Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Rutland is the only county in England not to have a Mcdonalds. On further thought, here is a list of high street retail brands Rutland has not yet accommodated:- Any fast food or restaurant chain
- Wetherspoons pubs (in fact any branded pub chain)
- Any branded clothes shops (Top Shop, Next etc)
- Any branded DIY store (B&Q, Homebase etc) Although there is a small TRavis Perkins hidden down a back street in Oakham
- M&S
In fact the only brands we do have, apart from petrol stations, are:
- One Tesco
- One Somerfield
- Possibly Britain's only Co-op in a marquee
- A Stead and Stimpson shoe shop
- Boots
- Co-op funeral services (is that classed as a retail brand? Not really FMCG)
And as of last year:
- A Costa Coffee
- A Wilkinsons
I believe there may be Travel Lodge on the A1, but the A1 doesn't count as Rutland, it is its own kingdom sweeping over the Eastern edge of Rutland like one of those suspended railway things they have in Japan.
The last two mark a worrying trend. Are we going to become invaded by global corporations? Is the last bastion of boutique individuality destined to submit to "consumer demand" and fall prey to a bland botox facelift of ubiquitous high street shop fronts? Hopefully the credit crunch will deter developers for at least a couple of years. It's possible that, like most other people who don't actually live here, the brand managers and market researchers don't even know Rutland exists. Let's keep it that way. Let's campaign for Unbranded Rutland, county of boutique interior design stores selling chintz and repro for eye-watering sums, home to clothes shops displaying astronomically priced garments by designers no-one has ever heard of, site of a garage selling cars that cost more than our house.
After all, if we want cheap and cheerless, we can always go to Grantham.
