It has been a while since I blogged. Is it because of writers block or simply to much whizzing inside my head.
Over the last few weeks the press have really ‘gone to town’, pardon the pun (!) over how the retail sector is suffering, especially with pre-Christmas sales attempting to get consumers to spend their money.
I was at the BBC today to record a short 5 part series called Pause for Thought – Sorry name drop! I couldn’t help myself so I dropped into both the Nike Store and Top Shop just around the corner from BBC Western house on Oxford street.
As an excuse to test my new portable HD camera I took a bit of footage of the crowds.
At the best of times it difficult to walk down Oxford Street. Today was no exception, it was packed! Are these people looking for a bargin, tourists or buying on credit?
Top shop was packed and the new running section in Nike Town on the first floor were selling Nike Elite Pro +4’s at £85 each!
I wonder if the credit crunch makes people work harder to take advantage of sales or is this all just another marketing ploy to get ‘footfall’?
Economists are telling us that 2009 is going to be difficult. The doom and gloom pundits are talking down the stock market, real estate (some reports suggest a 30% drop in current house prices by the end of 2009) and job prospects. There seems to be very little in the way of positive suggestions, for example: working on projects where communities local and international who are on the poverty line can be assisted through regeneration initiatives. It also seems to me that the worlds money and international markets are locked into trade agreements that exclude selective countries and the flow of goods.
When I played back some of these videos a few times you could see that people were on the hunt for their best deals. Although we make decisions on the high street in reality the import of products, their hyped profits, the middle men that often exploit developing countries and poor government policies all contribute to the apathy of the situation.
Maybe if we spoke more about working towards deals for the greater good, the wider community and those who we cannot see but deep down know that they need our help, we could ask our employers and governments to spend our money more wisely…
Will Obama help us see the light and offer something new?
2009 could be an interesting year but it is up to us to drive forward change rather than hear about it and feel good about the words!
Categories: 2008, Anti-Poverty, Charity, Corporate Responsibility
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