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This isn’t exactly a new face in town, but it might appear that way if you were to stroll past.
We've just come out of a pandemic, the cost of living is going up and economic uncertainty seems to stalk small businesses wherever they go. But fresh faces are continuing to pop up on the high street, while other retailers are making some exciting changes.
Each day this week, Express will be profiling those who are braving it all. Today, we chat to Chaos...
Chaos’s spot was up until recently the original site of SeeDeeJon’s, a film and music shop selling DVDs, games, vinyl’s and all manner of pop culture nick-nacks. Chaos looks to be much the same, it’s still selling games and movies, and you’ll even see some familiar faces in the shop.
In fact, Chaos is run by the old SeeDeeJons manager, Christian. According to John Holley, the owner of SeeDeeJons, the landlord wanted to sign another 9-year lease on the location and, "rather than be tied down", John decided to hand the shop over to his old manager. All the old staff has stayed on and life seems to be much the same, although chaos is specifically starting to move more towards gaming rather than music.
Pictured: Charmaine and Jamie outside Chaos
If you are looking for John, you can still find him in the market. He is now solely responsible for SeeDeeJon's and is ultimately glad of the change. Although he’s now in the shop five days a week and is having to start navigating the minefield of social media by himself, John’s now able to focus on his real passion; music. SeeDeeJon’s is now almost exclusively a record shop, and boasts an impressive collection. However, be sure to look out for John’s new range of mugs that have been produced by independent artists that should be in store in time for Christmas.
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WATCH: A snippet from Chaos' TikTok account.
Both Chaos and SeeDeeJon’s are facing a few challenges in the current climate. Specifically, the cost of transport has gone up dramatically, as much as 25% according to John. Charmaine in Chaos also expressed this concern. She told us, for example, that Chaos used to sell gaming chairs for around £60 each. However, it now costs £100 to ship them over. Clearly, a poor deal all round.
However, confidence is high all round in both stores. It might be challenging climate, but ultimately there is no one else who does quite what they do. As such, both John and the Chaos team feel that there will always be a demand.
Take a look at SeeDeeJon’s website HERE and find Chaos on all social media.
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