High Street chain collapse sweepstake

User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2481
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

I don't know much of company takeovers but there's suggestions in the newspapers that the owner of OpCapita stands to make millions from the downfall of Comet because, after buying the company for £2, he can drive it into the ground then flog its assets for massive profits.

How does that work? Surely he'd have taken on the company's debt when he bought it for £2, so if he does make money from flogging its assets that would have to go towards staff redundancy payments etc?
You syphon off money in to a separate company; service charges or something like that. That company then makes a ridiculous amount of money while the original one is essentially pushed over the cliff. Administrators are sent to pick up the pieces at the foot of that cliff, while OpCapita walk away with whatever they've chosen to extract from the business.

The unacceptable face of capitalism.
Image
JAS84
Posts: 593
Joined: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10.23
Location: Hull, UK

:evil: Well that's disgusting. Bloody profiteering. How do they sleep at night?
User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2481
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

JAS84 wrote::evil: Well that's disgusting. Bloody profiteering. How do they sleep at night?
This is what people mean when they talk about "free market". Fortune in other people's misery.
Image
User avatar
Sput
Posts: 7544
Joined: Wed 20 Aug, 2003 19.57

Because we're in large, comfortable Vietnamese beds
Knight knight
James L H
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon 18 May, 2009 18.52
Location: North East

Here's the scene from my local Comet around an hour ago:

Image

Seems there using the same POS as Woolworths and Borders when they both went into their final sales.
DJDave
Posts: 118
Joined: Thu 23 Nov, 2006 22.53
Location: Wirral

Love the fact that we had that sent in at Peacocks and then the administrators said after about 3 days, hang on your own POS looks better, take this stuff down and use your own. :lol:
User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2481
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

It's not the same POS as that Woolies and The Pier used, nor is it the same as what Focus and Best Buy used.
Image
James L H
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon 18 May, 2009 18.52
Location: North East

WillPS wrote:It's not the same POS as that Woolies and The Pier used, nor is it the same as what Focus and Best Buy used.
You sure? The shelf edge advertising looks identical to the design that Woolies used. :?
User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2481
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

A quick Google indicates a different style used at Woolies.
Image
James L H
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon 18 May, 2009 18.52
Location: North East

Here is the design I'm on about. Took a quick pic when back in store today:

Image
all new Phil
Posts: 1978
Joined: Sun 13 Feb, 2005 00.04
Location: Next door to Hell

It can't be nice working somewhere, having to put that tat up, and having to basically flog off everything you can so they can close you and put you out of a job. I heard that the local store to me was packed the other day with people after a bargain - doesn't sit right with me to be honest.

Am actually surprised to see Comet have gone this way, especially seeing as I only bought a new telly from them the other week - for what we were after, they had the best price.
Post Reply