CANTERBURY residents wanting to look as good as Prince William and Kate Middleton in time for the Royal wedding are in luck - Jack Wills have opened their store in the city.The fashion label, have been a favourite of Prince Harry and Kate Middleton.
Sitting on the prime spot on The Parade, The town was booming with eager customers.
Supervising manager, Jake Vince of Jack Wills, 20 said on the opening of its door for the first time: "Today was very busy. We had a heavy foot fall outside and customers filled the store, which is two floors. Completing admin and serving customers made the day go very quick. It was a very successful day."
Jack Wills is one of many trendy shops to mark its spot on the cobble streets of Canterbury. Kath Kitson, La Senza, The Gadget shop, are just a few to mark its territory.
As they begin their City affair with historical Canterbury, local businesses leave. The Winnie the Pooh Shop has been trading at 19 Orange Street since 2000 and has become a real favourite amongst shoppers and visitors.
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| Topshop, Topman, H&M have become favourites for teenagers |
Some of the most drastic changes of Canterbury’s town have been in the growth of shops dedicated to the teenage market. Topman, Topshop, H&M and River island are on the same strip.
Owner of The Winnie the Pooh shop, David Philips blamed the dominance of the city’s Whitefriars shopping centre for the closure of his shop.
“What a shame it is that Whitefriars is taking shoppers from this end of the city. The problem is that there are too many shops and not enough businesses to go round. Someones got to lose out. Its just a shame it had to be the locals.”
Born and Bred resident, Steve Morpurgo, 62 Said: “In my younger days most of the shopping was done in traditional shops including the local Butchers, Bakers, Grocers and Newsagents.
“You have to go right out into the villages now, far as Blean to find all these in one place. What a shame.”
Mr Philips also added that the bleak recession has had an impact on his shop.
“Business in the shop hasn’t been the same. Its dropped a lot because of the recession over the past two or three years.
“Even Internet sales have dropped, too. Nowadays more people like to shop from the comfort of their own home but this hasn’t been the case this time round.”
The Winnie the Pooh shop is the fifth shop in the King’s Mile quarter of the city to lie empty and idle.Mad4Mobiles, King’s English bookshop and Antoniou Hairdressing have had to face the fierce competition from new stores like Jack Wills and close.
Present for more than 25 years, Westgate Games saw Bailiffs enter and close the store to cover owner Elton Waters debt.
Sandrine May, owner of Madame Oiseau Chocolatiers, said: “Since I have been here with my business, shops have been and gone, constantly opening opening and closely.
“There’s no security these days. My business is fortunate not to solely rely on passing trade. We have customers out of Canterbury, many from London. We also sell online.
“But even my business has felt the dire days of Canterbury’s local businesses. Having no parking facilities available is a huge concern in terms of bringing customers in. But even tourists who come off the coaches just walk past and go straight to the Buttermarket.
“We owe a lot to our London customers and internet sales. We would have been shut down if it wasn’t for the other income we receive.”
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| Popular Winnie the Pooh shop shut its doors for the last time. |
Jewellery maker Ortwin Thyssen, spokesman for Kings Mile Traders’ Association, said: “It is definitely worrying to see more shops closing. We are trying to bring more attention to the area and create a new website.”
“The more established shops are going well because they cater for niche markets. We are keeping busy but are preparing for the storm we fear will come.”
The King’s Mile stretches from the High Street and Guildhall Street to Palace Street and Northgate. It boasts more than 100 specalised shops.
What shops would you like to see come back to Canterbury or venture to the City?