Previously Posted: Are you being served?

For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement. Are you being served? (11.06.13) The Centre for Retail Research has recently forecast 62,000 shops will close in the next 5 years. The independent analysis group estimate that one-fifth of all retail outlets will cease trading by 2018. Peter Watts writes on his Great Wen site of the demise of Tobacco Dock. Designed by Terry Farrell and opening in 1989 the dock conversion featured two arcades of shops on two floors inside a skilfully modernised structure that retained its Victorian industrial integrity. It now lies there completely empty. Once London had a number of prestigious stores many were owned by a partnership of two men. Unlike the generically named Next or Top Shop, their premises reflected the owners’ personal…