The Book

“This is a book that should be studied, absorbed and thumbed extensively across the industry until the pages disintegrate.  Forget nostalgia, here is a 224-page solid basis for clear thinking and decisive action. Forget Portas Pilots. This is the Grimsey Grrrr!”

Monotonous metropolis, Clone Town Britain, or Ghost Town Britain, call it what you like, the indisputable truth is British towns and cities are losing their identity and dying off. Independent stores that were once vital to the fabric of towns are disappearing at a rate of 50 shops a week. Some towns now have as many as 24% of their shops shuttered. Boarded-up High Streets are already leading to a marked increase in crime and antisocial behaviour.

In Sold Out, Bill Grimsey uses insight gained from 45 years in the forefront of retailing, at store giants, which include Tesco, Wickes, Iceland and Focus DIY, to expose the real reasons for the position we find ourselves in today. Ignoring the clichéd arguments, he highlights the crucial factors, which have never been explored before, to cast new light on the fatal erosion of our High Street. He also gives a frank assessment of what this all really means to the consumer and finds we have all got the shopping experience we deserve.

Most importantly, Bill Grimsey offers a practical and realistic vision for the future of the High Street, which can cater for the needs we really have today.

Sold Out will make uncomfortable reading, but if you are at all serious about making your High Street a better place, the solution starts here.

Sold Out by Bill Grimsey.
Published by Filament Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1-908691-31-6
226 pages
230mm x 155mm
UK £14.99

Bill Grimsey Sold Out“Sold Out will make uncomfortable reading, but if you are at all serious about making your High Street a better place, the solution starts here.”

“Bill Grimsey offers a practical and realistic vision for the future of the High Street, which can cater for the needs we really have today.”

“If retailing needs a “Big Bang” moment, then this is a hand grenade of a book”  – Joe Cushnan

If you are at all serious about making your High Street a better place, the solution starts here.

In recent years, campaigns have been galvanised to ‘save the High Street’. It seems everyone has a view about how we can revamp our down-at-heel towns and cities. But are they all missing the point?

Veteran retailer Bill Grimsey argues that it is already too late. The High Street as we have grown to know it, is good as dead already. So what happens next?