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Retailing in danger – where has the middle gone?
December 31st, 2011While the media and fashion journalists may get excited by Catherine Middleton’s wearing of middle market labels such as Reiss and Zara, the truth is that the middle ground of retailing is a very dangerous place to be right now.
Luxury brands are doing very well – witness the recent success of Burberry – while the pound shops and cheap card outlets flourish but, with the notable exception of the John Lewis partnership, many middle market retailers are struggling and may disappear.
There was a time when being in the middle was considered a good thing but now the market seems to have polarised with consumers opting for the so-called Primark/Prada route – bargains or treats.
According to the futurologist James Harkin, as quoted in the London Evening Standard, what we are seeing is no less than the death thoes of the mainsteam, a process which he believes started in the Sixties.
“The mainstream is no longer seen as quality, it is discredited. The idea that it was good enough for everyone has gone.”
While this may be seen as a good thing and that selling rubbish at an inflated price is no longer possible, it may sound the death knell for middle-market retailers such as Marks & Spencer. The strapline of ‘affordable luxury for everyone’ may no longer work in a market that is happy to mix couture and bargain basement.
Where Catherine Middleton has led others may not follow. The next few months in retailing will prove interesting.
