Nearly four years after Iceland’s Ormskirk store was acquired by Marks and Spencer, they’re coming back to Ormskirk:
This is also a test of WordPress 2.9′s support of oEmbed which makes it really easy to include content like photos and video from other sites.
While it’s not good to see empty shop sites in any town, and the Woolworth’s one in Ormskirk is right at the heart of the centre and so even more apparent, I can’t help feeling disappointed that it’s Iceland. Like it or not, Iceland is intrinsically linked in my – and many other – mind to Chavdom – I still find it unbelievable that a supermarket would use and until recently continue to use super-chav Katona to win customers. Nor has my view changed with the onslaught of Christmas ads featuring platters of fat and salt laded party food. I’m not against cut-price shops – far from it – but there is something about Iceland’s image/advertising/ that chills me (no pun intended!). Booths would have been great there, we’ve already got an Aldi but it could have been a bigger Aldi who manage to combine low prices with good quality – and no love affair with the chavs. Shops really do add/detract to the image of a town – the Waitrose effect is no myth, putting up property prices (not inevitably good but the Waitrose effect is indicative of how shops influence the desirability of a place). Sorry, I just can’t warm to Iceland.
Hi Gwen, thanks for the comment.
I agree to an extent, but until it actually opens I’m keeping an open mind. I wouldn’t have believed that The Residents Of Ormskirk would take to having an Aldi in town but that’s been a success and you do have to remember that Iceland was here before M&S!
I’ve not been in an Iceland for years but it will be interesting to see what they do with the store. If I were them I’d do more than just frozen foods – it’s a prime location to sell sandwiches and fresh meals similar to Marks.
At the moment Iceland comprises Ormskirk’s red light district
Red light district
Er – that didn’t quite work – pic is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/82024388@N00/4233689144/in/set-72157623112893674/