net worth peak of £1.7 billion in 2006, the iPhone was launched.
Debenhams, now worth £20 million, wasn’t the only one not to see that things needed to change. According to property advisors Altus Group, since 2010 almost a third of department stores in England and Wales have disappeared.
Debenhams was a laggard compared with rivals John Lewis, but other competitors like House of Fraser have swallowed the bitter taste of demise in recent months. New owner of H of F Mike Ashley (Sports Direct) is said to have envisioned joining it with Debenhams to create a ‘Harrods of the High Street’. He could yet buy Debenhams.
If the 166-strong chain is to avoid a BHS deja vu, the 241-year-old business must “drastically change”, say Lincolnshire leaders. Executive county councillor for economy and place Colin Davie said: “Change is coming to the high street. Traditional shoppers and people who use stores like Debenhams are now going online, so they [dept stores] have a bigger space and fewer customers inside them. Their model needs to change drastically to meet online demand and I suspect it will mean the loss of stores on the high street if they can’t survive.
“Lincoln’s store is a big building, with significant business rates, and while I have no knowledge of the costs or visitors, they’re clearly looking to survive now and whether they will is going to be a challenge I suspect. I would not want to see Debenhams lost in Lincoln, but alternatively we cannot intervene in private companies’ affairs.”
He added, amid warnings 50 Debenhams stores could close in the UK by the year’s end, that there are plenty of reasons the company would benefit from staying in the growing city. “We can encourage them to see the opportunity in Lincoln in the years going forward. With more customers looking to come to the city because of the direct trains, Lincoln becoming a health centre, I would say to Debenhams ‘despite your struggles today there are real opportunities for the company in the city in the years ahead.'”
Rick Smith, MD of Forbes Burton, an insolvency and company rescue specialist based in Lincolnshire, added: “As sad as it is to see Debenhams go into administration, it isn’t entirely unexpected as they have been struggling for some time. It possibly means the planned closure of up to 50 stores may well be brought forward to start paying off the debt.”
Shoppers in Lincoln told reporters they were surprised by this week’s administration news. Many said they preferred to buy their clothes in person and would continue to use the store. Others blasted the shop for being ‘too expensive’ and ‘in need of a facelift’. With thousands logging on to their favourite online shop at all hours of the day, there could be an argument for extended opening hours too.
If the people of Lincolnshire are anything to go by, new owners will need to provide an appealing setting for buying clothes at a reasonable price, as well as going the extra mile to keep shoppers happy outside of working hours.
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Lincolnshire’s biggest rock festival was back with a bang over the weekend – after being delayed four times.
Thousands of rock fans descended on Lincolnshire Showground for Call Of The Wild festival, and were treated to a host of upcoming and well-established acts.
Headliners included Massive Wagons, Reckless Love, and Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, established by legendary Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell after the death of frontman Lemmy.
The four-day rock extravaganza also had many local bands on the billing, including Lincoln-based The Velvet Queens, who announced their new single ‘The Morning After..’ in collaboration with the festival itself.
Many of the attendees had bought early-bird tickets for the festival back in 2019, following the inaugural event three years ago.
Speaking to The Lincolnite Podcast, Dave O’Hara, co-founder of the festival, spoke of his gratitude to the ticket-holders for sticking by them through a difficult couple of years, and admitted the atmosphere at this year’s event had lit a fire within his team going forward.
Listen here:
Call Of The Wild festival started in 2019, and the second show has been pushed back numerous times due to changes in COVID-19 legislation, including one instance where the festival had to postpone just weeks prior to the guidance changing.
Improvements will be made to the cycle network between Pinchbeck and Spalding after the government awarded a payout of £1.8 million to fund Lincolnshire County Council’s Active Travel Plans.
The money allocated to Lincolnshire will be spent on improving facilities along both the Spalding and Pinchbeck roads, subject to feasibility.
The two communities of Pinchbeck and Spalding will be connected with a safe and direct active travel route while also linking up with the important destinations along Wardentree Lane and Enterprise Way.
This route was identified as a priority for active travel development during the council’s work with stakeholders on the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Spalding.
Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I’m delighted to see further active travel money coming to Lincolnshire. Active travel is something that can benefit all of our communities and I’m pleased to see the development of a route in the south of our county.
“Having been actively developing this idea for one of our Local Cycling and Walking Plans (LCWIPs) it’s clear to see that the benefits are going to be widely felt. This is a great success in one of our bids to the Department for Transport.
“Lincolnshire has invested in developing a LCWIP for each of our strategy board areas. We believe the LCWIPs will be the key for unlocking more of the active travel funding and we look forward to working with the DfT to develop more ideas from our plans for Lincolnshire.”
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