Clone town

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Clone town is a UK term for a town where the High Street or other major shopping areas are significantly dominated by Chain stores. The term was coined by the new economics foundation (nef), a British "think tank", in their 2004 report on "Clone Town Britain". ^[1]

A survey conducted by nef in 2005 ^[2] estimated that 41% of towns in the UK and 48% of London villages could be considered clone towns, with the trend rising.

Contents 1 Formation 2 Controversy 3 Examples 4 List of chain stores often found in clone towns in the UK 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Formation

Clone towns are formed as a natural result of the economic expansion of the largest chain stores. As lots become available in town centres, the larger firms outbid interested independents, and then provide difficult competition for any other local stores in the same area of business. If those local stores go out of business as a result, a further lot becomes available and the process can continue.

More controversially, clone towns can be created by deliberate processes. For example, it is well known that retailers will pay a premium for a site adjacent to or opposite a well-known and popular store because of the potential for increased exposure. Some landlords therefore optimise the profit they make on their land by selling only to existing, established stores, ensuring that every one of their lots will benefit in this way. Many estate agents also allow larger firms to place "advance orders" for any available retail lot in a town centre, thus purchasing it before it even enters the market for other businesses.

[edit] Controversy

The creation of clone towns is a controversial issue. Detractors argue that they restrict consumer choice, and robs regions of their local colour by replacing smaller local businesses with branches of identical chains. It is also argued that they harm free enterprise as a whole: if all available retail space is occupied by chain stores, meaningful competition is eliminated per se without potential competitors even having a chance to enter the market; furthermore, the ability of suppliers to realistically bring their products to market is then in the hands of the few firms who control the chain stores.

The converse argument is that large chain stores have grown big because their products are desirable to large numbers of people, and thus their arrival in towns provides convenient access to the products that the population might want. It is argued that providing locals with easy access to popular products they want should be a higher priority than ensuring that people travelling between multiple towns experience variety. Furthermore, because they are wealthy businesses they are more likely to consume large amounts of local services and to employ local people, thus energising the local economy.

A further converse argument is that, even if the creation of clone towns is seen as undesirable, it is not clear how it can be prevented without unacceptable government intervention in the expansion of successful businesses.

[edit] Examples

The 2005 survey rated Exeter as the worst example of a clone town in the UK, with only a single independent store in the city's high street, and less diversity (in terms of different categories of shop) than any other town surveyed. Other extreme clone towns in England include Stafford, Middlesbrough, Weston-super-Mare and Winchester.

In Scotland, the major provincial towns such as Paisley, Clydebank, Greenock, Ayr, East Kilbride, Stirling and Falkirk all suffer from clone town syndrome with their identical array of chain stores and coffee shops in gaudy polar white shopping malls.

Notably, in spite of having the highest property prices in the country, London is not even close to becoming a clone town: even in the central areas of the city, a huge diversity of businesses exists, largely as a result of the city's relatively large size and cosmopolitan population.

[edit] List of chain stores often found in clone towns in the UK

Category	Retailer	UK branches	Ref
Food and drink	Burger King	724 as of May 2006	[3]
	Caffè Nero	262 as of May 2006	[4]
	Costa Coffee
	Greggs	around 1300 as of March 2006	[5]
	J D Wetherspoon	655 as of July 2005	[6]
	KFC
	McDonald's	1263 as of May 2006	[3]
	Pizza Express	386 as of May 2006	[3]
	Pizza Hut	more than 650	[7]
	Starbucks	over 500	[8]
	Subway	over 285 including the Republic of Ireland as of August 2004	[9]
Mobile phones	Carphone Warehouse	669 as of March 2006	[10]
	O2
	Orange	300 as of May 2006	[11]
	Phones 4u	more than 350	[12]
	T-Mobile
	The Link	294 as of June 2006	[13]
	Vodafone	over 350	[14]
General retail	Argos	over 650 including the Republic of Ireland	[15]
	Boots
	Woolworths	803 plus 18 out-of-town stores as of January 2006	[16]
	WH Smith
Music	HMV	around 200 including the Republic of Ireland	[17]
	Virgin Megastore
Clothing	Marks & Spencer	over 450	[18]
	Next	over 400	[19]
	Primark	134 including the Republic of Ireland	[20]
Electrical	Currys.digital (formerly Dixons)	190 as of April 2006	[21]
Supermarket	Tesco Express	over 650 as of February 2006	[22]
Travel agent	Thomas Cook	615 plus 121 bureaux de change	[23]

[edit] External links

• Clone Town Britain News
• An article about clone towns from Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine

[edit] References

1. ^ Molly Conisbee, Petra Kjell, Julian Oram, Jessica Bridges Palmer, Andrew Simms and John Taylor (2005-06-06). "Clone Town Britain: The loss of local identity on the nation's high streets" (PDF). new economics foundation. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
2. ^ Andrew Simms, Petra Kjell and Ruth Potts (2004-08-28). "Clone Town Britain: The survey results on the bland state of the nation" (PDF). new economics foundation. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Caterer Search: Restaurant sector overview. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
4. ^ Caffè Nero: Pre-Close Trading Update (2006-05-31). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
5. ^ 12% wiped off Greggs after profits warning. The Scotsman (2006-03-11). Retrieved on November 30, 2006.
6. ^ J D Wetherspoon: Annual Report and Accounts 2005 (2005-09-02). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
7. ^ Pizza Hut (UK) fact sheet. Hoover's, Inc.. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
8. ^ Starbucks UK: Our Most Common Enquiries. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
9. ^ Fast forward. Forecourt Trader (2004-08-01). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
10. ^ The Carphone Warehouse: Preliminary results for the year to March 2006 (2006-06-06). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
11. ^ Orange (2006-05-31). Orange Pioneers Total Communications. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
12. ^ About Phones 4u. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
13. ^ DSG international plc: The Link. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
14. ^ Vodafone Careers FAQs. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
15. ^ About Argos: Company Information. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
16. ^ Woolworths Group plc: Annual Report and Accounts 2006 (2006-03-28). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
17. ^ All About HMV. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
18. ^ Marks & Spencer: About Us. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
19. ^ NEXT Group PLC: Corporate Information. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
20. ^ Primark: Company Profile. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
21. ^ DSG international plc: Currys. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
22. ^ Tesco plc Preliminary Resuilts 2005/6 (2006-04-25). Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
23. ^ Thomas Cook: Press Pack. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.