Started this thread on the FREE FOR ALL, but wanted to see the responses here too, since food is a major part. In England, every kind of American franchise, fast food business, TV channel, song, clothing fashion, and even slang language exists in English culture. You can't go in any English city without seeing McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Footlocker, Taco Bell, Burger King, Ben and Jerrys, Powerade, etc... Even every pub will sell that horrible Bud and Miller stuff. While in the US, with the exception of some Florida towns, Santa Monica in CA and a couple of places in NY, there is not a single decent English pub, chippy with a proper kebab and chips or steak and kidney pie, or even an English supermarket chain. I mean, come on folks. You budding entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, if you have ever been to England, you know that the quality of our products in Tescos, Sainsburys, Boots, WH Smiths, and Marks & Spencers is second to none. We offer more variety and goods that appeal to every level of income. Just our candy, chocolate, ice cream, milk and bread alone is better than anything in the US. Every American I meet in London loves Boots chemists and our pubs. So why are there no English franchises in the US??? Thankfully, you can tour a US city on a typical English double decker bus, have a London cab come and pick you up as a limo service, and buy Cadburys chocolate in Safeway. Sometimes even get Lucozade to drink. I have even gone as far as see Strongbow cider in Fresh Fields...yayyy!!! But rather than a few products being imported, or bought on the internet, why don't we see English franchises here? Who is stopping them? Surely if we allow US products in the UK, then British products should sell here too, right? I'm just curious as to why this is not the case. Thanks in advance for any knowledgeable responses.
I'm not sure about restaurants but I'm pretty sure that there is a British grocery store chain that's shown up recently. Fresh & Easy
I've never seen a Taco Bell or Footlocker in England. I can't say I've particularly been on the lookout, but "every city" seems a bit of a stretch. Chip shops don't tend to sell kebabs or steak & kidney pies either. Miller isn't exactly ubiquitous here either, although Bud is commonly sold in chain pubs. My suspicion is that it's only there to catch out underage drinkers, are they are the ones most likely to order it. I'm sure I read that Tesco and Sainsburys did have a go at the US market but found it hard to get a foot in the door as their business plan wasn't right for the US. Other supermarkets were just cheaper. Tesco have looked the other way and are taking over eastern europe, where their stores not only sell food, but are large department stores as well. Strangely, the assumption over there appears to be that Tesco is an american company.
Thanks Alice, being on the east coast in the nation's capital, we are still so far behind with such news. I have mixed feelings about the Fresh and Easy. I don't understand why they just can't be TESCO's. The change of name seems like a tactic that they don't want to be known as English. But I look forward to every Harris Teeters closing down and being able to go down to the new Tescos when it finally arrives East Coast in DC. I have never seen a WH Smiths in America. But I have not been in many airports recently so maybe this has just begun developing. I wonder if they are of the same model as UK. One of the first things I do on arrival at Heathrow is head straight to WH Smiths and buy a paper, a drink, a Galaxy bar and sometimes a small snack to munch on the tube into the city. It just brings back the UK life after years of American living. As for the fella who said chippys don't sell kebabs or pies, I'd hate to have lived in his town or village. Sounds like a boring southern chip shop. They probably don't have curry sauce or mushy peas either
I don't know about the Canadian locations, but all WH Smith locations in US have been sold to Hudson News about 5 years ago, I believe. There's a Top Shop opening in New York sometime this year: http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/s...13052&catalogId=32051&identifier=tsus1 stores And The Body Shop is so ubiquitous, I don't think people even think of them as a British import: http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/services/aboutus_company.aspx
What's wrong with Harris Teeter? (The adolescent in me persists in calling it "Harris Peter.") I've only seen them in airports, but I haven't been everywhere. I hope you guys don't wonder why people are skeptical of British food.
Put simply, America's a big country, Britain's a little country (both geographically and, relatively speaking, in terms of GDP). America has bigger companies, and more of them. Combine statistical odds and the economy of scale, it's inevitable that you're going to see more American products and franchises in Britain than vice versa.
If you're looking for a decent pub in the DC area, you might try the Royal Mile in Wheaton. www.royalmilepub.com They overplay the SCOTTISH!!! theme a bit, but it's not bad.
Sometimes you Americans are so cute. You think they still use these? And for what it's worth London doesn't represent the entire UK.
I do know about this one. But again, it's a Scottish pub, not an English one. There are 2 more in DC called Elephant & Castle and Union Jacks but neither are traditional English pubs. They are American versions of sports bars with some English memorabilia. The best English pub I have been to in America is Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica..truly a top level pub with great English pub food. That's what I love about LA. Great weather, palm trees and ocean, and then a real pub so you get the best of both worlds. But in DC we just have Irish pubs, which are good, but not typically English, so they lack that English ambiance. I have a squabble with Harris Teeters who are in my neighborhood and I did not want them here. They draw too much traffic in residential streets and so I am biased. I have seen a lot worse American food than mushy peas. Ever tried grits, collard greens or pigs feet....YUK!!! I am schooled on The Body Shop. I never knew. Top Shop in NY sounds a winner. I am very disappointed to hear that WH Smith changed to Hudson News. We have none of that in DC. Seems the Nation's Capital which has some 15,000 Brits living in the region and the British Embassy has no influence on local retail business development There are things in a typical WH Smith, especially a major one which can be 3-4 floor levels, that would appeal to all. While I understand the need to cater to an American consumer to stay in business, I would have liked these American conversions to maintain some section of their service to English origins with their products: Cadburys, Galaxy, Maltesers, Tango, Lilt, Ribena, Vimto, Walkers Crisps, Daily Mirror, News of the World, SHOOT & MATCH magazines, etc...
I am pretty sure that I saw a WH Smith in the Austin, Houston or Vancouver airport two weeks ago. My memory is NOT that good, so I would not have remembered a WH Smith from 5 years ago Is Crabtree and Evelyn (or something like that) English? It sounds English.
I think it is. I'm pissed at them because they stopped carrying my favorite lotion in the whole world.
Maybe you thought a Hudson News was a WHSmith? The purchase and rebranding of WHSmith locations in North America was in 2003: http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2003/12/15/daily31.html Crabtree & Evelyn is American, but Laura Ashley is British, if you're keeping score. All things considered, there's probably a disproportionately *large* number of UK brand presence in the US. A lot of boutique brands have made it over from Britain, and if you're in a big city, there's no shortage of places where you can get British candies and beers and newspapers.
I'm still not getting your logic. 1. In New York, there are bus tours conducted in open-top double-decker buses like this: 2. Your response: "Ha ha, stupid Americans! They think buses in London look like this!" Please explain your thought process here.
