‘If you had to describe Britain using just one shop, which would you pick and why?’ – 22 stores that describe the UK perfectly

There’s no denying British people love their high street shops. We bemoan the loss of classics like Woolworths and Wilko, and Greggs inspires such reverence that it’s basically a religion. They’ve been mulling over the UK’s best retailers, past and present, on the AskUK subreddit page after user WeekendIcy2640 posed this question:

If you had to describe Britain using just one shop, which would you pick and why? I’m torn between The Range and B&M. Total chaos. Peak British!

And lots of Brits had lots of excellent examples to share of the stores that describe us perfectly as a nation.

1.

‘Woolworths. We had pick and mix at elite levels, then ruined it by stealing. We only have ourselves to blame.’
–boldstrategy

2.

‘WHSmith. Was once an institution, now grubby with a worn carpet held down with gaffer tape.’
–_Sad_Ken_

3.

‘Don’t know why, but Wilko. It was like the soul of the nation, a place of austere comfort, and measured abundance but ripped from us in an untimely manner.’
–abek42

4.

‘M&S. looks smart on the outside, chaos and over priced on the inside.’
–Flavourifshrrp

5.

‘TK Maxx. What the fuck is this? Who the hell organised this place? Oh, this random thing I found in a pile of junk is nice actually.’
–bluejackmovedagain`

6.

‘JG Jones. Let’s put lipstick on a pig and call it a beauty queen.’
–Cold_Table8497

7.

‘Whichever shop sells the jogging bottoms with ‘JUICY’ written over the arse’
–whosafeard

8.

‘I was debating between John Lewis and Poundland. Both feel very British in essence but in very different classes. Unless it’s Christmas.’
–TwinkletheStar

9.

‘A branch of Halfords, inside Harrods: Snobby on the outside, and cheap goods inside.’
–enerythehateiam

10.

‘Greggs, usually overrated, disappointing, getting too expensive – yet people can’t help but love it.’
–itsYaBoiga

11.

‘Spud-u-like. Shit but cheerful.’
–HoneyGlazedBadger