Phones4U in administration

[Justayellowbadge]

Does make wonder about the long term prospects of this kind of model:

https://www.stormfront.co.uk/

[davepoth]

Justayellowbadge said:

Does make wonder about the long term prospects of this kind of model:

https://www.stormfront.co.uk/

But they do have a bit of value-added. While the website is mainly consumer based, I think most of the Apple reseller's bread and butter is in looking after business installs. I had a friend who worked at one and that was most of what they did - we have quite a lot of the creative industries around here in offices that are too big to get away with plugging everything into a router and crossing their fingers, but still too small to have an Apple specialist IT guy.

There's something for them to do that isn't really something Apple wants to get involved in, so they'll probably be OK.

[Justayellowbadge]

davepoth said:

Justayellowbadge said:

Does make wonder about the long term prospects of this kind of model:

https://www.stormfront.co.uk/

But they do have a bit of value-added. While the website is mainly consumer based, I think most of the Apple reseller's bread and butter is in looking after business installs. I had a friend who worked at one and that was most of what they did - we have quite a lot of the creative industries around here in offices that are too big to get away with plugging everything into a router and crossing their fingers, but still too small to have an Apple specialist IT guy.

There's something for them to do that isn't really something Apple wants to get involved in, so they'll probably be OK.

The guys I linked have a very large store in the centre of Wimbledon, specced (presumably contractually) very expensively in the Apple store style.

If that isn't their core, it's a hell of an overhead, especially if Apple decide to open the real thing locally.

[BlackLabel]

Justayellowbadge said:

Does make wonder about the long term prospects of this kind of model:

https://www.stormfront.co.uk/

What a bizarre decision to give a business that particular name. At first I thought you posted it in error lol.

[davepoth]

My local one is better.

http://www.farpoint.co.uk/

10 Nerd points if you know where the name derives from.

[gpo746]

davepoth said:

My local one is better.

http://www.farpoint.co.uk/

10 Nerd points if you know where the name derives from.

Star Trek think it was the first Next Generation one wasn't it where the planet turned out to be a space blob and floated away
I haven't googled this BTW as it would be cheating
My wife bless her thinks you are a folkie as she misread it and thinks it said "fairpoint" as in fairpoint convention

[davepoth]

gpo746 said:

Star Trek think it was the first Next Generation one wasn't it where the planet turned out to be a space blob and floated away
I haven't googled this BTW as it would be cheating
My wife bless her thinks you are a folkie as she misread it and thinks it said "fairpoint" as in fairpoint convention

That's the one. Encounter At Farpoint was the name of the episode. When I was little I always imagined that the owner looked like Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons.

[gpo746]

davepoth said:

gpo746 said:

Star Trek think it was the first Next Generation one wasn't it where the planet turned out to be a space blob and floated away
I haven't googled this BTW as it would be cheating
My wife bless her thinks you are a folkie as she misread it and thinks it said "fairpoint" as in fairpoint convention

That's the one. Encounter At Farpoint was the name of the episode. When I was little I always imagined that the owner looked like Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons.

So I get 10 points then
Its better than listening to folk music
Thanks

[alfaman]

gpo746 said:

HTP99 said:

I avoided them like the plague, there was just something about them that screamed old school and can't be trusted, I think it was the sales guys that would stand outside in their crappy, ill fitting suits and spiked up hair, trying to grab anyone that wandered by to shout at them about their latest "great deal" it was all a bit amateurish and dodgy salesman and very unprofessional.

They had the very aggressive style and it was very in your face. I seem to remember that one of their directors went to CPW and they started to adopt a similar style (this was several years ago)

I recall some documentary about P4U a few years ago .. where they were recruiting young managers / future leaders... had very tough sales targets to hit during recruitment, requiring a pushy/ aggressive style to hit .. and keep your job.

Caudwell seemed to think his business and staff and his leadership were way ahead of anyone else in the industry .. going as far to say 'most senior execs just ride a growth trend.. dont really create value'.

some truth in that .. but what would he be saying now ?

[M3333]

Not sure why Caudwell is even commenting on it. He sold up and ran away with lots of pots of gold in 2006. Some may question the business model and morals but you cant deny from buying in a few motorolas back in the 80's to building a fortune of apparently £2.6Billion the boy did good.

[Pints]

gpo746 said:

A lot of Network shops will close as well as they look at the economies of having multiple shops in one town. An example of that is EE with some towns having an EE shop and an Orange shop too.
Unless I am wrong and EE and Orange are totally independent of each other

Orange and EE are, for the purposes of this discussion, part of the same. The 3rd brand is T-mobile which is most likely what the EE store you're referring to used to be. Most duplication of stores in close proximity to each other have been consolidated since the merger.

Edited by Pints on Monday 15th September 06:26

[Pints]

Justin Cyder said:

They were a trade supplier to O2, Voda & EE. O2 bailed in January, Voda last week & EE were the last contract remaining. It therefore sent them into last ditch crisis talks with EE, which I imagine will be revealed to have broken down over a takeover bid.


This is in no way any kind of in the know schtick, just me following the story in the papers over the past few weeks.

The Telegraph said:

EE was in talks with Phones 4U about a potential contract renewal as recently as July, but the commercial terms put forward by the retailer were rejected by the operator as out of line with industry norms, sources said. Phones 4U walked away from the negotiating table and did not return.

Just sounds like they were getting greedy.

[SydneyBridge]

I used to work for a independent shop and service provider, when the networks needed them. Now they do everything themselves and make more money, independent shops are pretty redundant, apart from cpw.
Caudwell cannot complain, he built the business at the right time and sold it at the right time.

[Wilmslowboy]

I know the business well

I am sure (hope) many of stores will survive (where there is little overlap with CPW or the networks)

I feel sorry for the front line employees and the middle manager.....

This business has generated more than £500m in profit over the past 7 years, the senior mangers/owners are bloody canny lads, no doubt they have done well to date, as has the previous PE co that supported them.

[jas xjr]

M3333 said:

Not sure why Caudwell is even commenting on it. He sold up and ran away with lots of pots of gold in 2006. Some may question the business model and morals but you cant deny from buying in a few motorolas back in the 80's to building a fortune of apparently £2.6Billion the boy did good.

He was not too fussy about how he earned the money . He was once arrested for a £70 million VAT fraud . When he sold all of his companies , at least one of them was found to have been involved in carousel fraud .

[surveyor]

alfaman said:

gpo746 said:

HTP99 said:

I avoided them like the plague, there was just something about them that screamed old school and can't be trusted, I think it was the sales guys that would stand outside in their crappy, ill fitting suits and spiked up hair, trying to grab anyone that wandered by to shout at them about their latest "great deal" it was all a bit amateurish and dodgy salesman and very unprofessional.

They had the very aggressive style and it was very in your face. I seem to remember that one of their directors went to CPW and they started to adopt a similar style (this was several years ago)

I recall some documentary about P4U a few years ago .. where they were recruiting young managers / future leaders... had very tough sales targets to hit during recruitment, requiring a pushy/ aggressive style to hit .. and keep your job.

Caudwell seemed to think his business and staff and his leadership were way ahead of anyone else in the industry .. going as far to say 'most senior execs just ride a growth trend.. dont really create value'.

some truth in that .. but what would he be saying now ?

I remember watching that. They did appear a bit ttish.

I've spent time in the distant past with their property team, who are or were nice people. The senior team were a little aggressive and I'm glad I was a minion then with no client responsibility. Arms regularly twisted to cut fees and fork out for tables at Caudwell foundations annual dinner.

If Apple want to expand their retail portfolio this could be a great lead for them.

[clonmult]

surveyor said:

alfaman said:

gpo746 said:

HTP99 said:

I avoided them like the plague, there was just something about them that screamed old school and can't be trusted, I think it was the sales guys that would stand outside in their crappy, ill fitting suits and spiked up hair, trying to grab anyone that wandered by to shout at them about their latest "great deal" it was all a bit amateurish and dodgy salesman and very unprofessional.

They had the very aggressive style and it was very in your face. I seem to remember that one of their directors went to CPW and they started to adopt a similar style (this was several years ago)

I recall some documentary about P4U a few years ago .. where they were recruiting young managers / future leaders... had very tough sales targets to hit during recruitment, requiring a pushy/ aggressive style to hit .. and keep your job.

Caudwell seemed to think his business and staff and his leadership were way ahead of anyone else in the industry .. going as far to say 'most senior execs just ride a growth trend.. dont really create value'.

some truth in that .. but what would he be saying now ?

I remember watching that. They did appear a bit ttish.

I've spent time in the distant past with their property team, who are or were nice people. The senior team were a little aggressive and I'm glad I was a minion then with no client responsibility. Arms regularly twisted to cut fees and fork out for tables at Caudwell foundations annual dinner.

If Apple want to expand their retail portfolio this could be a great lead for them.

Won't happen; most Apple stores tend to be fairly large spaces. Whereas most P4U premises tend to be fairly poky little dives.

[surveyor]

clonmult said:

surveyor said:

alfaman said:

gpo746 said:

HTP99 said:

I avoided them like the plague, there was just something about them that screamed old school and can't be trusted, I think it was the sales guys that would stand outside in their crappy, ill fitting suits and spiked up hair, trying to grab anyone that wandered by to shout at them about their latest "great deal" it was all a bit amateurish and dodgy salesman and very unprofessional.

They had the very aggressive style and it was very in your face. I seem to remember that one of their directors went to CPW and they started to adopt a similar style (this was several years ago)

I recall some documentary about P4U a few years ago .. where they were recruiting young managers / future leaders... had very tough sales targets to hit during recruitment, requiring a pushy/ aggressive style to hit .. and keep your job.

Caudwell seemed to think his business and staff and his leadership were way ahead of anyone else in the industry .. going as far to say 'most senior execs just ride a growth trend.. dont really create value'.

some truth in that .. but what would he be saying now ?

I remember watching that. They did appear a bit ttish.

I've spent time in the distant past with their property team, who are or were nice people. The senior team were a little aggressive and I'm glad I was a minion then with no client responsibility. Arms regularly twisted to cut fees and fork out for tables at Caudwell foundations annual dinner.

If Apple want to expand their retail portfolio this could be a great lead for them.

Won't happen; most Apple stores tend to be fairly large spaces. Whereas most P4U premises tend to be fairly poky little dives.

Maybe. But if they were to expand their stores so massively they would not need to be so big everywhere.

[IainT]

king arthur said:

It's now Dixons Carphone so probably is too big - perhaps CPW have seen this coming which prompted the merger.

When did that happen? Used them a few months ago for a HTC M8 and they were considerably more flexible and cheaper than Voda direct - where we live we've no choice but use them as no others get reliable signal...

would be a shame if Dixons service levels infect CPW.

[miniman]

davepoth said:

That's the one. Encounter At Farpoint was the name of the episode. When I was little I always imagined that the owner looked like Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons.

He kind of does...