Soult's Retail View - Page 20 of 23 - Blogging about shops on the high street and online, by North East-based retail consultant Graham Soult

March 10, 2010

Recent media coverage for Soult’s Retail View

Everyone likes to be in the newspaper occasionally (as long as it’s for positive reasons, of course), so I rather enjoyed my recent appearances in the...

Grey Street, Newcastle (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Property / Retail History

March 8, 2010

Grey Street in Newcastle named Britain’s third most picturesque street

Though Shambles in York has understandably garnered much of the attention for being named “Britain’s most picturesque street” in the Google Street View Awards, it’s...

An old Woolies? Maybe, maybe not. Photograph by Graham Soult

Property / Retail Parks / Woolworths

March 7, 2010

The ongoing mystery of Byker’s (possible) former Woolies

(UPDATE: Since I wrote this post, it’s been confirmed that the A&S Discount building was indeed Byker’s original Woolworths location.) Back in January I posted a...

The former Select store in Whitley Bay, followings its 'Shopjacketting'

Co-operatives / Property / Regeneration

March 4, 2010

‘Shopjacket’ brings hope to Whitley Bay town centre

Given the challenges that Whitley Bay town centre has faced over the last year – with a number of high-profile retail departures – it’s been great to see...

Gregory's bakers in Bishop Auckland (6 Feb 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Department Stores / Independent Stores / Market Towns / Woolworths

February 28, 2010

Bishop Auckland bustles, despite its empty Woolies

The recent focus upon all that’s been happening in Newcastle means that I haven’t had as much time as I would like to explore some other...

Eldon Square extension (16 Feb 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Department Stores / Shopping Centres

February 16, 2010

Initial reactions to the new St Andrew’s Way mall at Eldon Square

I might have been busy at work at 10:30 a.m this morning, but many thousands of others evidently weren’t, judging from the crowds that attended the grand...

New Look, Newcastle (15 Feb 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Department Stores / Shopping Centres

February 16, 2010

Eldon Square’s St Andrew’s Way opens today (16 February 2010)!

There will be plenty of analysis of the new Eldon Square mall in Newcastle over the coming weeks, and reflection on the impact of St...

Screenshot of holding page (15 Feb 2010)

Brands / Co-operatives / Department Stores / Independent Stores / Online

February 16, 2010

Vergo Retail develops online presence

Google ‘Vergo Retail’, and the likelihood is that you’ll currently find Soult’s Retail View among the top few search results. Indeed, since this blog launched...

Waitrose Hopwood Park (14 Feb 2010). Photograph by Mark Leaver

Customer Service / Supermarkets

February 14, 2010

Waitrose Hopwood Park now open!

Weekly updates on the status of Waitrose at Hopwood Park Services on the M42 have become something of a habit lately, thanks to the regular...

Former Woolworths (now Primark), Sunderland (21 Nov 2009). Photograph by Graham Soult

Department Stores / Retail History / Supermarkets / Woolworths

February 14, 2010

Sunderland’s old Woolies – a survivor almost to the end

In an earlier post, I talked about some of the large, city centre Woolworths stores – such as the branches on Newcastle’s Northumberland Street and Sheffield’s...

Former Zavvi, Newcastle (27 Sep 2009). Photograph by Graham Soult

Property / Retail History / Woolworths

February 14, 2010

A Woolies twist to every story

Well, that’s a surprise! I’ve only just discovered that I’ve been photographing and blogging about a former Woolworths store – here, and more recently here –...

Fashion Stores / Shopping Centres

February 11, 2010

Best brands and iron girders for new Eldon Square Republic store

With exciting mounting over the opening of Eldon Square’s St Andrew’s Way extension in less than a week’s time (10:30 on Tuesday 16 February, to be precise), it...

...and the same building when it was Next (5 Feb 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Department Stores / Fashion Stores / Property / Retail History

February 10, 2010

Next, past and future

Following the apparent confirmation of earlier rumours about Next planning to open a new store in Newcastle’s Eldon Square shopping centre next year, it seems timely to take...

Fashion Stores / Property / Shopping Centres

February 8, 2010

Peacocks lined up for Newcastle’s former Zavvi

Peacocks has submitted a planning application for new signage at the former Zavvi site in Newcastle’s Northumberland Street, confirming recent rumours that the fashion retailer was being...

A week ago... (7 Feb 2010). Photograph by Mark Leaver

Property / Supermarkets

February 8, 2010

Well, that hasn’t taken Waitrose very long at all!

I’ve just received the photo above from Mark Leaver, taken on his phone last night at Welcome Break’s Hopwood Park Services on the M42. It...

1950s scene showing Maurice Gerald in Newcastle's Bigg Market

Retail History

February 7, 2010

Remember Maurice Gerald at 6 Bigg Market, Newcastle?

Given my interest in both retail history and local history more generally, it’s always a pleasure when people drop me a line to share their...

Ethel Austin store, Byker. Photograph by Graham Soult

Fashion Stores / Property

February 5, 2010

Lost in (Ethel) Austin?

Reports that value fashion retailer Ethel Austin and its sister homewares business, Au Naturale, are poised to enter administration – less than two years after both chains...