Leader: Dare to be different, Dumfries

Welcome (or not) to CloneTown, the shopping centre where you could be anywhere - or in the middle of nowhere in particular. CloneTown, with its me-too shopping chains, same-again frontages and look-alike product range, has taken over Britain.

In Scotland the CloneTown "award" has been accorded to Dumfries. It has more chain stores and less variety than anywhere else in the country. According to the New Economics Foundation, 41 per cent of Britain's town centres could now be classed as clone towns where at least half the stores in the high street are part of a chain.

There seems no stopping the cloning process. Independent stores close down and are replaced by UK-wide burger bars or coffee shops. It's easy to blame the store giants and the planning departments for allowing this sameness. But much of the responsibility lies, too, with consumers, opting for familiarity and uniformity in range and type of product. Choosing the local store can seem the most daring thing to do. However, consumer tastes change and even the biggest stores need to change if they are to retain customers and not become dinosaurs. Until this happens, however, we may soon need signs to remind us where exactly we are.