High Street chain collapse sweepstake

all new Phil
Posts: 1965
Joined: Sun 13 Feb, 2005 00.04
Location: Next door to Hell

It’ll come to all of us. One day in the future you’ll be on a coach to one of them. You can’t stop it.
scottishtv
Posts: 743
Joined: Thu 01 Apr, 2004 15.36
Location: Edinburgh

Ha. I didn't realise how many shops outside Scotland are actually EWM branded. I genuinely thought they just sold tartan tourist tat, golfers jumpers and shortbread.

Re the warehouses - as a kid, I would be dragged around one of those old mills whilst my mum picked out cardigans for all the elderly aunts and uncles in the family. Even then they were bleak places with horrible restaurants, and hardly any customers. Presumably dirt cheap to run and the occasional influx of tourist coaches were probably quite lucrative.

An example from TripAdvisor:
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thegeek
Posts: 858
Joined: Sat 04 Jun, 2005 12.35

Gap considers closing all its UK stores

I shop there occasionally - it's about the only place I can find jeans that fit - but their sales wind me up. If you wait long enough, they'll do a 40% off everything event, and it does make me wonder how much of a profit margin they must be making out of people who are green enough to pay full price.
g67bbx
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.18

WHSmith is laying off its 1500 staff tomorrow.

Many experienced managers and supervisors have had the chop. And most high street staff still on furlough will be gone. Most under 18's laid off except in the biggest stores.

Small stores now running single manned from Sunday. Mainly 4 hour shifts. 20 hours a week contract max for all sales staff. One manager overseeing 5/6 sites up to 40/50 miles apart.

Corona only helped speed up the inevitable, they all knew it was coming.
One step from complete closure, It won't be long...
GeekyJames
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun 09 Sep, 2018 22.14

g67bbx wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 09.00 WHSmith is laying off its 1500 staff tomorrow.

Many experienced managers and supervisors have had the chop. And most high street staff still on furlough will be gone. Most under 18's laid off except in the biggest stores.

Small stores now running single manned from Sunday. Mainly 4 hour shifts. 20 hours a week contract max for all sales staff. One manager overseeing 5/6 sites up to 40/50 miles apart.

Corona only helped speed up the inevitable, they all knew it was coming.
One step from complete closure, It won't be long...
Do you have a source for this news? Is it legal for stores to be run single manned?!
all new Phil
Posts: 1965
Joined: Sun 13 Feb, 2005 00.04
Location: Next door to Hell

Why wouldn’t it be? Plenty of other shops and things like petrol stations are single-manned. It’ll presumably only be those within centres etc, I doubt they do it with a standalone unit.

Back in a previous life managing a well-known coffee shop, I would be alone from opening until about an hour after opening.
Martin Phillp
Posts: 1469
Joined: Wed 11 May, 2011 01.28

My friend worked for a WHSmith travel shop inside a railway station and he was the only member of staff there in the mornings who'd open up, stock up and go to the store room (which was on a platform), so would lock up for 5-10 mins during quiet periods until other staff including the manager joined him at 9am.

Even a few years back, once a manager left, they'd take on more sites and his manager also took on the hospital shop, so would go between the two stores on a daily basis.

It seems what they're doing for the smaller high street stores is taking the travel staffing model, although as there are also post offices inside them, they'll still have other staff on-site, just not on the retail side.
TVF's London Lite.
JAS84
Posts: 585
Joined: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10.23
Location: Hull, UK

GeekyJames wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 22.42
g67bbx wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 09.00 WHSmith is laying off its 1500 staff tomorrow.

Many experienced managers and supervisors have had the chop. And most high street staff still on furlough will be gone. Most under 18's laid off except in the biggest stores.

Small stores now running single manned from Sunday. Mainly 4 hour shifts. 20 hours a week contract max for all sales staff. One manager overseeing 5/6 sites up to 40/50 miles apart.

Corona only helped speed up the inevitable, they all knew it was coming.
One step from complete closure, It won't be long...
Do you have a source for this news? Is it legal for stores to be run single manned?!
Well, that 1500 number didn't come from nowhere.
https://www.shieldsgazette.com/business ... ay-2998976
The chain began reviewing its nationwide operations following the pandemic and admitted that a “proposed restructure” to save around £19m could lead to around 1,500 redundancies.
g67bbx
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.18

GeekyJames wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 22.42
g67bbx wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 09.00 WHSmith is laying off its 1500 staff tomorrow.

Many experienced managers and supervisors have had the chop. And most high street staff still on furlough will be gone. Most under 18's laid off except in the biggest stores.

Small stores now running single manned from Sunday. Mainly 4 hour shifts. 20 hours a week contract max for all sales staff. One manager overseeing 5/6 sites up to 40/50 miles apart.

Corona only helped speed up the inevitable, they all knew it was coming.
One step from complete closure, It won't be long...
Do you have a source for this news? Is it legal for stores to be run single manned?!
I have a credible source/mole.

They haven't even told the shop staff they are open from tomorrow!
If it wasn't for twitter they'd be in the dark.
As they are "newsagents" they can remain open. The news market is so weak for them, it accounts for on average 10% of a stores weekly profits (again, source/mole)
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WillPS
Posts: 2456
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

How much of a store's weekly profit comes from those vouchers they force on you with every purchase?

Or the chuggers they position in stores?
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JAS84
Posts: 585
Joined: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10.23
Location: Hull, UK

g67bbx wrote: Thu 05 Nov, 2020 06.55
GeekyJames wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 22.42
g67bbx wrote: Fri 30 Oct, 2020 09.00 WHSmith is laying off its 1500 staff tomorrow.

Many experienced managers and supervisors have had the chop. And most high street staff still on furlough will be gone. Most under 18's laid off except in the biggest stores.

Small stores now running single manned from Sunday. Mainly 4 hour shifts. 20 hours a week contract max for all sales staff. One manager overseeing 5/6 sites up to 40/50 miles apart.

Corona only helped speed up the inevitable, they all knew it was coming.
One step from complete closure, It won't be long...
Do you have a source for this news? Is it legal for stores to be run single manned?!
I have a credible source/mole.

They haven't even told the shop staff they are open from tomorrow!
If it wasn't for twitter they'd be in the dark.
As they are "newsagents" they can remain open. The news market is so weak for them, it accounts for on average 10% of a stores weekly profits (again, source/mole)
Also, some branches incorporate Post Offices, and thus should definitely be open.
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