Front line pp

[rioja]

Great to see the place coming to life again, bars and restaurants opening (especially the revamped Brisa Marina) but walk along the beach side and every couple of hundred yards you see a little huddle of Asian men sitting down watching the ever expanding number of their shops selling Tack or tat or whatever the in word for rubbish is.

[eleanor]

Oh dear! And then we wonder why property is being given away!! I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Bring back the lovely individual little shops that offered a taste of something different which were all along the front 20 years ago!

[ragdollabbi]

Originally Posted by eleanor

Oh dear! And then we wonder why property is being given away!! I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Bring back the lovely individual little shops that offered a taste of something different which were all along the front 20 years ago!

Eleanor, unfortunately we all know that this is not going to happen. This is a sign of the times and as they say......it's happening in a place near you It would be would be wonderful if we could turn the clock back sometimes wouldn't it

[eleanor]

Yes it would be wonderful to turn back the clock and of course that isn't possible but that gives no reason for tat to become the norm. Can you for one moment imagine these type of shops popping up in say Verbier or Monte Carlo? It just wouldn't be allowed to happen by the majority. These people must feel there is a market for their tat so if they were 'ignored' perhaps they might go back to Magaluf!

[sws97sdg]

Originally Posted by eleanor

Oh dear! And then we wonder why property is being given away!! I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Bring back the lovely individual little shops that offered a taste of something different which were all along the front 20 years ago!

A lot are still there, the nice shop that sells all the white clothes, the shop selling items made form olive wood and my favorite one that sells the ethnic style shirts and wraps etc, always take something back form there.

[eleanor]

And long may they continue - plus a few more please!

[Smiddy]

The problem as well is they sell much cheaper than the local shops and the result is a lot of people go to these new shops, it's a vicous circle, the local shops can't compete and they eventually have to close, same all over the world.

I was down my local High Street looking for a Hdmi cable for a new television i got, it cost me £1 out of the local pound shop, and is perfectly adequate. How can small shops compete with that? The last one i got was 45 quid.

[ragdollabbi]

Originally Posted by Smiddy

The problem as well is they sell much cheaper than the local shops and the result is a lot of people go to these new shops, it's a vicous circle, the local shops can't compete and they eventually have to close, same all over the world.

I was down my local High Street looking for a Hdmi cable for a new television i got, it cost me £1 out of the local pound shop, and is perfectly adequate. How can small shops compete with that? The last one i got was 45 quid.

Nothing like a good bargain eh!

[Sparky]

The fact that a lot of the local population are really struggling financially means that they have to buy the things they need in the Chinese owned emporiums.
To prove the point of how hard times are here for some, this notice is in the window of Can Fusteret in the town :-


Untitled by lyn.sparkes, on Flickr

[Smiddy]

That's mind boggling Sparky! On the surface such a affluent area.

[copper]

It is Poundland and 99p shops thate are springing up everywhere and doing so well in England

Recently in France and the big Hypermarket had whole aisles and areas devoted to Budget and Crisis lines so i dont think anywhere is immune to people in financial difficulties in these times

[barefoot]

But how on earth can these 'tat' shops afford the rent on the front line?

[eleanor]

Good question Barefoot! Perhaps other things are going on under the counter - who knows!

[Sparky]

They obviously get backing from somewhere but i suppose it could be that they just take out short term leases which means not having to pay out so much money up front. I agree though that it is a shame to lose some of the more individual outlets.

[CathB]

The other problem with those shops is that if you stop there even for a 30 seconds you get " pounced" upon and sometimes even saying that you are not interested seems to fall on deaf ears.