The high-street brands that are defying the online onslaught

Times are tough for traditional retailers now internet shopping has taken off. But some big names are successfully adapting to the new environment. What are they doing right? Matthew Partridge investigates.

High noon on the high street. Retail apocalypse. Massacre at the mall. There has been a relentless stream of grim headlines about retailers in crisis in the past few years, and it looks as though 2019 will bring more of the same. Indeed, even before the champagne corks were popped to welcome in the new year, music retailer HMV announced it would be entering administration for the second time; it was resuscitated after going bust in 2013. Meanwhile, Austin Reed, BHS, House of Fraser, Toys R Us, Maplin, Poundworld, Mothercare, New Look and Debenhams (see page 7) are among the high street stalwarts that have either disappeared or may be about to. In the first eight months of 2018, 28 retailers closed 2,085 shops. More than a tenth of retail properties are now vacant.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri