Peter Williams: ‘The pressure is on for fewer but better stores’
By 
Peter Williams2021-01-15T06:30:00
After the experience of the last 10 months, do we really need shops any more? Perhaps we should start by reflecting on how they were created and why we started going to them in the first place.
Centuries ago, every city and large town had a square: a place to meet for commerce and social interaction. The square was bordered on each side by buildings that provided somewhere to pray (church), learn (school) and be ruled by (government).
On the fourth side of the square was the market – a bustling space for commerce – which, in those sadly long-forgotten days when we could travel freely, was always on our ‘must-visit’ list because of the connection with the locale and its vibrancy and colour.
Over time, the market was covered over to shield shoppers from the elements, creating the shopping arcade, and then the greatest store of all emerged: the department store.
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