High Street chain collapse sweepstake

[WillPS]

HMV's flagship London store at 363 Oxford Street reopens on Friday 24th November.

It's a shame the lovely 20s signage has been covered over again.

[thegeek]

Thats the Gap closing All its stores, "Please insert your puns as required" I did say to someone about this and there reply was "oh its not very good store anyway so no real lose"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57670737

I missed this, but Gap have been opening concessions inside of Next stores - Next are also providing the fulfilment for the UK Gap website.

[Blewatter]

Have Poundland shops been closing in your parts? We've had 3 close in recent times near me. Liverpool's Queen's Square shop, St Helens' Church Street Shopping Centre, and the one in Huyton.

[Martin Phillp]

Doug Puttman reveals he was 12 hours from saving the whole business, but was scuppred by Wilko's IT provider wanting their money.

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... tman-wilko

[Martin Phillp]

The Range owner Chris Dawson was interviewed for Plymouth Herald/Plymouth Live about his expansion plans for Wilko and The Range.

They've purchased the old Debenhams in Chelmsford for The Range while 50 stores are apparently with "the lawyers" regarding reopening as Wilko.

It will concentrate on the core Wilko offers around pets, gardens, cleaning, homeware, toiletries, paints and DIY, and health and beauty, with the bonus of The Range’s Christmas products. It will stock about 20,000 products - a 20% increase on the number stocked before the Range took over - but Mr Dawson stressed the store will look and feel like a Wilko, albeit an even better one.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/p ... ng-8931744

[Martin Phillp]

First look at the interior of Wilko Plymouth as it reopens as the first store under The Range management on Friday.

[Martin Phillp]

Wilko are reintroducing National Lottery terminals, along with providing a Timpson key cutting machine and paint mixing. They're also going to provide carpet cleaning hire.

While Metro Bank is set to cut 800 jobs and review their late opening and weekend opening as part of the rescue deal that saved the bank.

[cwathen]

Have Poundland shops been closing in your parts? We've had 3 close in recent times near me. Liverpool's Queen's Square shop, St Helens' Church Street Shopping Centre, and the one in Huyton.

Not where I live down South, but possibly they're *still* rationalising the store estate from the 99p Stores acquisition? As key competitors they did both target the same places and just before the acquisition when I still lived in Devon 99p Stores opened in Torquay less than 100 yards from the existing Poundland store. Post-acquisition the 99p Stores unit was actually retained and eventually refitted as a Poundland, leaving a situation where two Poundland stores were so close to each other that if you stood in the right place you could see both at once. The ex 99p unit was closed within 2 or 3 years as this obvious duplication was rationalised down.

Admittedly that was a good few years ago now, but is this still going on elsewhere?

[WillPS]

Have Poundland shops been closing in your parts? We've had 3 close in recent times near me. Liverpool's Queen's Square shop, St Helens' Church Street Shopping Centre, and the one in Huyton.

Not where I live down South, but possibly they're *still* rationalising the store estate from the 99p Stores acquisition? As key competitors they did both target the same places and just before the acquisition when I still lived in Devon 99p Stores opened in Torquay less than 100 yards from the existing Poundland store. Post-acquisition the 99p Stores unit was actually retained and eventually refitted as a Poundland, leaving a situation where two Poundland stores were so close to each other that if you stood in the right place you could see both at once. The ex 99p unit was closed within 2 or 3 years as this obvious duplication was rationalised down.

Admittedly that was a good few years ago now, but is this still going on elsewhere?

They binned off the last of what they didn't want from that by sending 99p Stores in to administration:
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/20 ... 20business.

In common with other discount brands Poundland has a rather 'fluid' approach to store leases and as such quite routinely does stuff that might seem a little strange (like operate duplicate stores close by for a time, or close stores after only a short period trading).

[Jonwo]

Omniplex, the Irish cinema chain has bought Empire's remaining five cinemas:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/24934497 ... -scotland/

Vue has bought one of the closed sites in Swindon, I wonder if Omniplex will look at reopening the closed Walthamstow site or will that go to another operator?

[Dr Lobster*]

https://news.sky.com/story/new-body-sho ... n-13067609

Body Shop to go into administration.

I can remember all the ladies in my life used to be mad about the Body Shop, in the late 1990s - to early 2000s, not seen anything branded by them in any of our bathrooms for years and years… I’m guessing it just fell out of favour for whatever reason.