High Street chain collapse sweepstake

[JAS84]

Bah! Yet another bad news story which surely be on the front cover of my local paper the Hull Daily Mail tomorrow, since Comet was founded here.

[tillyoshea]

Bah! Yet another bad news story which surely be on the front cover of my local paper the Hull Daily Mail tomorrow, since Comet was founded here.

As somebody wise once said, you should relish bad news... it's when good things become newsworthy that you need to worry.

[JAS84]

Bah! Yet another bad news story which surely be on the front cover of my local paper the Hull Daily Mail tomorrow, since Comet was founded here.

It was on the front cover, but not as the main story. Apparently a drink driver is more important than job losses...

[cwathen]

It's the attitude of "what do you mean you won't be taking the additional cover??" that gets me about that in place. I'll take my chances, thank you very much. Old woman the other week who had clearly been trained to the hilt to treat the customer like an utter imbecile:

The trouble is that Comet, like all bricks & mortar electrical retailers are facing an assault on their profits from two fronts - firstly the combination of internet competition has pushed margins down and down. Secondly technology in present use is maturing and this in itself brings prices down. They are thus fighting for an ever smaller slice of an ever smaller pie.

An electrical retailer in a physical store which does nothing other than knock out hardware pricematched to Amazon just isn't viable any more. They *need* to sell the addons like the extending warranties and the expensive premium cables in order to continue to trade at a viable profit.

The result of all of this is that the foot soldiers on the sales floor will be agressively targetted for 'attached' sales (ie managing to sell a TV and blu ray player with an expensive HDMI lead and a 5 year extended warranty rather than just the TV and blu ray player itself) with draconian consequences (their job being made a living hell through being subjected to various performance management plans which will all either lead to their resignation or dismissal) for failure to deliver on that. The company will dress it up to the staff as 'cross selling', 'adding value' or a basic expectation of their employees, but in all likelihood your salesperson *needed* to sell you that extended warranty or face a grilling from her manager over it and ironically she was probably happier that you left with nothing rather than you purchasing the hardware only and become another statistic to dent her attachment rate.

Of course the flip side of all of this thinking is that customers end up voting with their feet over this treatment and so instead of making a tiny profit the retailers end up with no sale at all, pushing them even further down and making the need to attach sales even greater. It's a vicious circle which Comet got themselves into and there is no way out of it unless someone finds a way to break the internet.

[DVB Cornwall]

The big downer of Comet, and if they follow DSG folding is that the opportunity for inspecting items pre purchase will all but disappear. Not so critical with brown goods, but white ones really need inspecting for build quality and if they are to be slotted in, for peculiar fittings and extrusions. It'll be missed if that facility is withdrawn.

[Gavin Scott]

The big downer of Comet, and if they follow DSG folding is that the opportunity for inspecting items pre purchase will all but disappear. Not so critical with brown goods, but white ones really need inspecting for build quality and if they are to be slotted in, for peculiar fittings and extrusions. It'll be missed if that facility is withdrawn.

Do you mean inspecting them in a store ahead of purchasing them online?

[DVB Cornwall]

Both for Online or Instore purchases, usually like to buy white goods in person though, feel more empowered to do something about faults with food prep/protect kit in person, rather on the phone.

[cwathen]

Do you mean inspecting them in a store ahead of purchasing them online?

Which may be when bricks & mortar retailers end up having the last laugh after all (although it won't be any of the current big fish having it). Towards the end of my days of working in electrical retail, I remember vividly 'customers' who came into my store to view a high-end Pioneer plasma screen which we had set up in a demonstration room to show off why it was worth paying double the price of a Panasonic which on paper was similarly spec'd.

The couple loudly walked through my store proclaiming that they would never pay our 'rip off' prices and had already decided to buy it from Amazon. My reaction? I walked into the demo room and turned the set off. I also point black refused to turn it back on and play the selection of blu-rays they'd brought with them to gauge whether this was a good set to go for or not.

The 'customers' then accused me of providing 'poor customer service' to which I replied 'you aren't and have no intention of being a customer'. The 'customer' was incredulous at the suggestion that stores should be anything other than free viewing opportunities for internet purchases and claimed 'what's that got to do with anything?' when I pointed out that I heard them discussing that they would never buy from us.

This may be where the resurgence of bricks & mortar retail begins. Once the only way to buy electricals is from online retailers or viewing a pallet of boxes in Tescos, I rather feel that the limitations of buying things 'on spec' (and with brown goods, specs which the average Joe rarely understands anyway) rather than actually having the opportunity to see them demonstrated and trial them in advance of purchase may see the high street making a come back.

Sadly though, it'll be all too late for Comet and Currys.

[bilky asko]

My last purchase from Comet was a laptop a few years ago. I refused cover as soon as it was mentioned, and the speed of response stopped them from discussing it further.

The laptop broke, and we went back to Comet. They advised us that we should return it to the manufacturer, as their repair service would be superior. I duly did, and it was couriered for free from my house to Germany and back in a week. They repaired the laptop and upgraded the processor for free.

The reason neither me or my family have been to Comet since is simply the fact that the Scarborough store is puny and has awful parking, and the local Currys PC World is much bigger. My parents also like the Whatever Happens cover, since its got them a new 3D TV, a new fridge control panel, and will be getting them a new dishwasher.

[JAS84]

I predict GAME will go next, because of who owns them. OpCapita had MFI. It closed. Now Comet has the same fate. GAME will be next - OpCapita bought them one month after Comet.

[cdd]

Bugger: my credit card gives me comet vouchers as cash back. I chose it ages ago (best of a bad bunch) and don't think I can change now.

I hope they don't dishonour their gift cards, as other stores going under have done (even while trading under the same name).

This reminds me- I have a £10 paper HMV voucher that I was given about 10 years ago as part of some school prize. It doesn't have an expiry date on it but I feel I, and HMV, am living on borrowed time. I have no idea what I woul buy from there. I remember going there many (more) years ago and bought some headphones and felt thoroughly ripped off paying £20 for some shite plastic in ear jobbies that broke after about a month. But I digress....