I love reality TV shows about retail. My latest fave is “Mary Queen of Shops,” a British import that is being shown here on BBC America.The star of the show is Mary Portas, the former creative director of the fashionably trendy Harvey Nichols store in London. Like so many other retail consultants, she is inclined to blanket statements and arching pronouncements: In the opening show, she opted that the Primark chain is “ruining” England.
The premise of the show has Portas traveling all over Britain, helping shopkeepers attain greatness (think of it as a “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” for the retail trade).
Portas has a big mouth. She has an air of self-importance and is arrogant as all get out, which is ultimately what makes the show so entertaining. As she put it in the first episode: “What I don’t know about shops isn’t worth knowing.” See if you agree -- the show can be seen on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on BBC America. As it happens, my other fave TV reality show, “Man Shops Globe,” featuring the suave and dapper Keith Johnson from Anthropologie, is on Wednesday night also, at 10 p.m. on the Sundance channel. It’s a solid night of retail nirvana -- who could ask for anything more?
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