Week 2️⃣ 5️⃣

The British high street has shaped everyday life for generations, but in recent decades it has come under intense strain. Rising business rates, out-of-town retail parks and the growth of online shopping have all taken their toll, with the Covid pandemic accelerating the decline. Yet some names have endured for more than a century, including Boots, Currys and Marks and Spencer, each with surprisingly modest beginnings.

Boots started as a herbalist stall in Nottingham in 1849, serving working-class customers who could not afford doctors. It grew into a national institution, known for dispensing prescriptions, testing eyesight and even developing family holiday photographs. Currys began as a bicycle shop founded in 1888 before reinventing itself as an electrical retailer, eventually absorbing rivals and consolidating under a single brand in 2021. Marks and Spencer’s origins were simpler still, beginning as a penny bazaar stall in Leeds market in 1884.

Selfridges took a different path. When it opened on Oxford Street in 1909, it was already a fully realised retail spectacle. Its founder, Harry Gordon Selfridge, believed shopping should be an experience. He drew crowds with bold displays, including Louis Blériot’s monoplane, and helped pioneer ideas now standard in retail, such as encouraging customers to browse freely.

Not every high street story has a happy ending. Woolworths, once a staple of over 800 towns, collapsed in 2008, with tens of thousands of jobs lost. Comet, BHS and Blockbuster followed, each leaving a gap that has never quite been filled.

Beyond the high street, the Shore Porters Society in Aberdeen offers a different kind of longevity. Dating back to 1498, it began as a cooperative of harbour workers and still operates today.

Even punctuation tells a story. Some brands, like Sainsbury’s and McDonald’s, retain their apostrophes, while others, including Harrods and Selfridges, have quietly dropped them, reflecting how tradition and change continue to shape British retail.