Let Them Eat Cake .....

.....as Marie Antoinette famously said, before the Sans Culottes precipitated the French Revolution. I don’t think she had Patisserie Valerie in mind.

It is ten years since all the Woolworths closed. A store I grew up with and still miss.

Since then it has been turmoil on the High Street, A triple whammy of the financial crisis, austerity, and people moving to shopping online.

I have never been into a Patisserie Valerie, although I have occasional bought an (expensive) sandwich from Philpotts, part of the same group. All now in the hands of accountants KPMG, who following the group’s collapse are now appointed as administrators.

70 outlets were closed immediately last week, the other 120 remain open whilst a buyer or buyers are sought. This one opposite my meeting venue is spared for the moment.

What will the High Street look like in ten years time ? Who will fall and who will survive ? And are we in for a Marie Antoinette moment again ?