On 14 Jun 2008 at 12:44am mark & wrote:
now that we have the possibility of a proper store in lewes, does everyone think that m&s would be good?
On 14 Jun 2008 at 12:46am BONYAK wrote:
how about a car boot sale on landport? Cheap bricks and you can build a ghetto. BOOM BOOM
On 14 Jun 2008 at 12:50am mark & wrote:
i've heard that bonyak is quite intelligent. but that wasn't the response i expected. i like the idea of a cinema on cliffe, maybe in the old woolworths store, which hasn't happened yet.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 9:01am Spinster Of This Parish wrote:
Good knockers and nice food department but I fear that this would be the start of the cloning of Lewes.
Martin Elliott is a despicable man - any suggestions as to how I could lure him into my shed?
On 14 Jun 2008 at 9:02am Spinster Of This Parish wrote:
Whoops - typo above!
Should have read "good knickers"
On 14 Jun 2008 at 10:24am Chav wrote:
I prefer the typo version
On 14 Jun 2008 at 10:26am Shedman wrote:
Whisper in his ear that you've got planning permission.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 11:28am sue wrote:
Yeah i think m&s along with a few other stores would be good for lewes. My hubby and visited lewes on thursday,and it was dull,damp and to top it all there are no decent shops or places to eat in lewes.When i say to eat i mean you only have a few middle of the road type places to eat.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 4:02pm Roly Mo wrote:
WHAT????????????????Lewes has tons of places to eat. What do you mean by middle of the road? Where did you visit from?
On 14 Jun 2008 at 5:31pm The Tooth Fairy wrote:
What's the point of visiting a town like Lewes just to go to m&s? Am I missing something?
On 14 Jun 2008 at 5:39pm Lewes Lover wrote:
There's an M&S in Brighton and Shoreham what's the point of another magnolia shop. even Uckfield has a cinema let's have one of them instead.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 5:45pm Mark wrote:
yup you are missing something.
The residents of Lewes are in need of more shops so M&S would be a welcome addition.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 5:52pm The Tooth Fairy wrote:
Because LL, companies like m&s sign up for long, long leases and are prepared to pay massive rents. The 'Bus Station Quater', 'The Old Station' or whatever pretentious name ol' Mart decides to call it will have NO independant business'. Expect Starbucks, Pret-a-Manger, et al. With A few 'Living Spaces' above.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 7:09pm Cliffebimbo wrote:
Only a short while back, people were complaining about independent shops such as Wickle, (which sell nothing of any great use). I'm all for M & S opening up although I am surprised it isn't Harvey Nics with the amount of Londoners moving in.
On 14 Jun 2008 at 7:15pm FA wrote:
You snob cliffbimbo !!!
Tell yer ol man to give me a buzz
On 14 Jun 2008 at 8:34pm Newcomer wrote:
I remember reading a year or so ago in a quality national newspaper - can't be sure which, but I think it was the Indy - a list of the top ten identikit towns in the UK, in terms of having the most chain stores on the high street, and a list of the top ten independent towns. Haywards Heath, where I grew up, was in the top 10 of identikit towns across the whole country. Lewes was in the top of 10 independent towns, actually around number 3 if I recall correctly. And that is one of the many things I love about this place. However, call me an out of towner if you will, but I for one would quite like to see an M&S on the old bus station site. As Spinster has already pointed out, it does nice knockers and good food. What more could one ask for?
On 14 Jun 2008 at 9:31pm Local wrote:
Just tell Charles Style what you'd like him tp put in the 'Phoenix Quarter'. He'll promise anything - a cinema, shops. He won't build it but he'll promise it.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 1:01am print wrote:
No.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 5:34pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I reckon you're about spot on there, Local!
While I agree Lewes is a bit short of good restaurants, unless you want Indian or Italian, I really don't see that we need an M&S. If Sue and her "hubby" feel the need for chain stores, they can always go to Crawley, Brighton or Eastbourne where they have them in spades.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 5:46pm FA wrote:
I'd be happy for a M&S if it ousted a few of the poxy antique, charity and hairdressing shops.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 6:09pm Earl of Lewes wrote:
Agreed. I don't like chains, but I hate poncey little shops selling jeans for 100 and plates for 30 even more. The retail mix in Lewes is too heavily weighted towards people with large disposable incomes.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 6:29pm Lord Flashheart wrote:
Lingerie department is always a good place to watch the local talent, woof woof!
On 15 Jun 2008 at 9:17pm sashka wrote:
I'm not sure why people are so swayed by the name of the store. It could close as soon as it opens. Shouldn't we be thinking about the future of the site, loss/relocation of bus station, size of retail space good/bad etc?
Incidentally, M&S is a shop, not a facility. It has some apalling business practices, as well as selling nice food and clothes.
I do think that lewes could benefit from some larger retail space, so that shops can grow without leaving the town, or we can attract better variety.
On 15 Jun 2008 at 10:06pm Local wrote:
I see Normak |Baker says for M&S to come to Lewes would be a feather in the town's cap - so presumably he's given up any hope of having a bus station where the bus station used to be.
On 16 Jun 2008 at 6:11am expat two wrote:
M&S = over-rated & expensive food, and dullest clothing lines in Christendom. There's nothing you can't get in Waitrose or Woolworths.
Its not for nothing their sales figures are in decline.
On 16 Jun 2008 at 8:07am Kinky Boots wrote:
I prefer S&M
On 16 Jun 2008 at 10:05am print wrote:
I think people are swayed by the lingering nostalgia for upright british Marks and Spencers; it has a 'tame' secure solid feel about it. But it is a monolithic global player using the same tactics as any of its competitors. It's certainly not an Olde Englishe benign institution. Of course we should be thinking about the independent future of the site; it is nicely placed to be a public space - ha ha. So sad because I loved the bustle of Bus station silly though that is. I thought that the actual building had some conservation issues anyway. Finally if Marks and Spencers is eyeing up Lewes believe me its crystal ball is showing quite a different view of the town than what exists at present.
On 16 Jun 2008 at 10:16am Lidls fan. wrote:
Is Lewes still possibly going to get an Aldi? I'm not familiar wiith Aldi but if its sister shop Lidls is anything to go by,I think it would be a good addition to Lewes.Marks and Sparks would be good,but their food is on a par with Waitrose for affordability,and Tesco's...well,I have never liked it.We need another supermarket.Something in between Tesco and Waitrose pricewise..Remember Iceland?I miss it! Somerfield would be good too.
On 16 Jun 2008 at 10:37am FA wrote:
Maybe the view of the town is changing. Maybe people are fed up with having to drive 10+ miles to get something they want. Maybe the people in this town that the twee little shops are serving are now in a minority. Maybe people don't want the choice of a dozen antique shops or 2 dozen hairdressers anymore
On 16 Jun 2008 at 10:40am Rachel wrote:
I'd opt for Lidl (fabulous!) simply because we need a lower price option for those of us that struggle financially. And John Lewis over M&S - not cheap but not a rip off and, having worked for them, a much better employer than a lot of others! Unless you buy the 'value' range at Tesco there isn't a lot of difference between them and Waitrose - the proclem is always that there are so many tempting goodies... :-(
On 17 Jun 2008 at 5:29pm Elvis the Gunslinger wrote:
Lidl? are you sure ? Tesco deals with the cheaper side of things and Waitrose caters for those with a few bob more to spare. Lidl is the kind of place people who wear parka coats in the middle of summer go to talk to the baked bean tins. It will have, in my opinion a negative impact on the town. If you want cheap and chearful I think ASDA do a bus service to one of their local hell holes. Iceland failed because to sell things cheap you need very high sales volume and the way Lewes is going Lidl or a store of that ilk wouldn't last as long as your super saver turkey twizzlers.
On 18 Jun 2008 at 11:11am Earl of Lewes wrote:
The way the economy's going, we'll all be shopping at Lidl, if we're lucky.
On 18 Jun 2008 at 11:16am Taff wrote:
I try and shop as Lidl as possible anyhow.
On 18 Jun 2008 at 11:30am Hey big spender wrote:
Iceland didn't last because it got flooded.
On 18 Jun 2008 at 1:30pm Taff wrote:
Did they have their assets frozen?
On 18 Jun 2008 at 1:34pm Elvis the Gunslinger wrote:
Then why didn't they reopen after the flood? It's not like the building and the Bernard Matthews Turkey Drummers were swept away. The though of Kerry Katonas prawn ring meant i was always to scared to enter the place let alone shop there.
On 18 Jun 2008 at 3:56pm Phaedra Isabella wrote:
I like Lewes as it is! Why should there be any need for more high street stuff there? If I want high street I go to Brighton. Haywards Heath has a Marks and the town is a generic, boring place...enough said...
On 18 Jun 2008 at 4:11pm Local wrote:
I agree Phaedra but I think we're running against the tide - Lewes District Council obviously has different ideas and wants us to be known as Lewes District Clone.
On 20 Jun 2008 at 8:55am Taff wrote:
Phaedra, continue to shop elsewhere and you are not contributing to Lewes' local businesses and I guess you would complain as much as others if any of the remaining shops were to close due to lack of business and the high rates currently levied.
Being a male I try and stay out of as many shops as possible for as long as possible, though sometimes it is essential for me to enter one.
Like you I like Lewes very much but can also remember when there was much more shopwise. H&C and the Coop just to mention 2 establishments. Having the choice is the essential element I guess and that includes your choice to shop out of town too.
On 20 Jun 2008 at 12:07pm Roly Mo wrote:
For those of you who remember Lewes in the 70's & 80's, we had a Liptons, International, Dorothy Perkins, Next and many other chain stores. Shops selling just a ball of string and a toilet brush made out of papier mache just did not exist - they are the legacy of the many "outsiders" moving in now. As someone who has lived in the Lewes vicinity all my life, I welcome a store such as M & S coming here. I think it will be a benefit to many traders as well (apart from those that sell knickers). For those of you against it, are you true Lewesians????
On 25 Jun 2008 at 2:32pm demon wrote:
go to brighton or uckfield lewes is a go through