By Waiching
Gone are Top Shop, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Gap and replaced by a proliferation of sweet shops & vape stores that are littered in and around central London, with Oxford Street bearing the biggest brunt: but for the Adidas, Footlocker and Niketown stores, not to mention Primark, the area, which used to be the 'go to' spot for shopping in London, is now a shadow of its former self. Leicester Square/Piccadilly Circus isn't too far off the mark either, despite the M&Ms and Lego stores; take away Chinatown and it doesn't have much going for it, either.
It has become apparent that the restrictions and the Covid pandemic have forever changed and affected Central London and the people who work in those areas, with work being remote and home based and many non-essential businesses had to shut up shop for several months during the lockdowns. Many of the new stores that did open in 2021 were sweet shops, luggage stores, mobile phone shops and stores selling flavoured e-cigarette tobacco: a far cry from the days when there was the likes of Virgin Megastore (later rebranded as Zavvi), HMV, Top Shop, John Lewis, Dixons, Borders, JJB Sports and Phones 4 U we had to contend with.
The U.K high street is currently experiencing major challenges during the pandemic as businesses move online and staff are either laid-off or made redundant. However, all is not lost, - provided the councils and cities in the U.K are open to having more shops, restaurants and businesses, and ones that not only could lead to a surge in profits but drum up interest towards the public, the customers and consumers. Recent additions include Superdry, Lego store in Leicester Square, Korean fried chicken chain, Jollibee, as well as Popeye's.
Retail and hospitality are not exactly dead, & the businesses I have suggested and chosen below are shops and restaurants that many living in the U.K, and in London, one of the capital cities of the world, would be most welcome to visit:
Blaze Pizza - based in Pasadena, California and with NBA basketball player, Lebron James as one of its investors, Blaze Pizza differentiates itself from Pizza Hut, Dominoes and Pizza Express by existing as a made-to-order service where customers can select which toppings they would like on their pizza, with staff assembling the toppings. The custom pizza is then ready to be cooked. Blaze has several overseas branches: one in Canada and the other in the Middle East in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Kaufland - German hypermarket chain and part of the Schwarz Gruppe which owns Lidl; it has stores in Poland, native Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia
Church's Chicken - originally founded in San Antonio, Texas, its headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia and is a fast-food chain that specialises in fried chicken. To date, it has over 1,700 branches worldwide including Canada, Guyana, Iraq, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Trinidad and Tobago. The 8th largest fast food chicken chain in the U.S as of 2020, they briefly entered the U.K market in the late 2000s but pulled out. The U.K has KFC which has been around for decades, but recent additions in Jolibee and Louisiana's Popeye's indicate the U.K is open to other alternatives when it comes to fried chicken joints.
Bob's - Brazilian fast food with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, it was founded in 1952 by American Brazilian tennis champion, Bob Falkenburg. Menu items include the Big Bob - their version of McDonald's Big Mac - and the Barbecue chicken burger
G.U - a Japanese discount casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer owned by the same company, Fast Retailing which owns UNIQLO, it has over 400 stores in Japan. It is Japan's answer to Primark with its low-cost fashion line.
Sam's Club - Membership-based warehouse/wholesale retailer owned by and is a subsidiary of Walmart of America; Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue with an excess of $548 BILLION during 2020. Sam's Club is the direct competitor to Costco whereby members, instead of general customers, are its primary target group. Whilst Costco has more warehouses, globally, domestically, Sam's Club leads when it comes to stores in the U.S. Here, the U.K. has Makro - now under the name of Booker/Makro, which opened its first store in Amsterdam, Netherlands and acts as the rival to Costco.
Target - A big box department store that sells general merchandise, they are considered one of the most successful retailers of all time; described as a quality store with quality merchandise with discount prices but also preferred by many in the U.S to its rival, Walmart. There is no U.K equivalent to Target, although some of its elements, sections and types of products can be found in Wilko and B&M.
Nintendo Store - a flagship speciality store that sells a variety of official Nintendo-related merchandise, video games and accessories from various franchises such as Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros, there is one in Tokyo and one in New York. Central London is long overdue for a Nintendo store.
Fairwood/Cafe De Coral - In London's Chinatown, there used to be a Cafe De Coral; a Hong Kong fast-food chain that serves traditional Hong Kong style no-frills cafe-style food and drink. Catering for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is the largest Chinese fast-food franchise chain in not just Hong Kong, but the world as well.
Toast Box - Singaporean coffee chain similar to the U.S's Starbucks and U.K's Costa established in 2005 that promotes coffee and toast culture of the 1960s and 1970s. It won the 2015 top brand of Asia award and has various branches most notably in Chinese Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Hong Kong; signature items include the laksa and curry chicken with rice
Caffe Bene - based in Seoul, South Korea, it was founded in 2008 and is the country's largest coffeehouse-based chain in terms of stores with over 900 in total surpassing Starbucks, followed by China and the U.S. The word 'Bene' comes from the Italian word, 'good'.
Red Rooster - Australian fast-food chain that specialises in roast chicken, chicken burgers and fried chicken. Items include burgers, whole and half roasts, salads, desserts and beverages
Mister Donut - one of the largest doughnut chains in the world alongside Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme
Ministop - Japanese convenience store chain which features a kitchen that prepares sandwiches, snacks, bento boxes. The menu varies but may include hot dogs, sandwiches, soft-serve ice cream and filled buns
Ale-Hop - Iberian version of Accessorize, Ale-Hop is a chain of shops that sells fun and novelty gifts and gadgets, that also encompasses Claires when it comes to jewellery and accessories; it's huge in native Spain (originating in Ondara, a province in Alicante) with stores across neighbouring Portugal, and a good business option with the potential to grow. Its mascot is a massive Black and White bull. With affordable, low-cost items there aren't many alternatives to Claires and Accessorize; alas, Ale-Hop would be a welcome addition to the U.K.
Super Super Congee and Noodle - London's Chinatown is rapidly expanding into other East Asian businesses, but this is also to the detriment to Hong Kong establishments which, after many years, are being shafted and losing their reverence. Established in 1999 it is owned by the Cafe De Coral group, Super Super Congee and Noodle's signature dishes include congee with shrimp/fish and BBQ pork (Char Siu) and shrimp won ton noodles. Now dominated by the likes of bubble tea and egg waffles through vendors and stalls selling cheap street food and Sichuan cuisine, it is time to bring traditional Hong Kong-style food back to the forefront, led by rice porridge.
Arby's - U.S fast food chain that specialises in deli-style sandwiches. In 2017 Food and Wine declared Arby's ''the second largest sandwich chain after Subway''; it was founded in 1964 by two owners of a restaurant business, who saw there was a market for fast food that wasn't related to burgers. Arby's has locations in Canada, Turkey, South Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico and it did have a brief stint in the U.K, but closed in 2001. Their menu looks way more appetizing than Subway's.
Paris Baguette - owned by the SPC group is a bakery chain based in South Korea; it opened in 1986 in Gwanghwamun, Seoul and in eventual years grew to become the number one bakery in 2004 and branching out in the U.S., Vietnam and establishing itself as a global company. As well as strawberry and chocolate cakes, Paris Baguette sells mini cakes, sandwiches, salads, brioche & fruit loaves and hot and cold beverages.
SuperValu - an Irish supermarket chain, and the largest in the Republic of Ireland, that is a cross between a convenience store - think Co-op, Spar, 7-Eleven - and a supermarket, i.e. Tesco, Morrisons
Trader Joes - describes itself as a 'your neighbourhood grocery store', the company was ranked #14 in Glassdoor's 2020 best places to work in the U.S.,specialising in organic and natural foods (think Whole Foods Market) whilst operating and doubling up as a grocer and discount warehouse retailer (i.e. Costco, Sam's Club) - minus the memberships. It was bought by the same German family who owns Aldi.
MD S.p.A - discount supermarket chain from Italy founded in 1994, it is the third largest budget supermarket in the country after Eurospin and Lidl and has over 400 stores. It is the Italian equivalent to Lidl and Aldi: both hail from Sweden. With the popularity of Lidl and Aldi surging in recent years throughout the U.K, a lot of people in the country wouldn't mind MD S.p.A joining the ranks too
