Woolworths, MFI, who's next?

[Plotloss]

Most people dont cancel it and most people dont cancel at renewal either, the DD keeps taking cash ad infinitum.

Its how extended warranty companies exist.

[furtive]

Back on topic, Kate Kuba the shoe shop has gone into Administration

[chris watton]

Plotloss said:

Most people dont cancel it and most people dont cancel at renewal either, the DD keeps taking cash ad infinitum.

Its how extended warranty companies exist.

I have never fell for the extended warranties, sometimes, if you work it out, it's cheaper to buy a brand new product after the standard warranty is finished in some cases. Or - when your product does break down, you'll probably find it's not covered in the small print in the extended warranty anyway, meaning you may as well have set fire to the hundreds of ££s they've been taking via DD.

I think that this 'credit crunch' will make more people question what they spend money on, and what comes out of their bank account, and cull the waste.

[AndyWoodall]

Do these DSG rumors hold any weight?

I'm hearing different things, people in the PC World arm seem confident about the Christmas period.

[gingerpaul]

teapea said:

i also worked in dixons, and because the manager was so obsessed with selling coverplan, i/we were often instructed to give it away to improve the figures

i.e. theyre buying a camera for 160£, and a memory card and bag, discount the camera buy 39£ and add the 39£ 3 year cover onto the sale

Can believe jessops do it too, it's crazy

Yep, that used to happen when I was there too. Also, stuff that had somehow got lost and ended up off the stock system was always sold as an extended warranty to boost the figures.

The cancelling the warranty thing was fairly new when I was there because the way they were refunded was changed. You used to have to come back to the store, or at least a lot of people came back to the store to cancel them.

It will be interesting to see if they weather the storm. I've heard from a few people that they're not expecting them to make it, but I must add that this is merely a rumour.

[rude-boy]

toppstuff said:

dazren said:

TS

Sorry, Don't know.

The website mentions that due to restructuring they are not currently doing mail order.

http://www.gprdirect.com/OnlineShop/Summary.do?c=6

Hope they find someone to take it on. I found them a good company to deal with.

I bought a helmet and my first pair of fireproof pants from them ! If they can source their gear at a decent price I would have thought it would be a pretty good business - but I've no idea of the margins involved and my instincts are usually wrong about these things !

It happened before Christmas. It has been suggested that they will be bought as a going concern.

[Plotloss]

chris watton said:

Plotloss said:

Most people dont cancel it and most people dont cancel at renewal either, the DD keeps taking cash ad infinitum.

Its how extended warranty companies exist.

I have never fell for the extended warranties, sometimes, if you work it out, it's cheaper to buy a brand new product after the standard warranty is finished in some cases. Or - when your product does break down, you'll probably find it's not covered in the small print in the extended warranty anyway, meaning you may as well have set fire to the hundreds of ££s they've been taking via DD.

I think that this 'credit crunch' will make more people question what they spend money on, and what comes out of their bank account, and cull the waste.

I used to work in extended warranties and on an bored afternoon wander through the database 10s of thousands of people were paying annual premiums which worked out more expensive than the cost of replacement.

[plg101]

Staying on topic, any rumors on Jessops?

They had a challenging couple of years, some store closures (which made sense in places where they had several shops in the same small city)

If I remember correctly they renegotiated their debt last year, but do they have a sustainable model, or will they be a Q1 failure once the xmas blip has passed?

[oyster]

So here we are, deep into the recession and still there have been no big, unexpected casualties.

Woolworths are big(ish) but were a basket case before things got bad.
Zavvi, Whittards et al are not big at all.

Now if the likes of Argos, Sainsbury's, Next or Boots were to go under then we'd really know we were in for a rough time.

[humpbackmaniac]

If DSG doooo go belly up how will this effect the gearbox on my golf? Can I expect some gear selections to be handled by a third party administrator?

[chris watton]

oyster said:

So here we are, deep into the recession and still there have been no big, unexpected casualties.

Woolworths are big(ish) but were a basket case before things got bad.
Zavvi, Whittards et al are not big at all.

Now if the likes of Argos, Sainsbury's, Next or Boots were to go under then we'd really know we were in for a rough time.

Argos will be fine - it is to the non-working class what the Eden Project is to the greenies, a Mecca..

Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 6th January 14:20

[Geronimo]

matchmaker said:

skwdenyer said:

Badgerboy said:

Yes, £15 for a 2 metre CAT5e patch cable is pushing it a bit.

Yes, but if you need one now then your options are PC World or Maplin, both of whom (nowadays, in Maplin's case) charge similar prices. You pay for convenience. I don't object to that.

75p from Ebuyer

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130622

+ £6 p+p plus 3 days wait plus probably being unable to use the web anyway since you need a cat5 cable...

[skwdenyer]

Geronimo said:

matchmaker said:

skwdenyer said:

Badgerboy said:

Yes, £15 for a 2 metre CAT5e patch cable is pushing it a bit.

Yes, but if you need one now then your options are PC World or Maplin, both of whom (nowadays, in Maplin's case) charge similar prices. You pay for convenience. I don't object to that.

75p from Ebuyer

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130622

+ £6 p+p plus 3 days wait plus probably being unable to use the web anyway since you need a cat5 cable...

Indeed Observe my point that you pay for convenience. And, frankly, for many people there aren't that many high-street stores selling reputable computer kit. There will be a market for them for a long time to come; it just depends upon whether they can keep their cost structure under control.

[skwdenyer]

OK, this is - perversely - perhaps more worrying. From http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

FlossyThePig said:

PML Website said:

PML Flightlink Limited - in Administration
EM Shires and RW Birchall were appointed as Joint Administrators of PML Flightlink Limited on 28th November 2008 to manage its affairs, business and property. EM Shires and RW Birchall contract as agents of the Company without personal liability. EM Shires and RW Birchall are licensed to act as insolvency practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

PML make and supply the HiPa Drive hub motors used in the Lightning GT.

Much has been made of the need to invest strongly in green technologies. The US is doing it but, despite Lord Mandie's rhetoric, it would seem we're not doing it yet.

Company's like PML Flightlink are the technology companies of the automotive future, with potentially enormous future revenue streams available to them. For them to be unable to secure funding to continue in the UK is, frankly, negligent on the part of HMG.

[Ladyhayles]

AndyWoodall said:

Do these DSG rumors hold any weight?

I'm hearing different things, people in the PC World arm seem confident about the Christmas period.

I've heard rumours in the industry but its really hard to separate the "likely to come true" rumours from the "general speculation" rumours.

All I know is that the OH and I went into PC World near us just after New Year and it looked more like a branch of Woolies with lots of empty shelf space and very little stock to be seen. Seemed to me more like a closing down sale than just a January sale.

[Gazzab]

BRanch near my office has closed (a month or so ago).

[skwdenyer]

Ladyhayles said:

AndyWoodall said:

Do these DSG rumors hold any weight?

I'm hearing different things, people in the PC World arm seem confident about the Christmas period.

I've heard rumours in the industry but its really hard to separate the "likely to come true" rumours from the "general speculation" rumours.

All I know is that the OH and I went into PC World near us just after New Year and it looked more like a branch of Woolies with lots of empty shelf space and very little stock to be seen. Seemed to me more like a closing down sale than just a January sale.

OK, but one or two branches which don't stack up does not maketh a collapse. All chains have branches which don't, for whatever reason, fly.

My local PC World was very busy and had well-stocked shelves when I popped in on the 31st.

[eccles]

skwdenyer said:

Ladyhayles said:

AndyWoodall said:

Do these DSG rumors hold any weight?

I'm hearing different things, people in the PC World arm seem confident about the Christmas period.

I've heard rumours in the industry but its really hard to separate the "likely to come true" rumours from the "general speculation" rumours.

All I know is that the OH and I went into PC World near us just after New Year and it looked more like a branch of Woolies with lots of empty shelf space and very little stock to be seen. Seemed to me more like a closing down sale than just a January sale.

OK, but one or two branches which don't stack up does not maketh a collapse. All chains have branches which don't, for whatever reason, fly.

My local PC World was very busy and had well-stocked shelves when I popped in on the 31st.

I have to agree with LadyHayles, I popped into the Ipswich branch last weekend and the shop was busy, but there was loads of empty shelf space, nothing at all in the foyer between the doors, and a general air of get it while you can.

It seemed more than just a sort of at the end of the sales.

[bromers2]

Debenhams - too much debt.

[skwdenyer]

bromers2 said:

Debenhams - too much debt.

Perhaps, but encouraging results out today, share price up as a result. Not the end just yet.