The march of the clones

Clone town is a global term for a town where the high street or other major shopping areas are significantly dominated by chain stores.

  The term was coined by the new Economic Foundation (which was the British Think Tank) in their 2004 report on clone town Britain.  This report entered the public arena at exactly the same time as the FWD launched its 2004 campaign for My Shop is Your Shop and I remember a number of industry profile executives being interviewed on radio and television. 

I was certainly one of those being interviewed on ITV specifically about the issues surrounding the influence of high street multiples and chain store domination changing our towns and cities into the same thing and wiping out individuality and entrepreneurialism within our towns and cities.  In fact, the Think Tank report argued that the spread of clone towns is highly damaging to society because of the removal of diversity and their survey in 2005 estimated that 41% of towns in the UK and 48% of London villages could be considered clone towns with the trend rising.

So seven years ago even the government recognised the damaging effect that allowing high street multiples and chain store retailers was having on our society, but our government continued to hide behind the principle of competitiveness and that our retail structure provided the competitive consumer offer in our marketplace.

Bringing ourselves up to date, we now have the irrepressible Mary Portas who has been labelled our Retail Tsar of proven experience and excellent television viewing and who is now going to save our retail high street. 

I have to say that our retail high street should have been saved at the start of the new century through stronger regulation regarding planning controls and the better determination of a true market share in a particular category. 

I do get the feeling that the government appointing such a distinguished celebrity advisor is a means of transferring blame and responsibility when ultimately the march of the multiples and the march of the department store conglomerates have taken full control over our consumer spending and we have lost the individuality that existed in the past through independents. I am confident that at some point in the future the UK will become the first clone country(closely followed by the USA). 

Therefore, our ultimate graduation from clone towns and cities to clone country is something that  Governments - past and present - will reflect on, hold their heads high about and clearly state that they created through inaction. 

I hope that I am completely wrong but I have a sneaking suspicion that this reality will become apparent to us all in the very near future