Metropol

g67bbx wrote: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.37

I came across this forum by chance, thought I would add my own views on the subject.

Ones to watch in 2018:

Toys R Us - To be honest, it cant keep going for much longer. It will either fold completely or wind down to a few select sites.
Debenhams - Poor results over Christmas. I feel it will review its estate and cut out the deadwood shops, and put money into refurbishing the good ones.
House of Fraser - Seeking rent reductions. Unfortunately, I think it will end up going down the BHS route.
M&S - Store closures.
(Looks like the department stores are going to struggle this year)
Poundland (and Pep&Co) - Will be sold to new owner.
WHSmith - Just one to keep on the radar. Possible management/HO structure changes and closing of least profitable stores as leases end. Travel doing well.
TESCO - Possible Management changes and store redundancies.

That's it for now, but could be some changes as the retailers release their Christmas results. Next and ALDI have done very well over Christmas.

I was right about TESCO, 1700 store management jobs to go
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42779698

The Little Chef brand will disappear by the end of the month apparently. The new owners' license to use the brand is coming to an end, and they haven't been able to put Starbucks in them universally as they had planned, so they are instead going to become 'EG Diner'.

g67bbx wrote: Mon 22 Jan, 2018 19.46 I was right about TESCO, 1700 store management jobs to go
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42779698

Sainsburys are announcing something similar today.

g67bbx wrote: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.37 Ones to watch in 2018:

Toys R Us - To be honest, it cant keep going for much longer. It will either fold completely or wind down to a few select sites.
Debenhams - Poor results over Christmas. I feel it will review its estate and cut out the deadwood shops, and put money into refurbishing the good ones.
House of Fraser - Seeking rent reductions. Unfortunately, I think it will end up going down the BHS route.
M&S - Store closures.
(Looks like the department stores are going to struggle this year)
Poundland (and Pep&Co) - Will be sold to new owner.
WHSmith - Just one to keep on the radar. Possible management/HO structure changes and closing of least profitable stores as leases end. Travel doing well.
TESCO - Possible Management changes and store redundancies.

That's it for now, but could be some changes as the retailers release their Christmas results. Next and ALDI have done very well over Christmas.

I would keep an eye on the other poundshop " Poundworld" there seem to be having troubles with there losses increasing. Pep&Co really should closed and merged into the main poundland shops, if at all possible.

A lot of smiths have post offices in them, there doing great business.

Debenhams: It used to have some decent ranges in the store but over the past 18 months its changed and I can't find half the stuff I used to buy. Is it having troubles paying its older surplers?

Asda is one to also keep an eye out for for store closure and some major possible Management and staffing changes, I think that go something to do with the payclaim

g67bbx wrote: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.37 WHSmith - Just one to keep on the radar. Possible management/HO structure changes and closing of least profitable stores as leases end. Travel doing well.

I see the Travel stores are continuing to do well, but somewhat worrying when you reference sales of spoof humour books as being important to your business model.

scottishtv wrote: Wed 24 Jan, 2018 13.56
g67bbx wrote: Sat 06 Jan, 2018 08.37 WHSmith - Just one to keep on the radar. Possible management/HO structure changes and closing of least profitable stores as leases end. Travel doing well.
I see the Travel stores are continuing to do well, but somewhat worrying when you reference sales of spoof humour books as being important to your business model.

This just points me to thinking they needing to sell more wooden ducks in their high street stores.

WHSmith Retail in 2018. Where you're more likely to find overpriced snacks, food and drink than a newspaper or magazine. Staffing levels down to two if you're lucky, a Post Office queue blocking the books and self service machines that try and upsell you Terry's Chocolate Orange or a bottle of water with the Telegraph and if you ever do go to a staffed counter, they stick a ton of vouchers which you can't use!

The only good thing I can say for WHSmith is that the branch in Croydon still has copies of Paris Match for sale cheaper than the online newsagents and they did get round to replacing the torn carpet at Forest Hill.

MarkAshley wrote: Wed 24 Jan, 2018 19.50 The question that keeps bugging me is, when the inevitable happens and WHS bites the dust, what will happen to all the Post Offices that have assumed their new positions? Will customers trudge through an empty shop floor over perilous carpet in order to reach the PO desks?

This actually happened at the former Co-op department store in Sheffield. It closed in early 2008 but until 2013 the Post Office remained open, residing on one of the former shop floors with a vast expanse of empty space surrounding it. You had to walk through one of the former entrances into the store and there was a walkway directly to the correct floor. It was very dark and quite a bizarre experience.

Here's a not very good photo:

Long term readers may remember from the early days of the Morrisons thread, the branch of Safeway local to Nick Harvey forgot to organise exemptions for its Pharmacy. Meaning you were led through a building site late at night during the refit.

The P.O. situation happened to my local sub when the grocery store closed, leaving the counters open for two years with just the ATM left in a large shop.

It eventually moved into a neighbouring shop where it lasted for three months! I now have to use either the main PO operated by PO Counters Ltd or the WHSmith franchise which is on the top floor.

MarkAshley wrote: Wed 24 Jan, 2018 19.50 The question that keeps bugging me is, when the inevitable happens and WHS bites the dust, what will happen to all the Post Offices that have assumed their new positions? Will customers trudge through an empty shop floor over perilous carpet in order to reach the PO desks?

Aren't a lot of specialist and niche magazines ONLY sold at WHSmith? What would happen to them if they went bust?

I remember when Borders went out of business, a comics magazine called Crikey! hit difficulties. The only other stockists had been specialist comic book stores, but it was about British comics, not Marvel and DC, so that wasn't ideal and it ended four issues later.

JAS84 wrote: Sat 27 Jan, 2018 19.22Aren't a lot of specialist and niche magazines ONLY sold at WHSmith? What would happen to them if they went bust?

I remember when Borders went out of business, a comics magazine called Crikey! hit difficulties. The only other stockists had been specialist comic book stores, but it was about British comics, not Marvel and DC, so that wasn't ideal and it ended four issues later.

My large Sainsbury's is on a par with WHSmith for the range of niche titles that are sold. Incidentally, there are some WHSmith retail stores that have reduced their range of magazines for the largely populist titles.

Metropol

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