Well, the crunchy times roll on and it's just been announced that Whittard of Chelsea (they sell fabulous hot chocolate and other very dispensable hot drink-related goods) are looking for a buyer, so I thought this could be a pleasant place for people to post their corporate death lists.
Here's mine:
- Dixons Group
- Focus
- Topshop (unless they're part of something invincible. This is mainly because they've started catering only to 70s city workers, it would appear, and I'm very bitter about it)
I can also see HMV making some cutbacks: to me their online shop cannibalises sales from their brick and mortar places because they're so much better priced. In Manchester they have two shops on the same *street* which just seems stupid.
Who's for the chop?
Topshop, being part of arcadia, should be safe. Their stores are always still busy with those who have realised that primark stuff is utter shite that falls apart in seconds.
Personally, I suspect Clinton Cards and/or birthdays might go. they're both useless shops.
Personally, I suspect Clinton Cards and/or birthdays might go. they're both useless shops.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
Not so much a death wish on my part but it looks like the car industry is ready to explode in our faces unless the government steps in.
I think any retailer with a strong online presence will feel the squeeze on the high street. Trouble is it could affect them two fold. Say instead of going into HMV, someone pops on to their website to see how much something costs. They note it and decide to visit that play.com that everyone has been telling them about and hey presto no money for HMV either on the high street or online.
Having said that, Argos which is very much about online and high street was on melt down yesterday. Apparently their PDQ system for credit and debit card authorisations completely went bust and also their till system in my particular store was offline due to the volume of transactions. So they couldn't serve anyone. People were still waiting though.
I know we've got very excited about people only putting Christmas "on hold" and spending these last couple of days but it's people who for the last few weeks have knuckled down, saved a bit more and now they've just had their Christmas pay packet and of course are going to go out and buy presents. I think whatever is going on, we're all determined to enjoy this festive season. But as soon as we hit the new year, I think it's when the dominoes will begin to fall in regard to a few retailers.
Anyway, I agree with the Dixons group - especially PC World. That wouldn't be a loss to anyone. I'm not sure who else could face the axe really. I think it's a fairly even playing field at the moment, many companies have got away with being expensive but well known for many years but I don't think that will last much longer.
I think any retailer with a strong online presence will feel the squeeze on the high street. Trouble is it could affect them two fold. Say instead of going into HMV, someone pops on to their website to see how much something costs. They note it and decide to visit that play.com that everyone has been telling them about and hey presto no money for HMV either on the high street or online.
Having said that, Argos which is very much about online and high street was on melt down yesterday. Apparently their PDQ system for credit and debit card authorisations completely went bust and also their till system in my particular store was offline due to the volume of transactions. So they couldn't serve anyone. People were still waiting though.
I know we've got very excited about people only putting Christmas "on hold" and spending these last couple of days but it's people who for the last few weeks have knuckled down, saved a bit more and now they've just had their Christmas pay packet and of course are going to go out and buy presents. I think whatever is going on, we're all determined to enjoy this festive season. But as soon as we hit the new year, I think it's when the dominoes will begin to fall in regard to a few retailers.
Anyway, I agree with the Dixons group - especially PC World. That wouldn't be a loss to anyone. I'm not sure who else could face the axe really. I think it's a fairly even playing field at the moment, many companies have got away with being expensive but well known for many years but I don't think that will last much longer.
Good Lord!
Oh I think hmv.com is excellent, very aggressively priced where Play isn't, but those prices aren't reflected in the shops at all. I think it was each season of Arrested Development a few months that was a tenner online but still full price (about 30 quid) in the shops. The only thing I'd miss about Dixons is that I tend to use their shops as showrooms for stuff I'm going to buy online. Hardly useful for them, of course!
I've also just noticed that Whittard are another of these strange places that thought it a good idea to have two shops in manchester very near to one another, and Dixons too!
I've also just noticed that Whittard are another of these strange places that thought it a good idea to have two shops in manchester very near to one another, and Dixons too!
Knight knight
I've never been a big user of hmv.com as I think it came a little too late into my internet buying conscience but I have just had a look at a few things there and indeed they're very competitively priced but would the average Joe know that? I see HMV as a bit of a premium store where you go for all round entertainment but expect to pay for it. The only thing that sometimes makes their stores worthwhile is their 2 for 1 offers and the like.Sput wrote:Oh I think hmv.com is excellent, very aggressively priced where Play isn't, but those prices aren't reflected in the shops at all. I think it was each season of Arrested Development a few months that was a tenner online but still full price (about 30 quid) in the shops. The only thing I'd miss about Dixons is that I tend to use their shops as showrooms for stuff I'm going to buy online. Hardly useful for them, of course!
Anyway, I shall now think about HMV in the future - thanks Sput, you're single handedly battling the crunch for HMV. They might just survive now.
Oh, and obviously being wrong the first time, I feel the need to quote wikipedia so that I can blindly say I was stating the "facts" on this occasion I shall have to resist.
Good Lord!
I really think this Jeremy Vine call-in today is counter-productive too. It's got relentless cheapskates who get 95% off clothes from horrible sports shops ringing in to brag which is only going to reduce profits further! Incidentally I expect at least one horrid scally sports shop to close down.
Knight knight
He had a "job swap shop" type phone in when I last listened. Which was indeed very good, but I didn't really want to hear about office administrator Pam who's very good with a dictaphone and can do 900 WPM selling herself on the radio. It's employment prostitution.Sput wrote:I really think this Jeremy Vine call-in today is counter-productive too. It's got relentless cheapskates who get 95% off clothes from horrible sports shops ringing in to brag which is only going to reduce profits further! Incidentally I expect at least one horrid scally sports shop to close down.
Mind you it's one of those types of shows that's always going to work because you're bound to have some success stories which you can follow up later on.
Good Lord!
Let it. Carmakers throughout the world have done a brilliant job of convincing policymakers that they need government subsidies to continue. It's complete rubbish. The Australian government has handed out billions, the US government has lent billions upon billions, as has the Canadian government just this week. The Europeans have been propping up carmakers too as I understand it. Now, taken at face value, that would suggest the car industry operates on a fundamentally broken model. If firms can't make cars profitably, we might as well all just take up walking. But it's a fallacy to believe carmakers can't be profitable - they just choose not to make tough decisions because they have historically done very well out of milking taxpayers for all they can get. There are few things more predictable than a carmaker looking for a handout or some other favour from politicians.Isonstine wrote:Not so much a death wish on my part but it looks like the car industry is ready to explode in our faces unless the government steps in.
I would happily see all taxpayer funding for carmakers anywhere in the world ended. Some companies might collapse - but if they're that desperate for public money, they simply shouldn't be in business. Most, I suspect, would carry on just fine.
After a bit of non-Wiki research, it seems that TVR, some tiny company called AC, Caterham, Westfield, Morgan and Marcos are left, as all of the others have fallen into foreign conglomerate ownership. Of course, TVR is owned by a Russian dude, and I've only heard of one of the others.Sput wrote:I honestly don't know of any british car companies. Please tell me....
Have seen McLaren mentioned as being British on a few, but even if it is, it has a massive
deal with Mercedes so...
Tata recently bought Land Rover and Jaguar. If they couldn't afford to run the companies without subsidy then they shouldn't have bought them.
Woolworths employs 30,000. How many are involved in the car industry? I can appreciate why banking may be considered differently, but why should the government bail out a car manufacturer and not a high street store? They may both be unsustainable in the long run.
Woolworths employs 30,000. How many are involved in the car industry? I can appreciate why banking may be considered differently, but why should the government bail out a car manufacturer and not a high street store? They may both be unsustainable in the long run.