Photographs by Valerie Weill and Philippe Chancel celebrate the quirky independent shops fighting homogeny on the high street.
The British are no longer a nation of shop keepers - a survey by the New Economic Foundation published in June found that in 2004 more than 2,100 independent corner shops in Britain closed down. Writer and broadcaster Robert Elms has started a campaign on BBC London radio to find the capital’s best independent shops - he says:
Chains are what makes us all the same. You really only notice quaint, cool, odd little shops when they’re gone and they will all go if we don’t use them.
The Independent reports that in 1960, small independent retailers had 60 percent of the share in the food retail market. By 2000, it had reduced to 6 percent. And there’s the fact that £1 out of every £8 UK shoppers spend goes to Tesco…
Weill and Chancel’s London in Store showcases the higgledy piggledy and the downright chaotic of the independent shops, away from the harsh strip lighting and sterility of the chains. Record shops, butchers, wig shops, high end boutiques, army surplus stores, taxidermists and of course the humble corner newsagents. London in Store is published next month by Thames & Hudson. This article is based on a feature in The Independent Magazine, 24th September 2005.
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