Logically enough, the focus of the reports tends to be on the retailers themselves, which often employ many thousands of people and are usually household names. But what of the retail agents? How are they adapting to the new reality on the high street?

While there are no definitive figures available, anecdotal evidence suggests that there are plenty of retail specialists currently in the jobs market. “There are definitely people floating around looking for jobs – unfortunately mostly at a more senior level rather than the younger guys,” says Neil Hockin, director at Lunson Mitchenall.