In August this year, we experienced the closure of Borders Bookstore in Colney Fields Retail Park. Along with that, the popular Starbucks Café closed too. This weekend, the fashion store, New Look has opened in its place. The presence of silver decorations, Christmas music and a huge range of winter clothing, creates a vibrant atmosphere thats worth checking out!
Starbucks Café has reopened too (upstairs) with a brand new look of its own! Its entrance has changed and it is not as exposed to the store as before. It also lacks the cosy atmosphere although the new decor is more upbeat. Never mind, no doubt the double-shot, skinny latte is as good as ever!
Links -
www.newlook.co.uk, http://stalbanslife.co.uk/shopping/local-shops/farewell-to-borders-bookstore, www.starbucks.co.uk
The recession has had a negative effect on many of St Albans shops. Woolworths was the first to go and many others like Tchibo, Jaeger and West One have followed. However, it is not all doom and gloom in St Albans town centre. Today, I came across three new stores.
Mr P’s is a newsagents which has such delights as Pic n Mix as well as toiletries, food, drinks, magazines and papers. It is situated where the jewellers was, opposite the Town Hall. Although there is another newsagents further up St Peter’s Street, this one is handy for those catching the nearby buses. This store is sterile and clean and the staff are open and eager to answer my questions.
Another shop known as ‘Near, Far and Fair’ has opened up near Tesco’s on St Peters’ Street. This is full of locally sourced produce, Fair Trade foods and Eco products like toilet rolls and soaps. Free range eggs, including duck eggs and fresh bread are also sold here. I have just tasted their cherry scones and they pass the test! For those who enjoy the Farmer’s Market each month, this is a sort of miniature version of it. It felt a bit cluttered but was full of shoppers.
Another recent addition is The Calender Store, which has opened in the place of the Tchibo store in the Maltings shopping centre. Full of calenders to suit every possible taste, I would assume this is just for the Christmas season! It will be a big hit with the masses of teenagers who fill this centre every weekend.
The sad news is that the Woolworths building is still empty and forlorn. There was talks of a restaurant opening in its place but who knows…..Seriously, who knows? We would love to hear from anyone who does!
On August 9th, Borders Bookstore in Colney Fields (south of St Albans) will close down. It has been operating here since April 2005 and has Starbucks Café and Paperchase on its premises. These too will clear out as New Look fashion ftore prepares to move in.
The closure is a consequence the recession and some other factors. The employees are clearly shocked, angry and dismal about the whole situation. The residents of St Albans and surrounding areas are also saddened by this news. One customer expressed his views:
‘It is a place one loves to come and spend an hour browsing through the book shelves, and then spend another hour reading over a Starbucks coffee.’
The 50% sale has been drawing many people in to get the last of the bargains. Many books are now reduced to £1. The children’s section upstairs is normally a cosy, colourful and welcoming corner. Today it is a desolate, deserted scene. Downstairs looks like it’s been hit by a bomb!
Borders will continue operating in nearby Watford and Brent Cross. For how long though, is another question!
For more details and to see the store’s closure notice, visit http://londoncolney.borders.co.uk/store/londoncolney/22/
St Albans-based ABA Market Research is calling on city residents to have their say on shopping at major high-street stores. Experts in retail research, ABA is looking for people to join their panels and voice their opinions on everything from retailers’ national advertising campaigns to the window displays in the local branch. So, do you think your opinions could help them to improve what the big hitters in the retail world sell in their shops and how they do it? Anyone that is interested in joining a panel will either be paid in cash or entered into a cash prize draw. Just register online at www.abapanel.co.uk, or pop in to see ABA on its ‘Cashback for Comments’ open day, on Wednesday 15 July, and pick up some information about being a panellist. ABA is right next door to The Peahen on London Road. Refreshments will be available along with the chance to see what some of the existing panellists get out of participating. It only takes a couple of minutes to register and panellists are free to turn down any involvement that isn’t convenient to them.
This is the slogan of Little Wonders, the toy store that has deservedly won the 2009 Retailer of the Year award. It is one of the few specialist shops around that has a vast stock of original, ethical and high-quality toys.
This little gem is located in the Maltings precinct. Their wooden toys, tables, chairs, games etc are bright, solid and have that nostalgic ‘forever yours’ feel about them.
Like all our local small businesses, it depends on customers. The enticing window display is worth seeing and it’s like a treasure chest inside. The staff are genuinely helpful and when I asked the owner, Andy, if he would like to give a public message, this was his reply;
‘Please come to our store. It’s about the experience of traditional, honest, long-lasting toys. You are paying for the play value, rather than the modern TV licence disposable.’
Proudly stating that these toys are rather unique and hard to find elsewhere, Andy went on the say ‘We try and source as much as we can from Europe and the UK because it gets higher manufacturing standards and ethical production.’
So, next time you are on your way to Costa Café, let your child drag you through the door of this magical store and treat them to a bit of long lasting joy!
There is more information about the Retailer of the Year Awards 2009 on www.stalbansreview.co.uk
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