EXCLUSIVE: The UK’s high street has lost many iconic brands in the last 20 years, and the Daily Star’s team of keyboard monkeys has taken a trip down memory lane
A historic brand is making a comeback in the shape of Debenhams – in place of fast-fashion retailer Boohoo. And although that move is entirely online, it got the Daily Star’s team of shop-loving retail experts thinking about what brands we’d love to see make a return to physical stores.
Since 2010, the UK has seen several huge names disappear, from Comet, British Home Stores and Woolworths to Blockbuster, Topshop, Ted Baker and Miss Selfridge.
Others include Thomas Cook, Mothercare, Maplin, Littlewoods, Borders, C&A and even Dixons – remember them? And now the Daily Star has weighed in on which brands we’d like to see return.
Claudia Trotman – Loves fast fashion and fast horses
“Offering a gen Z perspective here…obviously Woolworths, and I do remember the end of Blockbuster (long live physical media).
“But bring back Topshop. Used to be the place to go in my teens.”
Ruby Naldrett – Had a strange social life growing up
“I can’t even put into words how much I miss Blockbuster; going there with my friends before a sleepover and picking a film to watch that night was a thrill that Netflix will never replace. I also desperately miss Topshop (specifically the Oxford Circus one).
“Forget Buckingham Palace or the London Eye, Topshop was THE place to go in London and I used to spend hours in there and am still in mourning every time I see the empty building.
“I was also a JJB fan, I miss trying on a new pair of trainers for PE and having my mum making me run up and down the aisles to ‘test them out’.”
Jess Fitch – Too young to remember Blockbuster
“Topshop, as they had DJ decks and a cupcake bar in the Oxford Circus one. It was magical.”
Andrew Gilpin – Constantly baffled that WHSmith still exists
“Yes it is easy to say Woolworths, but that’s for a very palpable reason. It truly was the one-stop shop for everything you needed to keep you occupied on a weekend.
“Pic N’ Mix, chart CDs, a Vileda super mop, Sellotape, Baywatch posters, I’m getting misty eyed just thinking about it.
“You could spend hours in there on a Saturday afternoon doing anything from playing on a Sega Mega Drive to rearranging the animals in the Sylvanian Families’ display into compromising positions. That’s why I miss Woolies and I’m sure it would be exactly the same now I’m an adult and not 14 (it wouldn’t be).”
Abigail Hunt – There’s no way she went to normal shops in her youth
“Blockbuster was the one. It was always a friend’s parents who took us because my mum would give the excuse of ‘we’ve got plenty of movies at home’ – definitely a rite of passage.”
Lloyd Coombes – Rarely leaves his gaming den to go shopping
“I miss a Friday night wander round Blockbuster personally, especially when they started selling everything off cheap.
“The wife says ’Tammy Girl’, which I’ve never heard of…”
Rich Brown – Likes plastic, which makes sense for Manchester City fan
“Blockbuster is obviously the correct answer to this – being able to get PS2 games for a couple of quid was a genuine game-changer for an 11-year-old.
“But given, I imagine, lots of people will say that, I’d go with ToysRUs. I know it’s not properly vanished but having a few pop ups coming back in WHSmith shops just feels like a patronising compromise that no one really wants.
“There is no feeling that can match walking into a ToysRUs as a kid. They always felt ENORMOUS and like time stood still while you were there. And that plastic smell is pure nostalgia.”
Charles Wade-Palmer – Next level brand loyalty
“Take me back to a pre-Sports Direct world where JJB Sports was the jewel in the crown of these new-fangled, high street-killing (sorry) retail parks with free parking. Before Wigan Athletic were hosting Premier League matches at the JJB Sports stadium, those three letters symbolised everything that was cool about sport.
“Adidas and Nike may have re-launched their iconic noughties boot models but if I’m not trying them on at JJB Sports, what’s the point? There was an elegance and class about JJB, it’s market successor never attempted to replicate.”
Simon Hamalienko – Would happily buy discount items to sell online at a profit
“Showing my age but Our Price was practically the only record shop we had in town (which later became part of the Virgin Megastore group and then Zavvi). Spent many days going in not to spend money, but listen to the latest albums on the headphone stands they had.
“Probably why they disappeared. Although, I have just realised it is still going as an online retailer, who knew.”
Vince Soodin – Yes, he’s older than the rest of us
“Life in the 80s, early 90s South London was about shoes, trainers and tapes and CDs. So Our Price was just the best – especially when you tried to change the price stickers on a cassette to something cheaper.
“Champion Sport had the best sports and leisure wear for me. But InterSport had the best non football equipment like graphite Dunlop rackets.
“But school shoes were crucial back then – so you weren’t mocked by mates in class and when you couldn’t wear trainers in Ritzy in Streatham. The most stylish shoes in Lewisham and Bromley high streets were from Ravel. So that’s who I miss. That’s who I want back.”
Joe Faretra – Was friendly with the founders of Tesco
“There are a whole load of shops I could list that I miss. Woolies is the obvious one, but I often felt Wilkos was the modern equivalent, and I didn’t make much use of that.
“Then there’s Our Price, Fopp, Blockbusters. But I just think they’re all victims of shifts in technology and the massive increase in supermarket stock lines. There’s virtually nothing from Woolies you couldn’t buy in a Tesco or Asda nowadays. I think I more miss the era of when these shops on the high street.
“Buying albums, posters and pick and mix, with a potted plant for mum for Mother’s Day – all from one store. However, I think if they were all still here, yes the high street would look fuller, I’d only be dipping into them.”
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