In this edition of the bottom line, we're asking can the High Street department store survive the challenges of modern retailing?

Hello, welcome to the programme. Now, if I had a job in retailing, I would want to run a department store.

Partly because there's a trace of nostalgia there, I have happy memories of exciting family visits to Bentals as a child.

But mainly because every skill needed in running a shop is most sorely tested

when it comes to running a large store selling a huge range of products.

The store design, the selection of goods on offer, the delivery of a great customer experience.

Everything matters.

And it's an unforgiving business to those who get it wrong. In short, if you can master the art of managing a department store,

you have mastered the art of retailing. And we have three guests today who do understand that

business and who can explain it to us and who have to think about its future too.

Retailing has moved on since my childhood visits to Bentles. So where does the big mixed store go?

Well, let's meet my three guests and first of all is Tony Brown, chief executive of Beals department

stores. Just tell us a little about Beals, for those that

have never been to one. Beals is a regional department store chain. As of last week, we have 21 stores

of varying sizes. We focus on local markets rather than a national market. So we tend to

range our stores to the communities we serve

rather than an homogenous blueprint. Right. So you've got stores in places like Hexham,

but not Newcastle. Now, what's the basis of that? I think for a business of our size, we focus on

market towns and the surrounding areas of market towns. So we brought Robs of Hexon,

which it was then, back in 2010,

because it was local, because it had a family heritage. And we tend to get a lot more integration

with our community when we take on a heritage store. And I know you've got stores in places like

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