Chris Hodge

[happyworker]

Lol.. I am all for Chris Hodges.. I shop in there myself sometimes and its great.... BUT... on the radio that he plays it said... CLOSING DOWN SALE DEAR!!!!!

 

MAY BE WHAT YOU HEARD WAS " CLOTHING AND GOWN SALE !!!" AS HE HAS SOME REALY NICE CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES JUST DOWN PAST THE GREAT CAFE

[Frances144]

Ahem! Lower case please.

 

.... and since when did the Mighty Hodge sell gowns?!!!!!

 

"Oooh, I am going to the SIC Ball, must pop in to Chris Hodge's to buy my gown" - I don't think so!

 

Will he sell frocks next?

[Sherlock]

Dressing gowns, perhaps? I do not know. I yearn, however, for a decent smoking jacket, to accompany my nightly pipeful of Barrats Finest Sherbet.

[sludgegulper]

Lol.. I am all for Chris Hodges.. I shop in there myself sometimes and its great.... BUT... on the radio that he plays it said... CLOSING DOWN SALE DEAR!!!!!

 

MAY BE WHAT YOU HEARD WAS " CLOTHING AND GOWN SALE !!!" AS HE HAS SOME REALY NICE CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES JUST DOWN PAST THE GREAT CAFE

 

Was in there myself today & all I saw "just down from the great cafe" was sanitary towels & Brylcreem.

[Nerdie]

What I like best about The Hodge is that he makes his staff have manners. They can' just grunt and point, they actually have to smile and be articulate. I have been told this is a basic requirement for working in his premises and good for him. At last!

 

I work in Hodges too, and I dont recall being told once that I "have to have manners and to smile and to be articulate", perhaps some of us are just like that naturally, and love our job

[vailron]

the shops along the street closing down has nothing to do with chris hodge. one has to look at how the local shops having been ripping of locals for years now with their pricing etc. using the excuse that there are shipping charges that have to be covered. if this is the case how come kays, commet amazon etc can afford to send items to shetland. televiradio closed long before mr hodge open his warehouse.

[My-friends-call-me-casper]

Large companys such as these are able to absorb the costs. I personally don't think the shops over charge...well all the shops i know people that work in don't anyway. And i also know that not all the shops are against Chris Hodge contarary to what people might think, some i know of anyway are quite happy to see him here paying rent and living in the same retail conditions as they are...unlike when he was at the hall taking all the money out of the island. Just my opinion!

[Ghostrider]

Pricing isn't helping the survival of the Street et al, but it's a far bigger issue that's the real problem IMHO.

 

Lerwick's "retail zone" is at best a 1950's/60's shopping experience being superimposed on the 21st Century. Ease of access, a wide selection of goods, spacious well lit accomodation as well as cost are all equal contributors in the game these days.

 

The Street in particular, is a throughfare and buildings created to provide retail to the population of 100+ years ago, who all lived and worked within easy walking distance of it, only had shanks pony as personal transport, and moved all goods on land by carrying or by hand or horse cart. As that it worked, and works, but civilisation has moved on by a century plus, and those who are still willing to put up with the constraints of a century old practices when spending their hard earned are becoming fewer and fewer.

 

Some have been brave enough to establish retail outwith the designated zone where they could have the space and access to develop a more modern shopping experience, and most have had some degree of success in doing so. However, what Lerwick, and in turn Shetland, lacks, is cohesion, the retail which has moved out of the street and surrounds is a hotch potch of this and that here and there, you end up driving all over the town with the ccompanying hassles of that to shop for even a handful items, that in itself is detrimental to trade for all. Why go to all that aggro when you can sit at your computer and have it delivered to your door within 48 hours.

 

Designating Holmsgarth/Gremista as an industrial zone and the street and surrounds as retail was fair enough, but what was completely overlooked/ignored/whatever was the need for a retail park type zone where outlets of a size/nature incomptible with the physical geography of the street could be accomodated. It's not like the council of the day and since weren't given clues as to that need, the two supermarkets moving to their current sites did that, but for whatever reason they continued on with their blinkered mission of squeezing as much retail as possible in to the Victorian shopping enviornment from the foot of King Harald Street to the foot of Church Road. Dealing with an issue such as Hodge and the closure of businesses within their designated "retail zone" now, is simply the council reaping what they have been sowing.

 

Personally, back in the 80's, I'd have much preferred had the council created an area of serviced sites where the Clickimin Centre now stands, and declared much, if not all of along Lochside as a retail zone for larger units. The site is much more central to what constitutes "da toon" these days, and had access and space aplenty. The Coop had moved/was moving to essentially one end of the area, and although it wasn't known back then, the other Supermarket moving to the other end provides a perfect set up. Supermarket each end, and everything else that wants to be inbetween, effectively a new and modern day "street".

 

Commercial Street, if it were deemed worthwhile to preserve "as is" for posterity as a living museum is fine for non-essential businesses. Bars, cafes, souviner/knitwear etc, book, ornamental goods/nick nack shops etc, essentially mainly a leisure/recreation area and tourist trap, but as a shopping area for everyday goods, it is so far past it's sell by date it's laughable.

[Twerto]

Personally, back in the 80's, I'd have much preferred had the council created an area of serviced sites where the Clickimin Centre now stands, and declared much, if not all of along Lochside as a retail zone for larger units. The site is much more central to what constitutes "da toon" these days, and had access and space aplenty. The Coop had moved/was moving to essentially one end of the area, and although it wasn't known back then, the other Supermarket moving to the other end provides a perfect set up. Supermarket each end, and everything else that wants to be inbetween, effectively a new and modern day "street".

 

that would be great, never thought of it like that as i have alway seen that area as residential.. but thinking of it like that it makes sense.. as what is the street now could become purely residential ( old ) part of town.. quaint nice area of town for tourist to walk around. even keep the street as what it is essentially now.. an arts and crafts street.

[Twerto]

A different spin I heard on this last night, that got me thinking. and admittedly got me siding with the planning department,

 

was if the Planning department gives in and let chris hodge get his application through.. is that can then leave the door wide open for him to sell to a company like tesco or asda.. to move right in with out any objections.

 

as much as i think it is wrong in how the whole fiasco has this has become.. I'm not sure if i would happily accept someone like tesco or asda to be able to walk straight in.

[ewenutz]

well i personally never buy anything in shetland unless i'm really stuck or desperate. its so much easier and cheaper to do it at the click of a button. Plus, the main reason, theres p*ss all in the lerwick shops worth buying. i can never find what i'm looking for, or if i do, its a poor cheap substitute. but thats just my opinion.

[Siggar]

I find myself agreeing with Ewenutz having today bought shoes (John Lewis), jeans (Next) and several books (Amazon) all online.

Its not just choice thats not available here, as Ewenutz said, its also quality. Chris Hodge has its place I'm sure but the town is full of shops selling cheap goods of dubious quality. I may pay a bit more for the clothes, shoes and household goods that I buy but they do last and are well made.

The most successful shops in Lerwick seem to be those where there has been some investment over the years. Many, although they must have had it good for many years, have never invested in their properties. Just look at the stonework and roofs of some buildings. As a result they are cramped with terrible stairs and circulation. Even in some of the old buildings modern shops can be developed. Look at Mackays and Boots, with a bit of money and effort perfectly decent modern shops are possible on the street. To keep the street viable we need more good shops, if not we can really accept that its had its day. If it wasnt for the bank and post office I would hardly need to be on the street.

There is still a need for some bigger retail units somewhere out of the town centre.

[babasan]

i have never been in chris hodges shop ( because i now live on mainland) but am led to believe that he has a great cafe in there as well and so what if he sell some cheap tack not everybody in shetland can afford expensive products .

when i lived on the island i used to do all my shopping on the mainland or internet because of the lack of shops .

commercial street has only shops for the tourist's

good luck to chris and his staff (helpfull ones i hear)

 

x

[north]

was if the Planning department gives in and let chris hodge get his application through.. is that can then leave the door wide open for him to sell to a company like tesco or asda.. to move right in with out any objections.

 

If you should be so lucky!

 

If someone like Tesco or ASDA wanted to move to Shetland, maybe they wouldn't even bother moving into Lerwick, but might head into some other central area that might welcome them. As they would be the foundation of all the other business ventures that would immediately cash in on the location, an entire new commercial district could be established at (say) the Hollanders Knowe, the Black Gaet, the Bressay end of the Bridge, or some other equally accessible location (not Saxa Vord ) , which would draw Islanders without inconveniencing the Toonies and their hangers on! Maybe they could build at the base of the conglomerate of windmills, so shoppers could get a close up view of what they are about to get over-run with!

 

The belief that Government knows best in every instance is ridiculous. Government is comprised of everyday human beings - some good, some bad, - but certainly not the fount of all knowledge or wisdom.

 

Their job is to serve the people, something that a large number of them seem to live in ignorance of, as they exercise their own values and judgements over the issues at hand!

[BigMouth]

I agree with Ewenutz too.

 

Over the week I have bought a box of inkjet paper, sandals, rucksack, rucksack rain cover, 2 titanium stoves, DVD boxed set, 6 books, electric shaver, index cards, rechargeable batteries, some organic long-life food sachets and a software manual (PDF download). Total value about £310.

 

They were either not available or over-priced here, mostly the former.

 

Whilst Chris Hodge has little that interests me, he does have the "competition" concerned.

 

My feeling is that the planning department need to give the shoppers of Shetland what they want instead of trying to protect the traders of Da Street. They are actually ending up with a situation where less is being spent in Da Street and not more.