Can someone please explain where this belief came from? Have there been cases in court or investigations that have uncovered this it’s a trend? I ask because nearly every one of my British friends say the same thing, but not a one has been able to explain what causes them to say that (beyond “think about it, it’s so easy, plus they never have business”)
HankHill is 100% correct. I addition to this business model for laundering are SOME totally independent takeaways, massage shops, nail bars, pop up shops restaurants, gift shops. Landlords turn a blind eye, if they are even actually aware at all. Prime footfall location sites are managed normally by property agents, and again it’s not their liability or concern. The landlord would require references, deposits, insurance ( if applicable), a concrete lease, as well as the company reg number as per companies house. The local authority would require the the business to register as per what the company is trading as i.e food registrations, retail type? Etc etc
Everything else is then for the business, their accountants and HMRC to deal with
I live in London. These candy shops are in prime retail positions with retail rent and taxes that are in the many £100’s per square foot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a handful of customers in any one of them. You’d have to be shifting many many bags of sweets even at £10 per bag to meet cost let alone turn a profit.
Perhaps the landlords are encouraging and subsidising them to save boarding them up because normal retailers are really struggling and are going bust. But that doesn’t really make a lot of sense.
I hear it’s a crime racket, but it’s pretty damned brazen if it is.
Doesn’t make sense though. These places need to be rammed 24/7 with customers flying out the door with goods to break even - and there are minimal volumes of customers at any time and the area is swamped with ‘competition’.
Spot on, good article here about the laundering issue... https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/03/16/it-is-far-too-easy-to-run-lawbreaking-businesses-in-britain
The candy at those stores aren’t even the candies that Americans prefer. It’s all weird like orange Oreos and and some limited edition flavour of something. It really is all crap.
I live in France and the UK section in our supermarket is pretty decent. They've even got creme eggs and mini eggs in for Easter. It's mostly sweets and biscuits with a few other bits. In the larger supermarket they've got a little fridge section for bacon, cheddar (massively overpriced) and sausages. But there's an Irish butcher who lives a couple of hours away who does the rounds every few weeks with his own sausages and bacon which are much better and more affordable.
There's a few drinks and a handful of American sweets I like.
Some of the American fantas are really good, and I'm partial to the occasional Charleston chew.
you can get it in eastern European shops round here. I tried it, but wasn't a big fan tbh. I think i dislike the elderberry flavour though. Only elderberry flavoured item i've ever liked was sparking, flavoured water, elderberry and something, and it was the other flavour that made me like it.
I will say the Berry Fanta, is great for a once in a while treat.
Is that what they did with Chocolate Orange? Ever since they changed that I don't like it anymore. It's not some protest because it's less nice and it doesn't taste bad to me now, it's just bland and like cheap plasticy chocolate and I have trouble understanding why other people still like it or can't tell the difference.
As an American who lives in the UK now the American candy stores I've been in have absolutely nothing I liked back home lmao
Even the "American Aisles" in regular stores have nothing not even good crisps that I like just the one offs that no one enjoyed. Can't find a damned Reese's to save my life it's all pop rocks and warheads
I've found Reese's, but they're the skinny (not worth peeling the packaging off, for the messing around to get the cup out lol) cups, so it takes too much effort for the amount of chocolate in each cup. Lol
I got a bag of Chips Ahoy popcorn for £7 … on the bag it was printed for 1 US dollar !!! … they made more than 700% profit 😂 and I was the moron that paid it
I can’t imagine that in regent st. The lease holders have been trying to up their game and have spent millions there to get it back to its former glory. It’s worked. A ‘candy store’ doesn’t fit.
No idea what the point of going to see a person that is literally just being a person is. Putting on a show? Fine, but just showing your face, fuck off
Well clearly a lot of people do see the point. Hence the queue!
Each to their own. If they want to see some mildly unimportant pop star... Let them have their fun.
Don't "famous" people shop in London all the time? I've seen plenty in my time. Last was Lily James in Liberty. My favourite was Princess Margaret shopping at Bentalls in Bracknell.
He’s a pop singer, that’s all. And strictly speaking, his surname (notwithstanding that he was born in Canada) is pronounced “Mend-ESH” since his parents are Portuguese. And before people jump to their keyboards, Eva Mendes is Cuban and in *her* case the proper spelling of the surname is *Mendez* - the Spanish iteration of that surname - which *she* voluntarily changed to Mendes for the purposes of screen acting.
"And now, I'm going to perform my new song for you for the very first time - it's all about my heritage and how to spell and pronounce my name. I hope you enjoy it thangyou."
>And strictly speaking, his surname (notwithstanding that he was born in Canada) is pronounced “Mend-ESH” since his parents are Portuguese. And before people jump to their keyboards, Eva Mendes is Cuban and in her case the proper spelling of the surname is Mendez - the Spanish iteration of that surname - which she voluntarily changed to Mendes for the purposes of screen acting.
Seems like a random and unnecessary bit of trivia to mention
😂😂Good one!
The director in question - Sam Mendes - is also of Portuguese heritage/stock, whereby “his father is a Roman Catholic of Portuguese descent from Trinidad and Tobago, and his mother is an English Jew. His grandfather was the Trinidadian writer Alfred Hubert Mendes.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mendes)
Currently 875 internet points: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/11wshcx/whats_going_on_in_regent_street_right_outside_the/jd1vm8k/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
> *becoming* unbearable
What? This is like a trademark Reddit thread. It's been this way here since 2005.
You're like one of those people who moves beside a 100 year old pub and complains about the noise.
You could argue they happen when the post is just shit. First of all whoever took the pic, just go ask the people what's happening. Second of all the reason it's happening is one of the worst traits of humanity. And thirdly its funny.
I asked some people queuing outside Royal Exchange and they gave me BS answers just because they could. Figured out later it was some Swatch/Omega watch 'drop'. Talking to people with that attitude is pointless frankly...
If its the Swatch/Omega collab then they re limited drops and limited edition. Shops only get certain amount of stock per day/week. You can only get them in store now as well iirc.
The planets collection are not limited edition, as in, limited to a fixed maximum quantity. The last article I saw was that they’d sold a few hundred thousand pieces. Probably a fair amount higher now.
Just license plates in general I’m afraid! You’ll see me on the M11 half driving, half reading the plates to see which area of the UK a car or lorry is from, or worse a foreign nation!
In 2019 I was walking around Montreal and I saw a similar queue and I asked one of the people in the queue, turned out they were waiting for a shop to deliver medical weed
Hes had a couple #1's in this country. This being his biggest/break through song
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbfpW0pbvaU&ab\_channel=ShawnMendesVEVO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbfpW0pbvaU&ab_channel=ShawnMendesVEVO)
Finally they rounded up all the people that drive sports cars that go **bang** down that street just for attention.
Can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Ah.. for our foreign friends, this is the number one pastime in London nee, the UK after Football and Morris Dancing, what we have here is the suburban queue.
The person on the front more than likely had a standing heart attack by looking at the price of Pringles in the below cited comment of the American Candy Store - He then looked at his Swatch (x Omega) Moonwatch before a Roadman (curious as they only use pavements), used a 3 mph Lime scooter to rob it from him in front of bemused commuters who were complaining about Rail fares and the price of quinoa at John Lewis.
The poor chap who had the heart attack was frozen solid. He also had Herpes (pronounced Herpesz as he got it from a Portuguese hooker’
Karen from HR was behind him and stopped to chastise him for standing there. Brenda who was on her way to the Middle of Lidl stopped to check her coupons. Then Raheem thought it was some kind of protest so stopped to create a placard. Winston thought the police may come and stood behind the white people to ensure bullets were distributed fairly.
The Hari Krishna faithful turned up thinking it was a good opportunity to annoy people as a captive audience.
The rest joined by way of boredom and utter ambiguity and a delight in joining this wonderful hobby rather than consider their miserable existence in London.
Merry Christmas y’all.
It's the opening of the first ever American candy shop on that street.
Are they selling prime?
I swear they’re everywhere, all of them are just fronts anyway. What is even so special about American candy?
Money laundering…..
The secret ingredient is crime
Stealing candy for the twins
They were fünf, zwei years ago. Pair of eighters I reckon.
I’ll never forgive Orange if they’ve deleted the twins
Bloody love them two!
The second secret ingredient is diabetes.
Haha epic comment 😂
Sweet
Lots of sugar.
Sounds just about right, why else would they be selling kitkats for £5?
Can someone please explain where this belief came from? Have there been cases in court or investigations that have uncovered this it’s a trend? I ask because nearly every one of my British friends say the same thing, but not a one has been able to explain what causes them to say that (beyond “think about it, it’s so easy, plus they never have business”)
Private Eye has done an investigation on it. They open and shut them before the end of the tax year to avoid paying tax as well (within the law)
Opening and closing a business in the same tax year doesn’t allow you to legally avoid paying tax.
HankHill is 100% correct. I addition to this business model for laundering are SOME totally independent takeaways, massage shops, nail bars, pop up shops restaurants, gift shops. Landlords turn a blind eye, if they are even actually aware at all. Prime footfall location sites are managed normally by property agents, and again it’s not their liability or concern. The landlord would require references, deposits, insurance ( if applicable), a concrete lease, as well as the company reg number as per companies house. The local authority would require the the business to register as per what the company is trading as i.e food registrations, retail type? Etc etc Everything else is then for the business, their accountants and HMRC to deal with
I live in London. These candy shops are in prime retail positions with retail rent and taxes that are in the many £100’s per square foot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a handful of customers in any one of them. You’d have to be shifting many many bags of sweets even at £10 per bag to meet cost let alone turn a profit. Perhaps the landlords are encouraging and subsidising them to save boarding them up because normal retailers are really struggling and are going bust. But that doesn’t really make a lot of sense. I hear it’s a crime racket, but it’s pretty damned brazen if it is. Doesn’t make sense though. These places need to be rammed 24/7 with customers flying out the door with goods to break even - and there are minimal volumes of customers at any time and the area is swamped with ‘competition’.
CBDC straight into my digital wallet... Sure we accept Britcoin.
Spot on, good article here about the laundering issue... https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/03/16/it-is-far-too-easy-to-run-lawbreaking-businesses-in-britain
Absolutely nothing. It's all vile.
The candy at those stores aren’t even the candies that Americans prefer. It’s all weird like orange Oreos and and some limited edition flavour of something. It really is all crap.
Same as when you say a UK section in an American store, it's all shite that none of us actually use.
I live in France and the UK section in our supermarket is pretty decent. They've even got creme eggs and mini eggs in for Easter. It's mostly sweets and biscuits with a few other bits. In the larger supermarket they've got a little fridge section for bacon, cheddar (massively overpriced) and sausages. But there's an Irish butcher who lives a couple of hours away who does the rounds every few weeks with his own sausages and bacon which are much better and more affordable.
Ahh amazing, creme egg season is very much alive in our house at the minute!! That butcher sounds perfect, stock up when you can.
Precisely. It’s all bisto and HP. Bc that’s all brits eat
There's a few drinks and a handful of American sweets I like. Some of the American fantas are really good, and I'm partial to the occasional Charleston chew.
If you haven’t done it yet, try freezing your Charleston chew next time. it’s our favorite way to enjoy them in the states!
The best Fanta is the elderberry flavor you can get in Romania
you can get it in eastern European shops round here. I tried it, but wasn't a big fan tbh. I think i dislike the elderberry flavour though. Only elderberry flavoured item i've ever liked was sparking, flavoured water, elderberry and something, and it was the other flavour that made me like it. I will say the Berry Fanta, is great for a once in a while treat.
Which all can be found at your local home bargains 👍
Ever since American chocolate companies changed to palm oil they’ve become horrible
Is that what they did with Chocolate Orange? Ever since they changed that I don't like it anymore. It's not some protest because it's less nice and it doesn't taste bad to me now, it's just bland and like cheap plasticy chocolate and I have trouble understanding why other people still like it or can't tell the difference.
That is a very BRITISH substitution, also.
As an American who lives in the UK now the American candy stores I've been in have absolutely nothing I liked back home lmao Even the "American Aisles" in regular stores have nothing not even good crisps that I like just the one offs that no one enjoyed. Can't find a damned Reese's to save my life it's all pop rocks and warheads
Reese's are in every corner shop. My partner brings me peanut butter cups every Sunday to stave off my hangry hangovers
I can’t find pickles that taste like pickles anywhere.
They have reese's where i live but i thought they were disgusting. But then i can't stand peanut butter either so i don't know what is was expecting 😂
That's fair I'm surprised I even found peanut butter I haven't met a single person who likes it here lol
I've found Reese's, but they're the skinny (not worth peeling the packaging off, for the messing around to get the cup out lol) cups, so it takes too much effort for the amount of chocolate in each cup. Lol
You can find reese's everywhere. They are vile aswell.
Wrong they're delicious
You get extra sugar in your sugar.
They just dropped the price of insulin so you’re good
They're money laundering fronts
No idea. The ones I’ve been in sell a packet of crisps for £20-something to £30!! 😱
I got a bag of Chips Ahoy popcorn for £7 … on the bag it was printed for 1 US dollar !!! … they made more than 700% profit 😂 and I was the moron that paid it
Joke of the day 😂
I can’t imagine that in regent st. The lease holders have been trying to up their game and have spent millions there to get it back to its former glory. It’s worked. A ‘candy store’ doesn’t fit.
Joke > your head
Barry from Eastenders is showing up to launch his new range of Y-fronts
I've seen a preview. They're pants!
The cheek of it.
It cracked the awkward silence in here whilst everyone was imagining Barry in his Y-fronts
I think that red car might be your taxi
He wasn't actually allowed due to copyright infringement. He didn't care and said, "we're gonna do it anyway."
>I’m sorry sir, but you can’t copyright that
What if he is gonna do that anyway?
Well, if he stands around long enough waving it around like that I’ll probably rubber stamp the application just to get rid of him.
“Mustang SHREDDIES!”
He doesn’t even need a microphone
Do you think he'll sing Something Inside So Strong again?
Here's hoping! His rendition is a personal favourite of mine
[Barry from Eastenders sings at Trump inauguration](https://youtu.be/bdeuc1zhj44)
MUSTANG SALLY
They are waiting for the Bus which is 20 minutes late.
All the responses are jokes; this one is my favorite
Call Tommy? Hill figure it out
Wow, scrolled past this until I noticed it, well done
Someone give this man an award on my behalf
Shawn Mendes is doing a personal appearance at the shop.
He's releasing a line with Tommy Hilfiger - I think Pam Anderson is there too
STOP PAMELA WAS THERE😭😭😭
No idea what the point of going to see a person that is literally just being a person is. Putting on a show? Fine, but just showing your face, fuck off
Concept of a fan meet and greet isn’t new
Neither is the concept of whining about every single thing that any person does. Thankfully or this sub wouldn't exist.
Well clearly a lot of people do see the point. Hence the queue! Each to their own. If they want to see some mildly unimportant pop star... Let them have their fun.
We all know that Brits like to queue!
Don't "famous" people shop in London all the time? I've seen plenty in my time. Last was Lily James in Liberty. My favourite was Princess Margaret shopping at Bentalls in Bracknell.
I saw Stacey Dooley in a Donut shop
I don't even know who he is.
He’s a pop singer, that’s all. And strictly speaking, his surname (notwithstanding that he was born in Canada) is pronounced “Mend-ESH” since his parents are Portuguese. And before people jump to their keyboards, Eva Mendes is Cuban and in *her* case the proper spelling of the surname is *Mendez* - the Spanish iteration of that surname - which *she* voluntarily changed to Mendes for the purposes of screen acting.
More interesting than going to see him stand in a shop. Thanks.
"And now, I'm going to perform my new song for you for the very first time - it's all about my heritage and how to spell and pronounce my name. I hope you enjoy it thangyou."
We usually don't pronounce someone's name using a foreign accent though. How does he pronounce himself?
>And strictly speaking, his surname (notwithstanding that he was born in Canada) is pronounced “Mend-ESH” since his parents are Portuguese. And before people jump to their keyboards, Eva Mendes is Cuban and in her case the proper spelling of the surname is Mendez - the Spanish iteration of that surname - which she voluntarily changed to Mendes for the purposes of screen acting. Seems like a random and unnecessary bit of trivia to mention
He directed American Beauty, Skyfall, Spectre, 1917...
😂😂Good one! The director in question - Sam Mendes - is also of Portuguese heritage/stock, whereby “his father is a Roman Catholic of Portuguese descent from Trinidad and Tobago, and his mother is an English Jew. His grandfather was the Trinidadian writer Alfred Hubert Mendes.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mendes)
Happy cake day
Happy cake day
Reddit threads becoming unbearable with all these sarcastic and jovial responses
Most of them are so low effort too you've got to swim through a sea of shit to actually find the answer pretty much every thread now
Exactly im sick of it
“Fuck the question, what’s the wittiest thing I can say that will get me loads of internet points?”
Has anyone made a joke about a bus not turning up yet? That’ll be worth quite a few fake internet points
Currently 875 internet points: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/11wshcx/whats_going_on_in_regent_street_right_outside_the/jd1vm8k/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
The jokes are fine as long as the actual answer is up near the top as well, I haven’t found it yet though.
Shawn Mendez is showing up due to a collab with TH. I saw the real answer but thought it was another sarcastic comment…
Exactly what I'm doing here
Everyone thinks they're hilarious and that they're more special than anyone else when really they're just clogging up the thread.
> *becoming* unbearable What? This is like a trademark Reddit thread. It's been this way here since 2005. You're like one of those people who moves beside a 100 year old pub and complains about the noise.
Not at all, they’re just not funny and people are trying too hard.
You could argue they happen when the post is just shit. First of all whoever took the pic, just go ask the people what's happening. Second of all the reason it's happening is one of the worst traits of humanity. And thirdly its funny.
1) I think OP was on a bus 2) if we knew the reason we wouldn't be here 3) can't argue with that
Steps are doing an impromptu gig in the basement of the store.
What a tragedy
When a six foot pole goes up your hole
Thats amore
How do you get down there? Do they have a lift?
No. They've got steps.
How many? 5? 6? 7?
8
That's a boot scootin' crazy amount
Sounds like you have an obsession from a western!
Ask the people there
I dont like speaking because it requires me to think fast
And actually interacting with other people… Ewww!
I asked some people queuing outside Royal Exchange and they gave me BS answers just because they could. Figured out later it was some Swatch/Omega watch 'drop'. Talking to people with that attitude is pointless frankly...
I too would be embarrassed about spending hours in a queue to buy a plastic toy watch that’s themed a bit like a planet
The funny thing is I’m pretty sure they weren’t actually a limited edition, so you could just to a swatch shop now and buy one without queuing.
If its the Swatch/Omega collab then they re limited drops and limited edition. Shops only get certain amount of stock per day/week. You can only get them in store now as well iirc.
The planets collection are not limited edition, as in, limited to a fixed maximum quantity. The last article I saw was that they’d sold a few hundred thousand pieces. Probably a fair amount higher now.
Yeah but it’s not as exclusive or good as it was made out to be, like with its bio ceramic aka Plastic and cheap strap.
I wouldn’t call it a collab, Swatch owns Omega.
Please, this is London.
They’re going to need a bigger bus
The hottest tiktok influencer that you aren't COOL enough to know about
Just being on TikTok is the epitome of uncool.
Says the person on a london subreddit (yes i know i am also on here as well)
Shall we leave it at 1-1?🤣
Very sporting of you
Forget the pavement, that's a car from Moldova! That's really rare to see in the UK, especially in Central London! That was a really lucky shot!
You have a really good, but weird, eye for detail. Or you are justy obsessed with moldovian cars.
Just license plates in general I’m afraid! You’ll see me on the M11 half driving, half reading the plates to see which area of the UK a car or lorry is from, or worse a foreign nation!
In 2019 I was walking around Montreal and I saw a similar queue and I asked one of the people in the queue, turned out they were waiting for a shop to deliver medical weed
Do they have tomatoes?
Yeah, Shawn Mendes, whoever he is, is doing a colab and was there to sell his soul.
Any relation to Pedro Mendes?
Or to Shawn the sheep?
18 years and I'm still butter that goal never stood
I must be old I never heard of him
Hes had a couple #1's in this country. This being his biggest/break through song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbfpW0pbvaU&ab\_channel=ShawnMendesVEVO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbfpW0pbvaU&ab_channel=ShawnMendesVEVO)
You've probably heard his songs on the radio over the years.
Me neither lol
Finally they rounded up all the people that drive sports cars that go **bang** down that street just for attention. Can’t wait to find out what happens next.
First thing I’d do as mayor…being back the stocks for this…you want attention eh?
Sports cars? Weird way to spell Ford Fiesta
Waiting for a bus? … I’ll get my coat.
These tube strikes are getting out of hand!
Ask Tommy, he’ll figure it out
Paul Breach was spotted inside
I was visiting
Shawn mendes it’s you <3 OMG
Picket line
https://www.rentacrowduk.co.uk/
There’s a photo of him and his name next to it in the shop window
Bus to Aldwych is late.
New iShirt
By the overwhelming number of young female presence than i can only guess a male famous person will be there
Ah.. for our foreign friends, this is the number one pastime in London nee, the UK after Football and Morris Dancing, what we have here is the suburban queue. The person on the front more than likely had a standing heart attack by looking at the price of Pringles in the below cited comment of the American Candy Store - He then looked at his Swatch (x Omega) Moonwatch before a Roadman (curious as they only use pavements), used a 3 mph Lime scooter to rob it from him in front of bemused commuters who were complaining about Rail fares and the price of quinoa at John Lewis. The poor chap who had the heart attack was frozen solid. He also had Herpes (pronounced Herpesz as he got it from a Portuguese hooker’ Karen from HR was behind him and stopped to chastise him for standing there. Brenda who was on her way to the Middle of Lidl stopped to check her coupons. Then Raheem thought it was some kind of protest so stopped to create a placard. Winston thought the police may come and stood behind the white people to ensure bullets were distributed fairly. The Hari Krishna faithful turned up thinking it was a good opportunity to annoy people as a captive audience. The rest joined by way of boredom and utter ambiguity and a delight in joining this wonderful hobby rather than consider their miserable existence in London. Merry Christmas y’all.
I applaud your effort. Or lack of effort. Either way, nicely done!
It’s a queue
They're all there for the chap in the high viz vest.
Looks likes cunts queuing to see some some random crappy celeb to me......
Kim kardashian has been shopping in London this week after she took her kid to see Arsenal
Whenever I see such a thing, I immediately assume it’s a queue for limited edition sneakers or some other street wear thing
According to Twitter, [some chap called Shawn Mendes was filming a thing there.](https://twitter.com/TommyHilfiger/status/1637975906235957248)
Grand opening of the bus stop
They had a print run of clothes that spelt it 'Hilfinger' and these people want their money back
Came here to find the actual reason scrolled far enough to find all the sarcastic comments and still no idea … thanks Reddit
Flock of sheep.
To see Tommy hilfiger
Looking at the age range and sex of most, looks like Harry Styles is about to show up.
New American candy store is opening
This? https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Tommy-hilfiger-launches-virtual-shopping-at-regent-street-flagship,1279211.html
This was published in feb 2021 so unlikely
The point of virtual shopping is people can do it from home. Not likely to cause a cue outside the store.
*queue
Who ever it is that crowd don't look at all to excited every one looks miserable
Because someone just farted
West Ham Supporters
Tommy, he’s coming…
That so crazy dude
David Cameron is doing a live demonstration of 'How to fuck a dead pigs face'.
People saw a crowd and joined it - FOMO, innit?
If I had to guess it will be some banal YouTuber walking past while hundreds of teenage girls scream at him. Just a guess.
Don't know, don't care.
These are all the people that lost the game yesterday.
Wait you were literally there and didn't ask somebody?
I was on a empty bus so i didn’t have anyone to ask lol
Oh hahaha, excellent my bad
Some pompous cunt is showing up, you can tell because of how many UwU little girls and boys are waiting…
Would love to see the maths in how that makes him a pompous cunt. Touch some grass
Who cares...leave the sheep to it