In Bristol there are Bell Tools and Bristol Tools. Most of the smaller tool shops have closed.
I think to survive you have to have a big store with a wide range of stock and a place which people will go out of their way to go to, which really implies a big store in a big city.
B&Q will have done a lot of damage to small tool shops and also Tesco if there's a giant one nearby. Tesco do tools, they are not great, but they do all the common stuff, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers and some power tools. Then there's Screwfix and Toolstation.
Then there's the internet which has had a big effect on retailing altogether, and it's a bit more than "buying rubbish off ebay" as someone put it previously.
It's not just tool shops, it's other types of shop such as wallpaper shops and record shops and shops selling lamps and lampshades, which were were once common and for various reasons have disappeared.
I think to survive you have to have a big store with a wide range of stock and a place which people will go out of their way to go to, which really implies a big store in a big city.
B&Q will have done a lot of damage to small tool shops and also Tesco if there's a giant one nearby. Tesco do tools, they are not great, but they do all the common stuff, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers and some power tools. Then there's Screwfix and Toolstation.
Then there's the internet which has had a big effect on retailing altogether, and it's a bit more than "buying rubbish off ebay" as someone put it previously.
It's not just tool shops, it's other types of shop such as wallpaper shops and record shops and shops selling lamps and lampshades, which were were once common and for various reasons have disappeared.