http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/14/hmv-prepares-call-administrators?CMP=twt_fd

just come up on the Guardian's twitter feed.

Sad nevertheless and when I studied in the UK (a few years ago now) HMV (along with Virgin megastores and Our Price), was one of the few shops that interested me on the high street. Whilst this is a classic case of internet substitution it is also true of the UK that the high street is disproportionately saddled with business rates and fiscal inequality.

I cannot say I am tempted to invest in retail in the UK substantially as the tax man will pay me a visit before I even have a chance of making a profit. Terrible really.

When I saw the above Poster's name on this thread, my heart leapt! I thought, perhaps, that Bayscape was going to be relocated to the Queen Street area!!??

Thank you. I certainly hope this particular brand survives in some form on the High Street once it's load has been lightened.

Pull and Bear clothes and likewise Berksha are dirt cheap. It kind of makes me wonder why they haven't turned up in places like Cardiff yet but there could be a number of reasons why I guess. It's a shame, they do sell half decent stuff and everything I purchased from them either when in Spain or in Dubai has been of an okay quality when considering the price.

Really sad about HMV, I feel for their staff although I do hope the flip side if they do disappear entirely is that Spillers will benefit. I fear for them as well though, between downloads, supermarkets and sites like Play.com and Amazon I do wonder if time is up for stores that sell music or video. It makes me feel very very old seeing the death of the likes of those stores.

Apparently vinyl sales are up 18% on the previous year.

Places like Hotel Chocolat are thriving yet Thorntons is struggling.

Maybe this points to specialist stores surviving whilst the stores with a general, mass market offer will struggle when competing with Amazon and the supermarkets etc.

Places like Spillers offer gig tickets, merchandise, vinyl, collectable records, access to local bands that HMV have or never will hear of etc etc. I'm sure that there will be a place for a Spillers type outlet in any sizeable conurbation. They appeal to serious music purchaser rather than someone looking for a Now Thats What I Call Music 158 download. Likewise you see specialist bookshops continuing to survive in the arcades on fairly hefty rents when the likes of Borders have gone under and Waterstones are constantly under pressure.

I'm hoping that's the case anyway because the alternative is awful.

I can't imagine just purchasing music or literature over the internet and certainly can't imagine purchasing it digitally instead of having the physical product. When I was younger the idea was that you could in effect 'curate' your own collection - that a bookshelf or a CD/record rack said something about who you were and reflected a journey you had taken in gaining knowledge and in changing taste. These days it seems as though music and literature is fleeting and disposable, that its not about collecting things but having instant access to it. The way in which kids consume music these days seems - to me at least - to be superficial and impermanent. I can't get my head around it to be honest.

Indeed, it really leaves just Apple, Amazon, and the Supermarkets...

.. which is why there is some talk about HMV surviving, but significantly slimmed down. Perhaps 50 big stores across the country. The Record Labels don't want to be fully dependent on downloads and e-retailers..HMV means they have a little more bargaining power.

Maybe to help out our physical retailers there should be a two tier VAT system. One for physical purchases and one for online purchases. It may be able to even the playing field between tax-dodging Amazon and the other retailers.

Or make business rates progressive rather than premises linked. A large warehouse (Amazon) per sqft is somewhat cheaper than a customer facing high street store (HMV).

More like Amazon Marketplace. A hub for products sold by multiple shops.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but it looks like Pret a Manger are opening in the Capitol centre, in what looks like the old Lobster Bob store, ie, kind of opposite KFC's.

I'm not especially a fan of the overpriced pretentious chain, but it is good news nonetheless.

Just A Little Update -

Pret a Manger have now opened their Capitol store which seemed to be relatively busy today! The additions of Tesco, EasyGym & Pret a Manger have at least brought a bit of life to the centre! However upstairs is quite honestly a travesty! Toilets, Gym, Sassoon Hairdressers & Cafe! WOW

Other news, Barkers clothing will be closing in April to make way for the final stage of the coffee shop expansion Such a shame

Woodys is rumoured to be reopening in a small unit close to Pavilion. Apparently the old hairdressers unit?

HMV was a shambles today - Staff unaware whether they are closing or not & the sale was nothing less than pathetic!

The Hayes & The Arcades seemed very vibrant today which was fantastic to see

Sadly, David & Goliath has closed down in the Lower Grand Arcade, however St.Davids have officially announced that Fossil will be opening in the old Henleys/HMV unit.

Surf & Scrum will be opening in the old Baci unit and Mount Fuji will be taking the Martins Chocolatier EastSide unit according to the CSC letting plans

The unit rumoured to be Monki is now available according to the latest letting plans so that may have fallen through?

Finally, the Queen Street/St Davids BHS store has now closed, with posters informing customers of it's alternative stores in the windows! I did notice two old ladies completely stunned by its departure as they attempted to go into the store... I imagine Primark have a lot of work to do on that unit before they open, however I think Primark will bring more to the centre than BHS did & from what I've seen in the Planning Applications, the Primark store will look a lot smarter on the outside, than BHS did which can only be a good thing!

thanks for the update on whats happening in the city. Its nice to see whats going on back home since ive moved away

Good to see that HMV Cardiff will be staying open...the full list of closures has been announced.

When oh when will that Habitat unit be let or subdivided to make it more attractive?

Also, I think something needs to be done about the southern stretch of St Mary's Street, clearly bar uses aren't attractive...

only Wrexham is closing in Wales so far! Good news

Some snippets -

Brighthouse is due to open any day now in the old Blacks unit in St John St.

Positano's Italian restaurant (next to the Owain Glyndwr) has closed down. This was there for many years but before Xmas seemed to have a rebrand to Manhattan Italian American Diner - or perhaps it was bought by new owners. Either way its crashed and burnt already. As an aside is there anyone out there who would prefer Italian American food to just Italian food? And whats the difference anyway?

Next door to Positano's a new eaterie called Italgo is almost ready to open. I think this is take away Italian food which could be genius or a disaster.

It's All Greek To Me - the Greek deli in High St arcade is shut. I would have bet many months salary that this would not last. A big unit with very little stock in it and no customers.

A florist has opened in Castle Arcade in the unit facing the castle and opposite Cafe Minuet.

An art gallery has opened in Morgan Arcade. I've never seen anyone in there but I suppose its one of those businesses where you only need to make one or two sales a day.

Barkers Teahouse in High St arcade is yet to open. They really are taking their time over it - the posters in the window say that it was due to open in Autumn 2012.

A dentist is due to open in the unit on the corner of St Mary St/Wyndham arcade.

Re Italian American restaurants -

It's a very curious concept isn't it? Instead of going for the authentic cuisine you opt for the inauthentic. Is there some sort of twist that the Americans have added that changes things drastically? Do we now need to eat our ethnic food through the prism of America? I suppose the equivalent would be traditional Indian restaurants of the sort that you see in British high streets everywhere (inevitably called Taj Mahal/Jewel of India etc and serving 10 variations of curry with omellette and Chips being the token 'English' dish) opening up in New York. Can I see New Yorkers wanting to eat a version of Indian food that has been bastardized by British tastes?

Its not unlike the concept of an Australian themed bar here in the UK. I haven't been to Australia but one thing that they don't appear to be famous for is their pubs. Whereas we in the UK have erected magnificent temples to beer and have a culture that was founded on the consumption of alcohol in convivial places with a collegiate atmosphere. The Victorian/Edwardian pub with its etched glass, wooden bars, tiled floors, ornate decoration (inside and out) is rightly regarded as being one of our greatest contributions to culture and architecture. And yet the concept of some outback, corrugated tin shack recreated inside modern units in shopping malls and the like seems to have inexplicably gained some traction. I could understand the novelty value when they first appeared some years ago, much in the same way that ostrich burgers were very popular for a short period, but unbelievably they seem to still be around.

It's like exporting the British cafe to Vienna in order to augment their coffee house culture. In some ways I wish we were more French in our attitudes and rejected these inferior foreign alternatives out of hand.

The problem is that even an "Italian" restaurant is inauthentic. Italy, is a whole tapestry of regional and local cuisines, and we tend to get served a mish-mash of different parts of the country in our restaurants. In that sense "Italian American" cuisine isn't that different - it tends to be a mix of different styles from the different parts of Italy the immigrants came from. And there have been some innovations such as as Chicago-style Pizza, the various kinds of "Italian" sandwiches, etc.

Essentially an American Italian restaurant is your typical inauthentic "Italian" together with a few American-developed Italian-style dishes, and a bunch of meat and grill dishes. I don't see any problem with it given the alternative isn't a restaurant serving Neapolitan cuisine, or Tuscan, or Sicillian, etc..

The few indian restaurants I have been to in America share a fair bit in common with those in the UK (although they do have more 'authentic', similar to those you can find in parts of the UK with large South Asian populations) - they even have Tikka Massala which is a dish from Bradford!

Ostriches aren't Australian as far as I know, they're African... and the craze was a good one, as it's pretty healthy meat and creates a lot less pollution and emissions than cattle-raising.

I like the UK's international openess to new trends, especially in food. The US shares this to a significant extent (witness the popularity of Italian, then Mexican and Chinese, and now Vietnamese and slowly growing, Indian). I wouldn't want the stuff food culture of France at all..

I'm afraid you've misunderstood me. I agree that our version of an Italian restaurant is for the most part an amalgam of Italian dishes from different regions tailored to the British taste buds. Isn't any restaurant anywhere that purports to represent a national or regional cuisine?

What I find puzzling is why that bastardized version of a cuisine would be marketed as Italian American in Britain. If there are a number of innovations that the Americans have introduced which change the cuisine in a significant way fair enough but I don't think there are. Would the curry house you ate in in the US market itself as Indian British even though the cuisine has been significantly altered to suit British tastes? Unlikely.

Am I missing something here - if I go to Frankie and Bennies will I be getting something completely different to the multitude of bog standard Italians we already have? Is the usp the fact that Tony Bennet is played as background music instead of Pavarotti? Pictures of New York or Chicago instead of Venice or Rome?

As for ostriches the point I was making is that they were a flash in the pan and a novelty that seems to have died out. What I couldn't understand is why Australian themed bars - which I consider should have been a novelty and a flash in the pan - seem to still be around. I don't know where ostriches come from.

And my final point about rejecting cultural inferiors was specifically related to Australian theme bars. What I can't understand (and this is my personal opinion) is that British pub culture is the greatest in the world and yet a vastly inferior version is imported and seems to be embraced. In that example I think we should adopt the superior attitude of the French and look down on what is (in my opinion) substantially inferior to what we already have.

You've extrapolated that simple proposition to a rejection of outside influences be they culinary or cultural which is not what I was saying. And now I've been forced to defend a whimsical post about me not understanding why Joe Public would favour something called Italian American over just Italian or go to Walkabout or some other similarly themed dive instead of one of the glorious pubs that we have in the UK.

Of course the answer to my puzzlement is that different people like different things which I knew all along and of course I was posing a rhetorical question which you've taken literally. Never mind.

I don't appreciate the exasperated tone in your reply - you raised a set of issues in a not entirely clear way, so don't be surprised if its interpreted in a way that you didn't quite mean.

In Frankie and Benny's yes you will:

http://www.frankieandbennys.com/menu/main

Its basically a menu which is a mix of "Italian" and "American" (with a smattering of those you might call British thrown in the mix too). And a few kind of cross-over dishes. They also make a big deal of cocktails rather than wine.

So yes its a bit of a mish-mash, but does reflect the kind of cuisine you get in quite a few American restaurants. And it isn't just relabelling an "Italian" "American Italian" for coolness points. It is something quite different to both an Italian restaurant and a purely American one.

AFAIK cuisine is not labelled as "British Indian", but simply "Indian". This is because the British-born "Indian" dishes are still recognisably in an Indian style, and do not reflect what is understood to be typical British fayre.

Fair enough. I didn't think I raised a 'set of issues.' I thought I'd given my (admittedly unsolicited) opinion whilst making heavy usage of rhetorical questions. It was motivated by Wizards jokey response to my post re the closure of the Manhattan Italian American place that used to be Positano's. If you misinterpreted it then so be it. No harm done.

Could the difference between an Italian-American and an Italian eatery be that one makes you fat and the other doesn't?

I'm not being entirely facetious. "American" to me suggests ridiculously large portions. Maybe "Italian-American" = "Italian 4 Gluttons"!

If you go to a 'proper' Italian, the portions are massive or 'family-style'.

An Italian American place will serve up large dishes of pizza, pasta also burgers, fries, wings, calzone etc for example frankie and bennys. An Italian restaurant is more of a delicate (maybe more authentic) cuisine - all the classic pasta dishes, made healthily,, where the kitchens tend to lack a deep fat fryer.

Rohan in St Mary St (near the Cottage pub) has shut. According to the sign in the window it doesn't look as though they are opening up elsewhere in Cardiff.

Something called Torre is opening in the unit between Castle Arcade and the Welsh gift shop on Castle Street. I presume it's an eaterie of some sort but don't really know.

Ladbrokes opening on Caroline St.

Also 8-10 High St (used to be the Emporium nightclub many years ago) looks as though it's being converted to student digs. The ground floor unit will be part of the conversion so this will be one less shop/empty unit on High Street.

Another month, another betting shop!

The Echo reports that the Nat West will be vacating their St Mary St branch and concentrating all city centre ops in Queen St. Apparently it's been continuously occupied by a bank since 1880, trivia fans.

Not sure what will go here. Too big for retail and probably not that well configured for offices. Maybe a restaurant/bar? Maybe a hotel? It's a lovely building to be fair.

This could also be an opportunity to build on it's car park which has an entrance on Quay St. At the moment there is a very ugly gap there.

Also Internacionale have closed their unit in the Capitol. No surprise there. Poundland have completed their fit out of the former Barclays Bank on Queen St. In fairness they have not messed around with the exterior and the signage is fairly restrained and respects the building.

That part of St Mary St could start to look quite quiet. Lets hope for imaginative solutions.

What is it with our modern day banks? They seem only too eager to abandon their historical and often grand homes to move into shitty little low ceilinged claustrophobic shoeboxes with Satellite news TV being beamed at the punters from all angles.

They like shitty little claustrophobic offices because it matches their little minds. They don't need to impress anyone because there is nothing to impress with.

It's sad really - the old Bank Manager of old was the pillar of the community - he knew everyone and was able to help both business and private customers enormously.

Break up the Big Four banks into a dozen competing smaller ones, they'd be forced to return to the high street then.

Any news on Weatherspoons in the Bay? Someone is paying the rent on this huge building. I thought it would have been open for Xmas/Easter/....

Yep, it's all been fenced off in the last week and there are men on site

I'm feeling a bit sorry for the people in the deco-style block of flats facing this on the Quay. It'll be like living above the Brewery Quarter - which is fine if you chose it deliberately, but they didn't.

Eden Park in the Morgan Qtr has closed, seems the WRU will be stocking stuff in their Westgate St outlet.

Jantra, stop trying to be clever, it's obviously too much of a struggle for you.

Aren't Barclays, RBS, HSBC and Lloyds's generally recognised as 'The Big Four'?

Mind you, things change so fast nowadays!

Oxfarm Bookshop has recently moved into the Royal Arcade.