Lush CEO blames govt for high street decline

Lush CEO Mark Constantine has attributed the decline of the high street to the Conservative government’s decision to cut council finances, The Times has reported. 

Constantine told The Times that high streets in Britain are “deserted” due to more local councils being pushed into a state of bankruptcy by a lack of government resources allocated for them. 

As a result, the Lush co-founder called for a rethink to prevent further decline after thousands of stores have closed so far in recent years.

Constantine told The Times: “If the government wants us to become a nation of retailers and shopkeepers again, then it has to do something about it.”

In lieu of a government budget, Constantine reported that councils are relying on business rates and car-parking fees to raise cash. However, this has prevented local authorities from investing in their local town centres. 

He added: “Their revenue from that is dropping all the time and it’s not working. We have silent high streets.

“You do have a lot of the innovative tech retailers looking around to move into bricks and mortar. Something has to be done to make that appealing.”

As a result, Constantine urged the government to make high streets and town centres “more vibrant” to encourage tech retailers to open shops. 

Constantine is the latest retail boss to call for the high street’s regeneration, joining John Lewis Partnership’s chair Sharon White who said in September that high street support needed to be a “cross-party” effort.