I was shocked to hear that the parent company of the Taj stores had gone into administration as the closure of their store would be a great loss to St.James's Street.
 
Since opening at its prominent corner location it has definitely added to the cosmopolitan feel of the area with its "splash of colour" as you enter the street.
 
I know that the theme of "shop locally" is being hammered home at the moment, but it is even more important in the current economic climate. These local independent stores forming the back-bone of our high streets bear the initial brunt of any downturn and are at a severe disadvantage to neighbouring deeper pocketed supermarket giants.
 
But saying that, I don't think in this instance the issue on St.James's is that one of the bigger players is muscling them out of the market. I don't see that Taj had any major opposition on the street, more I think it was down to a combination of factors with lack of proper marketing being one that readily springs to mind.
 
In my view not enough research was done on examining their customer base in the area. Quite simply the customer base in Western Rd is very different to the one in St.James's St and to think they were the same was a fundamental error. Saying that, a shiny new Morrisons opening up just along the street didn't help matters very much either.
 
All is not lost however and I do hope that they pull through. I for one would be sad to see them go.
 
Chris Cooke
Chair - St.James's Area Local Action Team