Woolworths, Adams, Dolcis, Zaavi, the credit crunch is claiming more retail casualties than at any time since the early Nineties. Helen Smithson visits Bishop Auckland, a typical North-East town, to see how the downturn is changing it – forever.

A YEAR ago, hardly anyone had heard of the credit crunch.

Twelve months on, consumers are in the eye of a financial storm rocked by plummeting house prices, rising job losses, stock market crashes and unprecedented levels of debt.

No wonder consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest levels on record.

Newgate Street, in Bishop Auckland, is a typical North-East high street – a smattering of smaller businesses jostling for custom alongside the usual national multiples.

In better times, the owner of the Newgate Centre shopping arcade submitted plans for a major extension.

Had this gone ahead it would have added a dozen shops, including a department store, a six-screen cinema, cafes, a bingo hall and 184 parking spaces.

But now the plan looks increasingly out-of-touch in a country gripped by a global recession.

Starting off the main row of shops is Choice Linens.

Baskets of tea-towels and cloths from 99p greet customers on the way in.

Next door, the Butterwick Hospice shop window displays a poster urgently appealing for stock donations.

Manager Judith Richardson says: “There’s been an increase in customers, but a decrease in donations. We’ve had a better year than last year, but only marginally.”

Gregory’s bakery was established in 1850.

Although predominantly a bakery, the shop also has a delicatessen and works closely with local suppliers.

Owner Andrew Maddison admits his customers are changing their buying habits away from luxury items such as large cakes.

“People only tend to buy them on special occasions now because the cash just isn’t there,” he says. “We are slightly down on last year, but it’s not too bad.

“We’ve just got to get on with things and ride it through.”

Moving along, Co-operative Travel is plastered with tempting offers for holidays in the sun.

Next comes an empty shopfront and then the traditional menswear specialist Greenwoods where manager David Herbert says the wedding hire business has scaled down, but apart from that the store is generally doing well.

“It is tougher than last year,” says Mr Herbert, “but we’re not doing as badly as some.”

SANDWICHED between two vacant premises, the fruit and vegetable store Five a Day constantly seems to have a queue of customers at the tills. The current owners and management team, who took over the store about ten weeks ago, said custom had steadily increased.

Business at Blacketts furniture store appears to be booming. Manager Nick Blackett says the shop has recently recorded its best start to a year for three years – but he admits that after enduring a poor month in August, he put his house up for sale.

“News of the credit crunch was coming from all directions – TV, radio, and newspapers, and I was starting to believe it,” he says. “But we kept ticking over and, although the house is still up for sale, it’s not such an important issue now.

“Footfall is down, but those who are coming in are spending money.”

Mr Blackett seems to be one of the lucky ones, as many of his friends in the furniture trade have found themselves jobless.

“This trade is very cliquey.

At one time, if I lost my job, I could have gone and got another the same day, but that’s not the case anymore.”

Park Lane Cards and Gifts manager Debra Wood says this part of the town is suffering because special events and refurbishment were taking place closer to the Market Place.

“Shops are closing down and people are not coming back in,” she says, eyeing the vacant former Woolworths store opposite.

“It’s very quiet at this end of town, but we’ve had a rise in customers lately. Our party stuff sells well.”

According to consumer experts Deloitte, the businesses best positioned to do well in the credit crunch are discounters.

It says: “Consumers are becoming more conscious of what they are purchasing in an attempt to mitigate the rising cost of living.”

If InShops, which houses an array of small outlets selling discount goods, are doing well, no one is prepared to say.

A poster in the window of Clarks shoes advertises a final clearance sale, with 20 per cent off shoes and bags.

A shoe shop not so lucky is the former Priceless store next door – it fell victim to the economic crisis last month. Rather than colourful posters advertising sales, the window simply has an A4-size typed letter explaining that the company has gone into administration, and thanking people for their custom over the years.

Travel agents Thomas Cook is advertising a “mega sale” in its window, with holidays from as low as £199, and menswear retailer Burtons has 30 per cent off selected items.

Both could be facing a tough 2009, according to Deloitte, which says consumers are cutting back on big ticket luxury items such as holidays and adopting a “make do and mend” policy for clothes.

Men, in particular, are less like to splash out on a new outfit when money is tight, preferring to stretch the life of products where possible.

So is there any hope for retailers in 2009? According to Deloitte, there may be: “Our research reinforces the idea that younger age groups are less sensitive to the economic downturn. Nearly half see the current UK economy as normal or good.”

A case of rose-tinted specs or naiveté? Today’s teenagers have grown up with rampant consumerism and easy credit. They are comfortable with debt and have seen their parents wealth double in the past 20 years – thanks mainly to the property price bubble.

They have no experience of a recession, high inflation or mass unemployment. As a result, for them, it is business as usual.

The future, it seems, really does belong to our young people.