Triads leaving Middlesbrough

On The Bob said:
It’s a vicious cycle.

I prefer online shopping because it’s convenient and there’s less Human interaction.

If I ever go out to shop, I don’t like hanging around but invariably people get in the way, stop right in front of you, block walkways and just generally don’t have a clue when it comes to their surroundings. I hate the whole experience.

The few times I have been in recent times, a number of the shops I used to go to aren’t there anymore. I’d be more inclined to just go to Teeeside Park. Primark opening up over there (Not that I’m a regular) will be another nail in the coffin for Middlesbrough IMO.

Appreciate I sound like a right miserable get above btw 😆 I am actually quite sociable but it has to be in the right setting!

I appreciate though, people like me are part of the problem but that’s the way the world is going.
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How on earth does primark keep expanding???

It smells weird, the clothes are horrific, it's like a jumble sale with stuff strewn all over the place.

I agree with you in terms of the shopping experience being horrible. Apart from shoes and suits I get everything online I think. I would actually pay extra for the privilege. The fact that it is cheaper is a bonus.
 
Nano said:
I have this argument with the wife but there seems to be no changing behaviour because this is "how it is done now". People shopping online (I'm tempted to stereotype and say women but maybe younger men do it as well but no bloke I have spoken to my age seems to do the same) will order multiple of the same item, try them on and send back the ones they don't want. So even though 33% is sent back it is potentially 50% of everything that is ordered in multiple is intended to be returned. They might offer free delivery but excessive return fees, which isn't included in the original price, avoids marketing regulations and they are free to charge whatever they want for returns. I know my wife will also order things in multiple colours and then will occasionally keep them all instead of sending some back. It's the retailers winning there but it's still cheaper than driving to a store and paying for transport/parking and the other things you might buy while you are there like food, coffee and other clothes etc. It is easier to shop online and you could do it every day instead of once a week/month so I don't know who is actually winning.


My point is more around local hubs. If I didn't have a car I would go to the nearest town centre to shop but because I do I can pick and choose where to go. It makes more sense for me to drive to the city or the out of town shopping centre that has everything instead of the town centre. When everyone has the choice then the best option is chosen and those smaller,regional centres have less demand. The people that needed them still need them. That demand is still there but it can't sustain the lost demand that is going elsewhere. Public transport is shockingly bad and this further highlights one of the areas it is failing people.
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I agree, I don't know any blokes that are ordering loads of stuff to send the vast majority back but my wife and her friends do it. It seems crazy to me.

If I order something and it doesn't fit then most of the time I can't he bothered to actually return it so it ends up going to charity or hanging about in the wardrobe until I have a declutter.
 
Redwurzel said:
Middlesbrough centre is losing out because it was not really designed for the car, incomes have dropped in the area in the last 30 years, parking charges have shot up, particualrly during the week, as well as online shopping and the development of Teesside Park. BHS then Debenhams then Binns then M & S were th
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Colgates_shaving_foam said:
How on earth does primark keep expanding???

It smells weird, the clothes are horrific, it's like a jumble sale with stuff strewn all over the place.

I agree with you in terms of the shopping experience being horrible. Apart from shoes and suits I get everything online I think. I would actually pay extra for the privilege. The fact that it is cheaper is a bonus.
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It's cheap and buy, buy, buy propaganda has worked. People must buy things regardless of how much they already have, it's been bred into them. As money gets tighter they go for lots of poor quality but it's new, and that's what they want.

'A new top to go out' is the national motto.
 
Glover_elbow said:
Is changes still in Middlesbrough with the gadgie who would try and sell you the same outfit as he just happened to be wearing
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Can’t remember his name, I think it was John? But I used to know Mally who ran it and he was a sound fella. So was the bloke who tried to sell you stuff TBF. I remember going in loads of times and ending up trying on £750 coats and jackets because he’d talked me into it. I lost count of the number of times me and my mates left there saying “I’ll be back in 5 mate, I’m just going to the cashpoint,” but then obviously not going back to buy whatever it was I’d asked them to put behind the counter, just to get out of there.
 
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viv_andersons_nana said:
Can’t remember his name, I think it was John? But I used to know Mally who ran it and he was a sound fella. So was the bloke who tried to sell you stuff TBF. I remember going in loads of times and ending up trying on £750 coats and jackets because he’d talked me into it. I lost count of the number of times me and my mates left there saying “I’ll be back in 5 mate, I’m just going to the cashpoint,” but then obviously not going back to but whatever it was I’d asked them to put behind the counter, just to get out of there.
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Slightly off topic, but is there a more Boro name than "Mally"?

I feel as though the only place I've ever heard Malcom referred to as Mally is on Teesside.
 
Also I remember buying a Paul Smith scarf from Triads and thinking I was the dog’s b*llocks. I let a girl wear it at a party once because she said she was cold and she ended up going home in it. I never saw her or the scarf ever again. It was brown, mustard yellow and purple stripes if anyone’s seen it. I’d love it back.
 
I think Bam Bam is worth mentioning. I’ve never heard it anywhere outside of Boro but I knew of at least three Bam Bams when I lived at home. I was drinking at a craft beer place in Hither Green a couple of weeks back and the owner asked where I was from. “Do you know Frankie Bam Bam then?” I was blown away. This bloke was a 50-odd year-old Villa fan but said he’d been to Ayresome Park a few times as a student and been in the pub with Frankie Bam Bam. FB obviously made an impression on him.
 
Colgates_shaving_foam said:
I agree, I don't know any blokes that are ordering loads of stuff to send the vast majority back but my wife and her friends do it. It seems crazy to me.

If I order something and it doesn't fit then most of the time I can't he bothered to actually return it so it ends up going to charity or hanging about in the wardrobe until I have a declutter.
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I don't think it's just limited to women. Maybe a generation thing as nearly everyone I know, will shop like that. Why wouldn't you though, order multiple items in various sizes and try them on at your leisure at home then send them back free. It makes it so easy to do. You can even use Klarna and not even spend a penny initially.
 
Loop said:
I don't think it's just limited to women. Maybe a generation thing as nearly everyone I know, will shop like that. Why wouldn't you though, order multiple items in various sizes and try them on at your leisure at home then send them back free. It makes it so easy to do. You can even use Klarna and not even spend a penny initially.
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The free returns is a short term plan to get people used to doing that. Free returns are being phased out and so you will essentially be paying a fee to hire some clothes to try on.
 
Nano said:
The free returns is a short term plan to get people used to doing that. Free returns are being phased out and so you will essentially be paying a fee to hire some clothes to try on.
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Possibly, although I've not had to pay for a single return yet.
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
Can’t remember his name, I think it was John? But I used to know Mally who ran it and he was a sound fella. So was the bloke who tried to sell you stuff TBF. I remember going in loads of times and ending up trying on £750 coats and jackets because he’d talked me into it. I lost count of the number of times me and my mates left there saying “I’ll be back in 5 mate, I’m just going to the cashpoint,” but then obviously not going back to buy whatever it was I’d asked them to put behind the counter, just to get out of there.
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John McGee. Hes still there as is Changes. Havent been in there for years.
 
Colgates_shaving_foam said:
I agree, I don't know any blokes that are ordering loads of stuff to send the vast majority back but my wife and her friends do it. It seems crazy to me.

If I order something and it doesn't fit then most of the time I can't he bothered to actually return it so it ends up going to charity or hanging about in the wardrobe until I have a declutter.
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And you think the wife is the crazy one?
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
Can’t remember his name, I think it was John? But I used to know Mally who ran it and he was a sound fella. So was the bloke who tried to sell you stuff TBF. I remember going in loads of times and ending up trying on £750 coats and jackets because he’d talked me into it. I lost count of the number of times me and my mates left there saying “I’ll be back in 5 mate, I’m just going to the cashpoint,” but then obviously not going back to buy whatever it was I’d asked them to put behind the counter, just to get out of there.
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"Mate you need this jacket. I sold two to Stuey Downing this week. Try it on."
 
Emmersons_BrazillianDong said:
"Mate you need this jacket. I sold two to Stuey Downing this week. Try it on."
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I’ve posted before that I was a pretty fat lad at the age of around 17, 18, and yet the number of times I’d be in Changes after college with John convincing me to try stuff on was off the scale. I tried on what was an absolutely skin-tight Napapijri jacket and he lied that I looked “the business” in it. I don’t though John. I can’t fasten it mate. But can you keep it behind the counter for me, I’m just going to the cash point.
 
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