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Editor's note
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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.
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Annabel Bligh
Business + Economy Editor
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Top stories
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Philip Green at his flagship Topshop store in New York.
EPA/Andrew Gombert
Nelson Blackley, Nottingham Trent University
The success – and failure – of brands like Topshop and Burton has been in lockstep with the high street.
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KathrynW1/Flickr.
Brendan Barrett, Osaka University
Totnes shows how a small, rural town can build community resilience at a time when local budgets are under strain.
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Juggling Korean, English – and Konglish.
Stockphotomania/Shutterstock
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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Education
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Marina Svensson, Lund University; Eva Pils, King's College London
There is growing concern that China is trying to use universities to silence its critics in the West.
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Health + Medicine
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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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Science + Technology
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Caitlin Syme, The University of Queensland
Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for about 180 million years. But around 66 million years ago, a huge rock from outer space (called an asteroid) smashed into the Earth. Then things got worse for dinosaurs.
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Magdalena Zawisza, Anglia Ruskin University
As new rules come into force to stop damaging gender stereotypes in advertising, a psychologist assess what impact they will have.
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Environment + Energy
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Ash Murphy, Keele University
Though they were against climate action, the neocons showed that diplomacy can successfully be ignored when facing a huge threat.
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Thomas L Muinzer, University of Dundee
Mexico is a leader in climate change action in the developing world. But renewing its commitment to oil may stymie further progress.
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Malte Rödl, University of Manchester
Realistic plant-based meat is now big business - and global fast food chains are finally starting to take notice. In doing so, they could significantly reduce meat's role in the climate crisis.
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Politics + Society
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David Jeffery, University of Liverpool
Johnson is the least popular among women MPs and Jeremy Hunt managed to get a vote from the European Research Group.
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Tom Quinn, University of Essex
Rory Stewarts unconventional style has landed him in the second round of the Conservative leadership election – but he spins like a classic politician.
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Parveen Akhtar, Aston University
Snubbed for a recent state dinner with Donal Trump, the home secretary walks a difficult line in a party struggling with the question of islamophobia.
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Samira Nasirzadeh, Lancaster University; Eyad Alrefai, Lancaster University
Recent speeches suggest there may be an appetite for closer relations, but it won't be easy. A Saudi and an Iranian explain.
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Allaina Kilby, Swansea University
Jon Stewart insists he is just a comedian, but his comic barbs have always had a political edge.
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