High Street chain collapse sweepstake

[Jamesypoo]

The largest Asda nearest to us had the hybrids with belts installed a few years ago, but I've never seen them in anything but self service mode. They ripped them all out now though in favour of 3 different zones of self service machines; an area for basket shops with them quite tightly packed together, a second area for larger shops to fit trolleys in and a third for self-scanning with the simpler terminals.

As a result the amount of older style manned checkouts has reduced by about half, so they clearly are shifting focus away from those.

[JAS84]

Doesn't surprise me. At my local Asda, they never seem to have more than a quarter of the checkouts open. If that's the norm, it's no surprise to find that some branches have cut down the number of them.

[all new Phil]

The largest Asda nearest to us had the hybrids with belts installed a few years ago, but I've never seen them in anything but self service mode. They ripped them all out now though in favour of 3 different zones of self service machines; an area for basket shops with them quite tightly packed together, a second area for larger shops to fit trolleys in and a third for self-scanning with the simpler terminals.

As a result the amount of older style manned checkouts has reduced by about half, so they clearly are shifting focus away from those.

I rather like the way Asda are doing their checkouts now. My nearest one has something like you describe. If you want to change shoppers’ habits you have to be set up to make it work, and most supermarkets still have probably three quarters (mostly unmanned) checkouts with self serve stuck at the end.

Where I work is embarking on a similar journey of introducing an element of self-serve where previously it was mainly walk up to a counter and ask for what you want. People stick to their habits though and will continue to do so whilst everything physically looks as it did before. McDonalds have done really well but they ‘interrupt’ the journey of people into the store with machines so it’s obvious what you need to do to order.

[Martin Phillp]

Don't know where to put this, but I went to IKEA in Warrington today for the first time since before the pandemic, and the car park was absolutely packed. Despite that, there was no queue to get in to the main shop, but there was a queue for the returns. (Although when I left, I noticed that they'd put up a queuing system for the main entrance which wasn't there when I arrived).

I also overheard one of the staff say that Saturday was a record breaking sales day.

I went to IKEA this weekend and like you, there was no queue to enter the store, although I had to zig zag round the Covid compliant path to enter the store, but there long queues for the queues for both self-service and staffed tills.

IKEA have also updated their self checkouts with new touch screens, although the barcode reader guns continue to be dreadful at scanning.

[barcode]

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

[Whataday]

A 15:17 department store has opened in the former Topshop in Cardiff and it's actually not half bad.









Lots of local produce, decent cafe and everything laid out nicely. If they can get low enough rents and the business rates system gets a much needed overhaul there could be a market for this sort of store.

[Jonwo]

I'm surprised Gap is still going. Does make me wonder what clothes shops will be left in the next few years.

[JAS84]

Primark - they definitely won't be going online!

[WillPS]

even if it's longer contracts with the networks then that doesn't seem to make any difference either as EE have breached their contract by pulling out of Phones 4U a year early

Not true. EE informed phones4u that they would not be renewing their contract - they didn't renege on the existing one. Vodafone did the same - Vodafone products were still on sale right up to their last trading day.

With EE's decision, the business instantly became insolvent because there would be no hope that their debt could be adequately serviced with 2 contracts which were in a run-off period; nor could the business hope to diversify suitably within that timeframe.

Frankly, I don't know why EE took so long to come to that decision. If the stores were effectively only carrying their products (plus an MVNO also on EE's network) then the store is only competition for their own operation.

I'm not sure why you feel sorry for them. It strikes me as pretty obvious that it's a case of misplaced corporate arrogance; the company did not work hard to keep the networks on-side and let them slip away expecting them to come back.

Phones4u's administrators are going to the High Court now: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment ... hp&pc=U531

[BBC TV Centre]

even if it's longer contracts with the networks then that doesn't seem to make any difference either as EE have breached their contract by pulling out of Phones 4U a year early

Not true. EE informed phones4u that they would not be renewing their contract - they didn't renege on the existing one. Vodafone did the same - Vodafone products were still on sale right up to their last trading day.

With EE's decision, the business instantly became insolvent because there would be no hope that their debt could be adequately serviced with 2 contracts which were in a run-off period; nor could the business hope to diversify suitably within that timeframe.

Frankly, I don't know why EE took so long to come to that decision. If the stores were effectively only carrying their products (plus an MVNO also on EE's network) then the store is only competition for their own operation.

I'm not sure why you feel sorry for them. It strikes me as pretty obvious that it's a case of misplaced corporate arrogance; the company did not work hard to keep the networks on-side and let them slip away expecting them to come back.

Phones4u's administrators are going to the High Court now: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment ... hp&pc=U531

The administrators' claim has weight, it makes commercial sense the MNOs would rather invest cash in their own stores/network/subscribers than having to pay commission plus bonuses to a third-party.

It's why you see very few independent dealers these days for EE domestic plans, as the commercial terms are probably unfavourable or difficult to achieve to sell profitably.

Although to be honest, P4U were hardly a shining light of best practice in the mobile industry, I remember once entering a P4U years ago and being pounced on by the salesman, I think he was rather disappointed to sell me a £10 topup than a contract phone he was probably keen to smooth-talk me into signing my life away for.

[WillPS]

I agree, the collusion would be a significant factor.

Regardless it's hard to come to conclusion phones4u was a viable business given standalone non-network phone shops just aren't a thing 7 years on (other than the 2 dozen or so Fonehouse locations, unless there's another chain?).