More Choice That's Pukka! ; Simon Jenkins Sainsbury's Is Merely the Latest Giant to Fall Foul of London's New Desire for Diversity and Character On Our High Streets

Evening Standard - London › November 19, 2004

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Summary

SAINSBURY'S has reported its first loss in history. Marks and Spencer is on the ropes. Dixons is in trouble. WH Smith is reeling. What is happening to the high street icons of my youth? Is Sainsbury's to die and could MS really be on the way out?

I knew something was going wrong years ago when I sought the way to the Selfridges sportswear department. Which designer do you want, asked the information desk. How should I know? Last month I had the same experience in Bloomingdales in New York. I was seeking a raincoat. Which designer, sir?

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More Choice That's Pukka! ; Simon Jenkins Sainsbury's Is Merely the Latest Giant to Fall Foul of London's New Desire for Diversity and Character On Our High Streets

There was no such thing as a Bloomingdales raincoat. This was no longer a department store but a shopping mall. It was a warren of unending stalls, a nightmare of garish faces pleading to sell me things I did not want, yet denying me a simple coa...

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