Editor's note

Topshop is the latest retailer to fall foul of the tough conditions facing high streets. It follows similar struggles for department store chains House of Fraser and BHS, burdened by high fixed costs to maintain big retail spaces and sliding profits. Topshop’s parent company Arcadia was saved by a company voluntary agreement (CVA) last week, which involves rent cuts, 23 store closures and 520 job losses, but ensures the retail group’s survival – for now. CVAs certainly don’t guarantee the future, as both House of Fraser and BHS found.

As Arcadia chairman, Philip Green will be well aware that his empire is not yet safe from collapse. The CVA has saved it for the time being, but Green has a huge task on his hands to revive the fortunes of Arcadia, whose various brands include Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, as well as Topshop and Topman – especially when competitors H&M and Zara, as well as online players like Asos and Boohoo, have been more responsive to the needs of young shoppers.

But it’s not all plain sailing for online retailers either. Laden with CRaP products (industry-speak for cannot return a profit) like bottled water and paper towels, which are too heavy or bulky to ship economically, they too are struggling. We may have reached peak convenience with price hikes likely to be shifted onto the consumer.

One place where the high street is thriving is Totnes, a small, historic market town in the south-west of England. Full of independent stores, it pioneered the use of its own local currency, the Totnes pound. The project is now coming to an end but it played an important role in keeping a local community resilient in the face of austerity.

Annabel Bligh

Business + Economy Editor

Top stories

Philip Green at his flagship Topshop store in New York. EPA/Andrew Gombert

The rise and fall of Philip Green’s Arcadia Group

Nelson Blackley, Nottingham Trent University

The success – and failure – of brands like Topshop and Burton has been in lockstep with the high street.

KathrynW1/Flickr.

Demise of Totnes pound won’t stop this English town pushing back against austerity

Brendan Barrett, Osaka University

Totnes shows how a small, rural town can build community resilience at a time when local budgets are under strain.

Juggling Korean, English – and Konglish. Stockphotomania/Shutterstock

Korean language speakers should take pride in Konglish – it’s another wonderful example of linguistic diversity

Alexander Baratta, University of Manchester

Konglish is widely spoken in Korea but rather than celebrating it as one of a variety of Englishes used around the world, speakers are often frowned upon.

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    Emma Glennon, University of Cambridge; Freya Jephcott, University of Cambridge

    Many cases of Ebola are missed entirely. Affected countries need to invest in primary healthcare and detection to nip outbreaks in the bud.

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