There is something odd about these vape shops. They keep opening, yet the vast majority are empty. You used to see people vaping as you walked around, but that is no longer a common sight. Once the ban on sales to young people was introduced, the importance of these shops diminished. What is strange, though, is how the owners pay the rent. Do they pay business rates? How do they cover these costs and manage to stay afloat?
Then there are the shops selling phone cases. It is impossible to understand how they make money, either. With most people now ordering cheaper cases from Temu, Amazon, or eBay, why do these shops keep multiplying? How do they cover staff wages and rent? There are so many questions. Even fitting out these shops requires significant investment—where does that money come from?
Someone needs to explain this.
Another factor is barbershops. Local authorities really need to intervene regarding the constant opening of barbershops on high streets. Since opening a barbershop doesn’t require a huge investment, anyone with £10,000 in their pocket can set one up. Should there be five barbershops on a single 500-meter stretch of high street? There shouldn’t be. In the past, councils wouldn’t grant shop licenses to just anyone—partly to maintain healthy competition—but for years now, they haven’t seemed to care. Perhaps the number of barbershops on high streets needs to be capped. A requirement for these shops to have card payment machines was also introduced, but that is unlikely to achieve anything. Facing economic hardship, the public prefers paying lower cash rates for a haircut rather than incurring extra costs.
While butcher shops, tailors, and shoe repair stores on main streets are constantly closing down, vape shops, mobile phone stores, and barbershops have begun to fill the streets.