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Yesterday HMV, today it's Blockbuster. The high street is disappearing.

"The high street is disappearing"

Don't think so.

There's always room for Cash Converters, Loan Shops charging 4000% APR, Pound Shops, Pawnbrokers, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks, Costa Coffee.

You know all the crap outlets we could all do without.

What interests me in bookmakers are aplenty in poorer areas. You go to Peckham where everyone is poor and every fourth outlet is a bookies. Go to Highgate where they're all millionaires and you don't see one. Common sense tells me that the more hard-up people are the less able they would be to blow money at the bookies. Surely that would mean in these tough times that bookmakers would start shutting down, but there seems little chance of that.

Bet it's the same for tattooists too?

Suppose if you are a millionaire living in Highgate and you want to place a bet you will do it at the racecourse whilst you are watching the race, sipping champagne in your private box, rather than going down the local bookies.

You would claim all of the above against hospitality of course as far as the taxman is concerned.

Unlike HMV, apparently Blockbuster are still honouring gift vouchers.

As for Amazon, I can see the gap between:

1. Corporation tax they should be paying and....

2. COrporation tax they will be paying, growing by the minute.

I think we're going to have to accept that in the world of the internet, physical stores are going to become less and less important........at least for goods where you don't have to be in the store to try stuff on (clothes for instance) or physically get a feel of something before you buy (cars, bikes, musical instruments etc).

At one time I'm sure there were far more farriers, stable-hands, time-keepers and men walking round lighting street lamps at night, then putting them out again come morning.

Things change.

Having said that.......caravaning has never been the same since we stopped pissing in tin buckets and got fancy toilets and showers. Bah.....

I think HMV giftvouchers are still redeemable, I saw something on the news about this on Monday. I can't remember exactly what was said but you will (I think) at least either be able to use them between now and when the shops close or get cash back for them.

As for the high street in general, there was an interesting debate on Newsnight last night about this. One interesting thing raised was how ground landlords have a lot to do with the kind of outlets that there are in high streets. Some are keen to have the boutique and trendy-cafe vibe, others are keen to lease to the bigger chains that you get everywhere. It's the bigger chains that are now disappearing.

Eventually, I predict, most things will be bought online and shopping streets will be more cafe/restaurant orientated. This is a negative though as you have to wait a couple of days (or longer) for the online purchase to be delvivered. Buying something at a shop you get it straight away - but you have the hassle of travelling there and back and queueing too.

"I think HMV giftvouchers are still redeemable",

This was the quote from the administrators at HMV, Deloitte,

The administrator, Deloitte, said the retailer would not accept gift cards and vouchers as long as it was in adminsitration, but there was a chance any new buyer might consider honouring them.

It is best to keep hold of any vouchers. You can make a claim to the administrators as a creditor of the company, but you will be towards the end of the queue. And obviously, if they come out of administration you may get your money back.

Gift vouchers are categorised as debt owed by the company, so if it goes bust holders become unsecured creditors who join a queue of creditors looking for their money back. Administrators can, at their discretion, continue accepting vouchers but this is unusual, at least in the early days of administration. HMV has already stated it will not accept them.

Blockbuster have been on the cards to close for at least five years. In
the States they have long been a dead duck.....
It is not likely however that HMV will disappear from the British High
Street totally. One of its major problems is over-expansion in the 1980`s.
It simply has too many shops. There are still enough people buying music
or movies on dvd for its better, more profitable stores, to survive in some
form, even if they are taken over under another parent company.
As an example, I shopped in their flagship store on Oxford Street on 14th
Dec at 10.30 am and counted 56 people in a massive line waiting to pay
(with about 12 tills in operation) ! An hour or two later the line had grown
even longer and there was still 10 shopping days to Xmas !!