High Street chain collapse sweepstake

JAS84 · Tue 16 Jun, 2020 16.42

Looks like trouble at Poundstretcher, if landlords don't reduce the rent, half the chain could go.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53063278

Incidentally, the article says that they own Bargain Buys... that's not right, is it? Bargain Buys was part of Poundworld.

GhostFromTVF · Tue 16 Jun, 2020 17.05

JAS84 wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 16.42 Looks like trouble at Poundstretcher, if landlords don't reduce the rent, half the chain could go.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53063278

Incidentally, the article says that they own Bargain Buys... that's not right, is it? Bargain Buys was part of Poundworld.

Poundstretcher bought Bargain Buys after all the original stores closed down.

GeekyJames · Tue 16 Jun, 2020 19.14

JAS84 wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 16.42 Looks like trouble at Poundstretcher, if landlords don't reduce the rent, half the chain could go.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53063278

Incidentally, the article says that they own Bargain Buys... that's not right, is it? Bargain Buys was part of Poundworld.

I'm not surprised I went in one a couple of weeks ago and there was a distinct lack of stock and anything you'd actually want to buy! I think Poundland, B&M and Home Bargains have this market sown up.

DJDave · Tue 16 Jun, 2020 22.56

GeekyJames wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 19.14
JAS84 wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 16.42 Looks like trouble at Poundstretcher, if landlords don't reduce the rent, half the chain could go.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53063278

Incidentally, the article says that they own Bargain Buys... that's not right, is it? Bargain Buys was part of Poundworld.
I'm not surprised I went in one a couple of weeks ago and there was a distinct lack of stock and anything you'd actually want to buy! I think Poundland, B&M and Home Bargains have this market sown up.

Years ago they were the Home and Bargain etc of it's time, but they didn't move with the times and have gotten left behind tbh.

cdd · Wed 17 Jun, 2020 00.45

Poundstretcher is another planet and makes Poundland look like a sensible chain. My local one had some plastic bins for sale which sounds reasonable until you notice they were actually being used as bins. I’ve become suspicious that the whole outfit is an ironic parody of itself, a bit like those “manager’s special offers” of a piece of tat for £7.99 at petrol station pumps.

That said it’s a vital resource for mystery junk food and alien fizzy drinks. Diabetes on the cheap.

thegeek · Wed 17 Jun, 2020 07.35

The behind the scenes documentary they did a few years back was a bit of an eye-opener. The buying strategy appears to be a combination of misguided hunches and complete mistakes.

It's amazing how long stock hangs around too. My local branch had a Hitachi bed frame in the window for about five years. Might even still be there.

DJDave · Wed 17 Jun, 2020 20.36

Yeah I think it showed how bad the company was run when they got Chris in and then didn't like any of his ideas and got rid.

WillPS · Thu 18 Jun, 2020 10.45

GhostFromTVF wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 17.05
JAS84 wrote: Tue 16 Jun, 2020 16.42 Looks like trouble at Poundstretcher, if landlords don't reduce the rent, half the chain could go.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53063278

Incidentally, the article says that they own Bargain Buys... that's not right, is it? Bargain Buys was part of Poundworld.
Poundstretcher bought Bargain Buys after all the original stores closed down.

They didn't actually. Amazingly Poundworld hadn't registered the Bargain Buys trademark, the administrators attempted to register it after Poundstretcher began using it.

It's not surprising they're in trouble, like others have said the stores are full of tat nobody could possibly want. There was a documentary series on C4 about the Poundworld/OneBelow founder's time there. It didn't paint a very positive picture.

scottishtv · Thu 18 Jun, 2020 14.22

The C4 programme stuck in my mind too. Store managers were crying out to head office for homewares and toiletries that were good sellers - but instead got sent random junk in their deliveries, including masses and masses of Pontefract cakes that were going out of date (seen as a 'good deal' by the buyers).

Martin Phillp · Fri 19 Jun, 2020 20.01

If I recall on the C4 doc, the father of the current owners was one of the buyers, who was using his cash and carry mentality from the past, which led to tat going on the shelves.

JAS84 · Sun 21 Jun, 2020 15.52

Go Outdoors is going into administration... despite being owned by JD Sports, who don't seem to be in trouble?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53127083