Town offers challenging opportunities

GOOD news is hard to find in the current economic crisis.

This makes the announcement that Iceland Foods plans to take over Bexhill's recently-vacated Woolworth store doubly welcome.

The prospect of this large unit in the town's major shopping street remaining empty for an indefinite period was a grim one indeed.

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Where empty shops are concerned there is undoubtedly a 'domino effect'.

The ability of a shopping centre to pull in the public is diminished with every major loss - and Woolworths' passing was serious blow to Bexhill, as it was to smaller towns the length and breadth of the country.

Had Iceland not stepped in, it was anyone's guess how long it would have been before a larger retailer would have been attracted to Bexhill.

Though unpalatable, the the loss of Woolworths had become inevitable.

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Following the failure of its bid for the entire chain, Iceland was known to be looking to take over at least 50 former Woolworth sites.

The hope had existed, therefore, that Devonshire Road might just be on Iceland's list.

But this was by no means certain. Iceland had previously traded at Ravenside but, inexplicably, had closed this store.

Though the Iceland news brings some respite to the town economy, it still begs some questions.

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Woolworths traditionally offered a wide range of goods. Iceland fills a specialist niche in the market for frozen foods.

Much of what Woolworths offered is duplicated by other stores in the town. But, inevitably there are gaps.

Since the demise of near-neighbours Gamleys, the town has been without a dedicated toy store. All the while it continued trading, Woolworths offered toys as part of its total customer package.

Even with trading conditions as tough as they are, one would have thought that with a town of more than 42,000 there were sufficient children locally for some entrepreneur to see that there is a place in the local market waiting to be filled.

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The danger with such situations is that, once forced out of town to seek items no longer easily available in Bexhill, shoppers can so easily develop a habit which grows to the point where it encompasses not only the original specialist need but the more general.

A look around what is currently on offer in Bexhill shows we are well-endowed in some respects.

But that a wider vision would reveal opportunities for new enterprise that prove robust even in today's challenging climate.