Clinton cards go to the wall

[singlecoil]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18002413

Traditional retail is fked.

[matchmaker]

They may well be going to the wall because of the ridiculous prices they charge - why pay £2-£3 for a piece of printed cardboard when you can get as good in Card Factory for 59p?

No sympathy - the've been ripping the consumer off for years.

[Davidos]

[TwigtheWonderkid]

It is when you're selling overpriced tat. I'm amazed they lasted so long.
£3 or more for a card!!! At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.

Don't understand the mentality of anyone who shopped there. Don't think I've ever paid more than 50p for a card in my life. Xmas cards are bought in January sales. Normally pick up a box of 100 for a couple of quid. You can buy 250 assorted birthday cards from our local market for a fiver. That's 2p a piece. Mind you, the last lot didn't include envelopes, the thieving swines!

[Fatman2]

Sad news indeed but I think a lot of these places have been the masters of their own destiny. Huge expansion plans and very little thought.

Clinton Cards by me was empty when I walked by last Sunday. Door wide open, heater constantly blowing hot air straight outside , staff standing about, zillion watt halogen spotlights blazing away. Just to run the place must cost a fortune and I bet they only took a few ££'s all day.

What is the point in opening on Sunday at all, in a retail park, if no-one is interested in buying. In fact what is the point in even opening up a store in such a crap location, when the largest Tesco uber store is less than 50m away. It's these kinds of crap business decisions that are killing these shops off.

I look forward to half day Wednesdays and all shops shut on Sundays again. Last time I was in Munich they still had a law where shops aren't allowed to open on Sunday and it was great.

[singlecoil]

The problem with retail is the huge costs, and the fact that those costs have to be recouped from the prices charged. I'm not much of a card purchaser, so if people tell me that Clintons wuld charge £3 for a card that could be bought from a low cost operation for a lot less then I am not surprised, nor would I consider it a rip-off. Even quite a small shop needs an input of £1000 a week just to cover basic costs. I expect an average Clintons would need at least twice that. Dividing those costs over the number of cards sold shows how much needs to be added to each card just to break even.

[Odie]

Funnily enough, I was in a clinton cards last evening looking for a car for my dads birthday, a massive shop full of cards, I couldnt find anything appropriate, the cards were either too crude/pervy or too boring. I just didnt understand.

I hate to see companies fail, but these shops are just full of tat, teddy bears and banners and stuff. And with the advent of supermarkets and internet retailers they lost their edge.

No customisation system, no card writing stations, no on site mail boxes, did they even sell stamps? no gift wrapping service.

Their are so many services they could have supplied over and above internet being a bricks and mortar retailer and being a specialist unlike the supermarkets jack of all, master of none.

Get the basics right, then become more than a 'card' shop.

[ewenm]

singlecoil said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18002413

Traditional retail is fked.

If you mean "traditional" as in "offer nothing over their competitors" then yes.

An earlier post has suggested some other services they could offer to differentiate themselves from the online and other high-street retailers.

[heppers75]

To be fair this is a shrewd move the part of their main suppliers...

Clintons owed them a fortune so they have bought the secured debt from the banks and then put them into foreclosure to restructure, so they will be back... This is a pretty common thing in the US..

[Wacky Racer]

As above, in my local town they had a shop unit the size of Marks and Spencers, however, you could have fitted their total stock in a small Luton van......paying all that staggeringly expensive rent and rates for fresh air.

Clueless muppets....

[singlecoil]

ewenm said:

singlecoil said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18002413

Traditional retail is fked.

If you mean "traditional" as in "offer nothing over their competitors" then yes.

An earlier post has suggested some other services they could offer to differentiate themselves from the online and other high-street retailers.

What I mean is that high street shops, selling the same sort of thing that can be bought on-line or as part of a weekly shop at a large supermarket, are fked. The business model is obsolete. I'm sure there can be improvements made, but it's a bit like the improvements that could be made to steam engines, they are not going to change the outcome.

[Miguel Alvarez]

I'm surprised they've done this well to be fair.

[ewenm]

singlecoil said:

What I mean is that high street shops, selling the same sort of thing that can be bought on-line or as part of a weekly shop at a large supermarket, are fked. The business model is obsolete. I'm sure there can be improvements made, but it's a bit like the improvements that could be made to steam engines, they are not going to change the outcome.

And yet, friends who run an independent bookshop are reporting improving sales and lots of repeat/loyal customers, despite the oft-mentioned "demise of the book and bookshops". They do this by making their bookshop a really pleasant place to go and browse, read, have (free) coffee, come to bookclub and author events, chat with the friendly and enthusiastic staff, etc.

[hornet]

For some reason there are (were?) two of their shops within about 100 yards of each other in Watford's Harlequin Centre. One is fairly small, but even so, why pay to rent two stores in the same place?! If that's their strategy, it's no wonder they're in trouble.

[singlecoil]

ewenm said:

singlecoil said:

What I mean is that high street shops, selling the same sort of thing that can be bought on-line or as part of a weekly shop at a large supermarket, are fked. The business model is obsolete. I'm sure there can be improvements made, but it's a bit like the improvements that could be made to steam engines, they are not going to change the outcome.

And yet, friends who run an independent bookshop are reporting improving sales and lots of repeat/loyal customers, despite the oft-mentioned "demise of the book and bookshops". They do this by making their bookshop a really pleasant place to go and browse, read, have (free) coffee, come to bookclub and author events, chat with the friendly and enthusiastic staff, etc.

There's exceptions to every rule. But in general the rule holds true. You can see its effects on high streets everywhere.

[trashbat]

Crap thread OP. Clinton Cards have folded. It's Wickes that go to the wall. Wiiiiiiiiiickesssssss.

[ewenm]

singlecoil said:

There's exceptions to every rule. But in general the rule holds true. You can see its effects on high streets everywhere.

The model of assuming what worked yesterday will work today has never been true but is now being tested properly. If shops can't adapt to changing environments they will struggle. Clinton Cards was rubbish 10 years ago, but the choice for the consumer was far more restricted. Now we have more choice so can be more discerning in our spending, so shops need to do more to encourage us to visit and spend.

I think we'll see a decrease in big national chains and an increase in local independents who thrive based on fostering a loyal customer base. "Traditional" retail of assuming the customer will buy your crap product with minimal sales effort is dying. Good riddance to it.

Edited by ewenm on Wednesday 9th May 14:21

[crofty1984]

[quote=ewenm

And yet, friends who run an independent bookshop are reporting improving sales and lots of repeat/loyal customers, despite the oft-mentioned "demise of the book and bookshops". They do this by making their bookshop a really pleasant place to go and browse, read, have (free) coffee, come to bookclub and author events, chat with the friendly and enthusiastic staff, etc.
[/quote]
Really? That's nice to hear, good for them.

[singlecoil]

ewenm said:

singlecoil said:

There's exceptions to every rule. But in general the rule holds true. You can see its effects on high streets everywhere.

The model of assuming what worked yesterday will work today has never been true but is now being tested properly. If shops can't adapt to changing environments they will struggle. Clinton Cards was rubbish 10 years ago, but the choice for the consumer was far more restricted. Now we have more choice so can be more discerning in our spending, so shops need to do more to encourage us to visit and spend.

I think we'll see a decrease in big national chains and an increase in local independents who thrive based on fostering a loyal customer base. "Traditional" retail of assuming the customer will buy your product with minimal sales effort is dying. Good riddance to it.

I'm afraid I don't share your optimism about the prospects for local independents, but I do hope you are right. I think there is a chance for them in better off areas especially. But not in the average town or city.

[southendpier]

Many of the shops were franchises so probably had little say over what and how much they could sell shyte for?

The one near us was the size of a supermarket for many years, then subleased a quarter of it as a coffee shop then got rid of half.

Unbelievably expensive. Even M and S is cheaper for basic cards.

Don Lewins story is interesting though from a £500 loan in the 60s to having a £139m empire in 08 according to wiki. Winner!

Mind you the piles of unsold Think of Card biographies at my local Clinton Cards reminded me of Bouncing Back by Alan Partridge.

Edited by southendpier on Wednesday 9th May 14:44