Paperchase – Is the Middle Class Saving On Cost?

Whenever a brand falls into insolvency, there are plenty of experts on hand to interject on how they would have rescued the brand and what can be done in the future to save similar businesses.

The recent fall of Paperchase, the established card and stationers that is to close more than 100 stores is a case in point as it failed to find a buyer for the whole operation. Tesco has stepped in to buy the brand, but not the physical outlets, of which there are many in key locations across the country.

Paperchase has had a storied past, with multiple CVAs in its history and many different higher-profile owners. However, it has always endured. Tesco’s in-store version is yet to be fleshed out, but whether this helps the 800 or more staff of Paperchase’s multiple stores remains to be seen.

The question must be asked then, is the cost of living crisis affecting more than just those on lower incomes? Much has been said of the ‘Aldi-fication’ of supermarket shopping, with the stigma attached to budget supermarkets no longer an issue for the more affluent classes.

Are the middle classes struggling? Do they even exist any more? With every area of life seemingly costing more each year, is there a suggestion of even those traditionally able to spend large amounts of disposable income are somehow tightening their belts? It’s said that the ‘squeezed’ middle class is set to lose around £4,000 in real terms this year through real cost changes and increasing costs of living to standards they are used to.

What then, can retailers do to survive? Is diversification and offering other services and products the answer? If everyone did the same, would it work at all? There have been rumblings that something is intrinsically wrong with retail in the UK for years.

Perhaps the pandemic has accelerated this, but it’s also the former ‘nation of shopkeepers’ that is favouring e-commerce and buying online rather than visiting the traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ stores. People now need a reason to visit, be it an experience connected to the visit or something unique that they can only get by visiting. The investment into the nation’s high streets is sporadic, but in recent years the realisation that combining leisure, retail, food and drink and a more cohesive whole has dawned. The prevalence of retail parks still has an effect, but reflecting what the public wants has had a largely positive impact.

Retailers will continue to struggle in general in years to come, but the ones who will win will be the ones who see where the path is bending. Brands like Paperchase with aspirational, yet slightly unfocused aspects in terms of identity will struggle.

Need to know where to turn in terms of the future of your business? Talk to us today.