Very interesting piece and you are looking at an issue that many town centres are facing. Retail will continue to come under pressure from on-line. As a result the shops that survive need to really differentiate themselves. At the same time I think landlords need to be more flexible and understand that by trying to squeeze rents up they force retailers out. Once there are empty units it becomes a vicious spiral downwards as less and less people visit city centres. That being said, if people really want their city centres to thrive, they need to support them. This means encouraging independent outlets even if their prices are slightly higher. If we don’t our city centres will disappear and with them the heart and soul of our towns and this will lead to the decline of the local economy which will have dire consequences.