| Comment | > Do you think the choices about how to improve the street will influence what’s kind of businesses might invest there?
No doubt. But it's important to think about the wider retail environment today and what's possible and what's not. Some businesses are simply no longer viable on the high street. Curries or HMV type brands, department stores, white goods, electronics, etc. All particularly vulnerable to online shopping and probably not ever making any meaningful return to city centre bricks and mortar retail. Clothing is vulnerable, though that's got more of a personal and experiential shopping dimension so probably has a bit of a future.
In that sense, city centre retail is just changed fundamentally in that it's geared now towards services or experiences, so basically, food & drink. That's true around the world, not just in Glasgow. As you say I'd expect many more restaurants, cafes and bars than were on the street in the past.
Grocery stores are also doing very well in cities now, with urban populations increasing. I think we can expect convenience stores and small supermarkets become a common sight. |
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