2019 Retailers in trouble thread

[Vaud]

Sixpackpert said:

Still like Apple stuff but they need something new now, desperately. Rehashing what they have been selling for years is starting to wear thin.

What should they make?

[jakesmith]

ian in lancs said:

WHS gets my vote; awful place

No chance, they're doing great, they are anchored in every high street in the UK, carry a huge range of a limited number of categories, are excellent at cross-selling high margin products, the MD Carl Cowling is a very smart guy who had great success at Dixons back when they were good, and their travel estate is a cash machine in terms of footfall, sales, and ability to sell space to their vendors for huge prices

[dogbucket]

fizz47 said:

My predictions for 2019

Clinton Cards

Agree. Their problem is Card Factory.

[Bonefish Blues]

garagewidow said:

Fittster said:

Fat Face. Are there really enough middle aged dads buying hoodies for them to make it?

good call.

I have some items of theirs which is 25+yrs old now and it is good quality stuff,heavy duty material made to last.

I go in there now as a matter of routine and I see thin st material items that look the same as anything in riverisland or gap.

It went tits up when they sold out in the 90's (I think).

Add Shyte Stuff to that, too. Exactly the same syndrome, excellent designs and materials in the mid-late 2000s increasingly replaced by the very opposite.

[hyphen]

Vanden Saab said:

Fittster said:

Fat Face. Are there really enough middle aged dads buying hoodies for them to make it?

You are joking...Mrs VS spent a fortune in Fatface after xmas and the shop was rammed with people buying multiple items so much so it took her 15 minutes to pay. Add to that their extensive online offering with free delivery and returns to the shop and they are rock solid IMHO.

The Fat face stalwart I know is a mid 30's woman. Not 'trendy' or fashionable but looking for things she likes, and fat face appears to hit the bill. They seem to have hit a niche.

Assumed it was more for female than men.

[hyphen]

jakesmith said:

ian in lancs said:

WHS gets my vote; awful place

No chance, they're doing great, they are anchored in every high street in the UK, carry a huge range of a limited number of categories, are excellent at cross-selling high margin products, the MD Carl Cowling is a very smart guy who had great success at Dixons back when they were good, and their travel estate is a cash machine in terms of footfall, sales, and ability to sell space to their vendors for huge prices

Really?

Wilko and Poundland tend to corner the market as the go-to destinations for stationary stuff on high street.

WH Smith can't sell many magazines or books nowadays surely? So how do they make the money on the high street locations

[toastyhamster]

dogbucket said:

fizz47 said:

My predictions for 2019

Clinton Cards

Agree. Their problem is Card Factory.

Card Factory are an old customer of mine, very healthy, and agree with Clinton struggling. Also look to new comers (ish) like Beauty Bay having more of an impact on the High St.

[The Stalker]

Card factory are closing shops, so they could go along with New look

[Bonefish Blues]

Bradgate said:

Agree about Homebase, I’m amazed they haven’t gone bust already.

If they can get back to the mixed format they had pre the Aussie takeover cockup case study, then I think they'll be OK - there seems to be a fund of goodwill towards them, unusually.

[anonymous-user]

I reckon DFS because I noticed they had a sale on recently.

[Motorrad]

Vaud said:

What should they make?

A good place to start would be well engineered products selling at a fair price.


'Next' seems like a good candidate for going bust to me, Primark kwality with a higher price tag.

[dazwalsh]

homebase are surely in trouble, overpriced crap is all i see in there and always deserted, one store near me has already closed and turned into an aldi. Its been a miserable wreck for years in their stores with a clear lack of investment.

[anonymous-user]

janesmith1950 said:

I reckon DFS because I noticed they had a sale on recently.

Cheeky

But a good précis of some of the observations here

Note to PHers just because we don’t like a certain brand or its offering does not mean it’s teetering on the brink !

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 30th December 12:00

[Vaud]

Motorrad said:

A good place to start would be well engineered products selling at a fair price.

I've never had an issue in their overall value for money (given how long the product lasts); my usage goes back to a IIci.

[foobies]

toastyhamster said:

Card Factory are an old customer of mine, very healthy, and agree with Clinton struggling. Also look to new comers (ish) like Beauty Bay having more of an impact on the High St.

Out of interest, what impact are Beauty Bay having on the high street? The majority of the brands they stock aren’t even available on the high street?

[Vaud]

dazwalsh said:

homebase are surely in trouble, overpriced crap is all i see in there and always deserted, one store near me has already closed and turned into an aldi. Its been a miserable wreck for years in their stores with a clear lack of investment.

North Leeds?

[98elise]

Bonefish Blues said:

Bradgate said:

Agree about Homebase, I’m amazed they haven’t gone bust already.

If they can get back to the mixed format they had pre the Aussie takeover cockup case study, then I think they'll be OK - there seems to be a fund of goodwill towards them, unusually.

My local homebase is so crap I will drive a further 20 minutes to the nearest B&Q because I know they will have what I want.

I did visit one of the Aussie stores (Branigans?) and it was way better.

[Robertj21a]

dogbucket said:

fizz47 said:

My predictions for 2019

Clinton Cards

Agree. Their problem is Card Factory.

Their problem is absurdly high prices for a bit of cardboard with words on !

[Bonefish Blues]

98elise said:

Bonefish Blues said:

Bradgate said:

Agree about Homebase, I’m amazed they haven’t gone bust already.

If they can get back to the mixed format they had pre the Aussie takeover cockup case study, then I think they'll be OK - there seems to be a fund of goodwill towards them, unusually.

My local homebase is so crap I will drive a further 20 minutes to the nearest B&Q because I know they will have what I want.

I did visit one of the Aussie stores (Branigans?) and it was way better.

I think the point is that they aren't pure diy, but rather a mix of lifestyle-type stuff(tat to you & I!) with some diy lite. Our Aussie friends were hardcore diy (Bunnings, btw) and arrogant enough to believe that they could just march in and their format would work.

As I said, a case study in how to screw up a reasonable business...
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/wesfarme...

[Motorrad]

Vaud said:

I've never had an issue in their overall value for money (given how long the product lasts); my usage goes back to a IIci.

I don't want to drag this off topic but imo their current products don't offer vfm and some are very poorly designed. Most likely deliberately which makes it worse.