Republic see red

Photo: itsoneiota.com

The latest high street company to get themselves into hot water is clothing brand Republic. Words from the press state that Republic has officially appointed administrators - putting approximately 2,500 jobs on the line.

The administrators are obviously hoping to sell off the brand and they are confident that this will happen, "...Republic is well recognised, particularly in the North", "it has a powerful website...very attractive and profitable stores". This sounds like a sales pitch to me - surely if the stores were very attractive and profitable Republic wouldn't be in this predicament, or maybe that's just my skewed view.

This recent announcement does kind of make sense. The amount of sales and promotions Republic have been running over the last 12 months has been immense. Every time I stepped in one of their stores they had a store-wide sale operating.

Unfortunately, our well known high street brands are being knocked down like dominoes. We've had stores such as Woolworths, Peacocks, HMV, Jessops and, most recently, Blockbuster go out of business. This recession has killed off all of our top names and I am afraid to say that this trend is set to continue.

Of course, the recession isn't the only reason these companies are disappearing from our streets... 

Photo: kpib.co.uk

The other major reason is e-commerce or online shopping. The recent explosion of online retail has been extraordinary. It saves people the need to drive into the town centre to shop - saving money on fuel, parking and overheads factored into the cost. Online shopping allows people to relax in the comfort of their own home, browse items even in the early hours of the morning, and it is usually much cheaper than walk in stores.

The online market has much more flexibility that walk in stores just cannot compete with. If I were a part of these stores, I would seriously consider attempting to make some kind of online presence as soon as possible. The only problem with this is that the online market is already well established. There are lots of trusted online marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon and Play that might make it difficult for newcomers.

Stores are going to need to make a very important decision, develop a solid business plan that must include a highly attractive website that offers great deals and tip top service, or they may very well be the next domino in line.