Friday, February 19, 2010

Tonbridge goes 99p crazy!...


The beat of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" blasting out across Tonbridge High Street seemed particularly inapropriate to promote the latest shop to open it's doors in the town. There were balloons aplenty and sweets being handed out to passers-by, luring us in; in fact they were making a right song and dance about it. Yes the new 99p stores is open for business. I had to go in of course strictly for research purposes you understand! Being fair to them it is a vast improvement on the temporary Pound Store which has just closed its doors on the same premises, the old Woolworth's premises, the shelves look better, there's a uniformity about the corporate colours and everything seems tidier. I certainly wasn't the only person in the large store either at 9-55 this morning. Oh no the place was nearly jammed full of bargain hunters buying their gardening gloves, bags of sweets dust bin bags and plastic boxes (Poundstretcher must be fuming!) I felt a mixture of excitement that a new business had opened and obviously would bring more people into the High Street and yet saddened that the world had come to this. Quantity not quality, who cares who makes it! Is it under a pound? Then I'll take it. Do you need it? No but it was a bargain! (Reminds me of an old Monty Python sketch which still rings true about the lady who bought a piston engine not cos she needed it but because it was a bargain!) But then again I did buy a dozen envelopes for £1.98 (that's two lots of 99p) which I did need, so these stores maybe have their place after all....

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I too was lured by the free balloons, and to be fair was more than I expected. Loads of big brand names going cheap - crisps pop and sweets etc. Vesta curries too - remember them! Just need 'em to start banging out booze.

delia said...

So pleased I was in Calais doing my shopping and missed the blast of music. I came home with a splendid sea bream, beautiful quality bread, a divine apple tarte and fresh fruit and vegetables Was it cheap? No!!! It was a little cheaper than shopping here but the quality far superior. Bargains are always goods that are cluttering up the warehouses for a good reason.

Anonymous said...

finally a decent shop in the high street they are far better than poundstrecthers, i wonder which shops are going to be affected by the new 99p store?

TonbridgeCommuter said...

For those that didn't know the old Woolwich Bank branch is becoming a(nother) charity shop, this time Oxfam. You heard it here first, well maybe...

Anonymous said...

is that really true another bloody charity shop i thought we had seen the last of oxfam when it closed about 4/5 years ago what a waste of a good property and i wonder what is going into mr allsorts old store?

Paul Bailey said...

Calais sounds a far better bet than Tonbridge, Delia.

Tonbridge blogger said...

I hear that John Adams old shop, now My Back Pages is to become a Barnardo's shop and that the book shop is looking for new premises in the same arcade, rather bizarely since I thought they were closing down! I notice that the 99p shop also sells hard backs for, well 99p of course. If Oxfam opens on the High Street then I think Mr. Books may as well just close down and I'll just do Book Fairs and the internet instead. It won't be as interesting but a damed sight easier and probably more profitable....

Anonymous said...

Looks like the old Woolwich is going to be an Oxfam book shop. The shelves were being loaded with books at lunchtime.

Paul Bailey said...

MR Books closing down - that's defeatist talk surely?

Anonymous said...

Is Mr Books moving round the corner into the high street?

I think we should be told ( and invited to the opening launch.)

Paul Bailey said...

I'm up for that - bring on the champagne and canapes, or failing that the pork pies and bottles of brown ale!