Nagel   10 #37 Posted October 17, 2016 Not something anyone would ever associate with Primark  You may not associate Primark with quality, but the Weston family which own Primark are big sponsors of the arts. They also own Fortnum & Mason and Heal's, both very upmarket shops.  The Cast Courts at the V&A Museum were refurbished with their backing and are now called the Weston Cast Courts.  And the New Bodleian Library in Oxford has been renamed the Weston Library after their sponsorship of the recent refurbishment.  They're also major donors to the Conservative party. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Mr Bloke   1,445 #38 Posted October 17, 2016 You may not associate Primark with quality, but the Weston family which own Primark are big sponsors of the arts. They also own Fortnum & Mason and Heal's, both very upmarket shops. The Cast Courts at the V&A Museum were refurbished with their backing and are now called the Weston Cast Courts.  And the New Bodleian Library in Oxford has been renamed the Weston Library after their sponsorship of the recent refurbishment.  They're also major donors to the Conservative party. ... and I bet they also spent all their summer holidays at that nice little seaside resort on the Bristol channel? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Janus   28 #39 Posted October 17, 2016 I was going to suggest that maybe the gaps could possibly be expansion joints, but I don`t think that would explain why they are tapered. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Guest busdriver1   #40 Posted October 17, 2016 Yes but to achieve that you need to have a floor space and layout to generate those sales. You won't attract big retailers to cities when there are inadequate buildings for them to trade out of - which amongst other things is why our town centre has a poor retail provision.  Big retailers will design and build their own. Small to medium sized will buy or rent off the peg. I say again, if there is a market here for their products they will find a way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Guest makapaka   #41 Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Big retailers will design and build their own. Small to medium sized will buy or rent off the peg. I say again, if there is a market here for their products they will find a way.  No that's not right. There may be instances but usually developers will speculate, normally around an anchor tenant to then encourage others in the area. Particularly in ciry centres. The developers provide the shell and the end user will fit it out to their liking.  Instances where a retailer may build their own would be large scale "sheds" in outer city areas but even that is not particularly common. Edited October 17, 2016 by makapaka Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Bob Arctor   11 #42 Posted October 17, 2016 I had the misfortune of seeing this monstrosity last week . its awful and I noticed all the lower level windows were filthy . you would have thought that with all the brains at the university ,that someone would have thought to employ a window cleaner  In this thread we have someone who is unhappy that modern buildings generally lack the ornamentation of the Victorian era and someone else who is unhappy about a building that is mainly ornament (on the outside at least). I'm quite heartened by this, if everyone agreed on what looks good, our city would probably look very dull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Penistone999 Â Â 10 #43 Posted October 17, 2016 I think it looks great. Not been a statement retail building built in years in Sheffield - which is why the town centre can't attract big retailers. Â Couple more of similar buildings in town would be great. Â A tad harsh . Primark and cash converters are National companies. :hihi: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ECCOnoob   984 #44 Posted October 17, 2016 A tad harsh . Primark and cash converters are National companies. :hihi:  Quite right Penistone.  You may mock but snobbery does not draw away from the fact that Primark employs over 57k people and was making a profit at over £313m at last audit.  Cash Converters is a worldwide company operating in over 20 countries with over 200 stores in the UK alone.  They may not be premium brands but as has been argued dozens of times on this forum, whenever a premium brand opens around here everyone jumps around complaining about them being, poncey, overpriced, snobbish, rip off merchants.  We get the businesses that people choose to shop in. They may not be Gucci and Chanel but they are still big businesses.  Enough already. People have been bitching and whining for months that "nothing is happening". Now it is people are still bitching and whining.  No wonder developers keep away from this place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Guest makapaka   #45 Posted October 17, 2016 Quite right Penistone.  You may mock but snobbery does not draw away from the fact that Primark employs over 57k people and was making a profit at over £313m at last audit.  Cash Converters is a worldwide company operating in over 20 countries with over 200 stores in the UK alone.  They may not be premium brands but as has been argued dozens of times on this forum, whenever a premium brand opens around here everyone jumps around complaining about them being, poncey, overpriced, snobbish, rip off merchants.  We get the businesses that people choose to shop in. They may not be Gucci and Chanel but they are still big businesses.  Enough already. People have been bitching and whining for months that "nothing is happening". Now it is people are still bitching and whining.  No wonder developers keep away from this place.  Cash converters aren't a good brand tho. Primark maybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Wazzock   10 #46 Posted October 18, 2016   Enough already. People have been bitching and whining for months that "nothing is happening". Now it is people are still bitching and whining.  No wonder developers keep away from this place.  nail hit squarely on head there ECCOnoob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
LeMaquis   10 #47 Posted October 18, 2016 nail hit squarely on head there ECCOnoob  Not really. Developers don't take investment decisions on whether or not there's much bitching and whining going on. They look at the probable return and decide accordingly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ECCOnoob   984 #48 Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Not really. Developers don't take investment decisions on whether or not there's much bitching and whining going on. They look at the probable return and decide accordingly.  You really don't that the public's response to a developer's proposals or other work in an area doesn't have any impact on those "probable return" decisions??  A developer comes along with a plan for a nice shiny new shopping mall. They submit proposals and see hundreds of comments from people whining it "looks crap" "not as good as the old days" "nobody will pay that price" "nobody wants that stuff" "its all tat"  Do you not think that might sway a decision on whether to go ahead?  Scenario 2. A developer starts a project and before phase 1 is even built they see people slagging it off, complaining about the design, complaining about the potential occupiers, complaining about the purposes of it, harking back to the days of old when the moor was filled with traffic and Roberts Brothers and Redgates were still there.  Do you not think that might affect a developer's decision on spending money building phase 2?  ---------- Post added 18-10-2016 at 13:06 ----------  Cash converters aren't a good brand tho. Primark maybe.  They must be doing something right to have a worldwide operation which has been ongoing since 30+ years.  Who are all these absent customers I wonder? Where is all their bad reputation smeared all over the daily papers?  Pawnbroking might not be tasteful but just like nail bars, tanning salons, charity shops or even discount stores, it does not make any less of a legitimate business.  Its snobbery again. Edited October 18, 2016 by ECCOnoob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...