GOODBYE TO THE HIGH STREET?

As advanced technology has a greater effect on our shopping habits so the focus has been on the future of the High Street.  Will it survive in its traditional form or is there an opportunity to win back customers by re-inventing the concept of shopping?  That is a topic for further discussion while this  talk, supported by a visually-interesting PowerPoint,  takes a look back to the time when shopping was a necessity rather than a leisure activity and led to the growth of department stores in the 18th and 19th centuries. Amusing facts and attitudes are revealed and the characters behind the rise and prominence of some well-known stores have colourful and occasionally murky backgrounds.