ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with history of Camden Market because it is of great relevance to the UK high street. Urban Space Management, the company set up by Eric Reynolds, sold its stake in the market in 1999 but is still running successful markets elsewhere. The city has a traditional retail core, with the mainstream shops on Western Road running towards Hove, and an increasingly secondary retail area on London Road running inland. Independent businesses have also played an important part in regeneration of some northern post-industrial towns and villages. The resurgence of independents on high streets is not purely a tale of co-ops, grassroots community action, artisan bakers, boutique retailers and alternative culture. Founded in 1880s, Bobby’s was a department store chain with eight outlets along the South Coast of England. The sector has proved nimble at filling the gaps left by the multiples, both in terms of empty units on the high street and in terms of market sectors.
