What chains will be gone by the end of 2012

[Talay]

Personally I think it is possibly location which will matter most. I know Homebase are pretty rubbish and quite OTT on prices when not on offer but near us, there is no Wickes or B&Q, only Homebase. So your choice is either to use Homebase or waste 30 minutes to an hour driving to and from an alternative.

Judging by the carpark, I'd say people value their time over a little money, which is less when you work out the cost of the fuel, even if your time is free.

 

[MozzComm]

TK Maxx is one that could go - not very many shops and pretty much all of them behind on their L4L growth.

i will also add harry ramsdans...

 

[Duke Fame]

Mother care are on shaky ground
Agree with WHS
Not sure which - but surely some of the mobile phone outlets will go, the market is saturated with them.
Clinton cards as suggested, again over saturated market, and their cards are expensive.
Basically all and sundry are vulnerable, as people cut back more and more.

Not bricks and mortar, but was reading that Amazon where selling 1 million kindles a week worldwide in the run up to Christmas, and yet their profits are still down (true, not enough to cause real worry) as they can with stand it, but it does show what precarious times we are in.


Pops ~xx~

Kindles are sold as a loss leader, Amazon make their money on selling online books wis a huge margin. If Philips could have sold their new fangled CD player at cost but guarantee that all the CD's anyone bought came from them, they would have been very happy.

 

[Nomad2075]

With retail chains going out of business on an almost daily basis who do you think will no longer be here come December 31st 2012?

Don't state the ones that have already publicly announced difficulties (anyone can do that!) such as Thomas Cook, Comet, Millets etc, but new ones to the "pot".

I'll kick off with three:-

Body Shop
WHSmith
Martin McColl Newsagents

WHSmith, not a chance, while you may not go out of your way to go there, they are extremely convenient, when in a train station or airport and many other locations, and seem to be constantly busy.

 

[antropy]

I'm going with Clintons Cards

Well that was prescient!

 

[PrestonLad]

TK Maxx is one that could go - not very many shops and pretty much all of them behind on their L4L growth.

i will also add harry ramsdans...

Went in TK Maxx today. Saturday.Peak time. Big store. Maybe 10 people in.

 

[Talay]

WHSmith, not a chance, while you may not go out of your way to go there, they are extremely convenient, when in a train station or airport and many other locations, and seem to be constantly busy.

A few years ago they were in the headlines due to huge debt issues. I haven't an updated position on that. They do thrive in stations where they can charge you £2.99 for something you could otherwise buy for 99p but just as in Monopoly, you cannot win the game solely by focussing on the stations.

 

[I Love Spreadsheets]

WHSmiths used to have a monopoly on the distribution of magazines and newspapers. Is this still the case? That could keep them going strong for a long time to come.

The high prices in WHSmiths and any other store in a railway station or airport is not just down to the store trying to make a profit from a captured audience, the stations charge huge amounts of rent for those places compared to similar size shops on the high street. They know there is a constant footfall (what high street can promise that these days) and their limits on where to shop can be limited

 

[Nomad2075]

WHSmiths used to have a monopoly on the distribution of magazines and newspapers. Is this still the case? That could keep them going strong for a long time to come.

Absolutely, they need to focus on keeping that Monopoly, digital magazines are not a prevalent, due to higher download sizes and cost, the same could not be said for newspapers. WH Smith should definitely focus on providing their wide range of magazines, most of which are not available on digital devices.

It is of course not surprising the prices they charge in stations, especially in Airports where they have significantly higher rents.

 

[and180y]

Travelodge’s owners have appointed KPMG to advise on how the business can be restructured to manage its £500m debt pile, and are considering a company voluntary arrangement.

 

[Talay]

Travelodge’s owners have appointed KPMG to advise on how the business can be restructured to manage its £500m debt pile, and are considering a company voluntary arrangement.

20 years ago Travelodge would probably be one of the first names off the tongue when looking for budget city centre or airport accommodation but today, you'd be hard pushed to remember they even existed.

 

[VictorVector]

Travelodge are only trying to re-structure to reduce their £500m debt burden and get rid of some properties that aren't suited to their portfolio.

Unlikely they'll go down the pan.

I'll take a sly £5 bet on some e-tailers going down the tubes tho' - Play.com or WOW HD for a start!

 

[Barnie]

£500m of debt – and the associated interest payments of around £100m a year.

who did they use for their loans, wonga..


profits of 55m and interest rate of 100m, ouch


why do you say play.com ?

 

[jayJay1989]

the one i would lay money on is wilkinsons only for the reason they seem to have gone for a refite recently and also spreading thier product lines to bread milk and other consumables which i like because on a sunday evening i can pick up 3 loafs of bread for 30P but i belive thier expansion of product lines and refit was clutching at straws jus waiting to hear it confirmed on the other hand thier chip and pins machines are amazing usually authorised before i enter my pin lol

 

[VictorVector]

why do you say play.com ?

Low value consignment relief ended so their vat-free price advantage has gone. Also, just looking at my own buying habits. I used to use them a lot but now pretty much use only Amazon and even then I buy a lot less dvds and games than I used to.

Amazon has diversified a great deal and has pretty aggressive pricing whereas Play seems to have too much of a "me-too" about what they do. Delivery times seemed to be getting more erratic as well.

Just my humble

 

[PDC]

I'd agree with WHSmiths, at least not in their current form. As mentioned they presumably make a good profit selling expensive drinks/sandwiches at train and service stations but the town centre shops, certainly our local one, is empty and chaotic with stock piled everywhere like they don't know what to do with it all.

 

[herewegoagain.]

I personally reckon 'Blockbusters' are on the way out, quite a few closures already, a lot of their stores are tatty, VHS is history, DVD is doing the same way.... and you can buy them cheaper than renting them in a lot of cases - car boot sales dont help them either ! downloading will look like it will be the future....

 

[Laurenpears]

Thought blockbusters were already gone if im honest!
Not seen one of those shops around my way for a long time!
When they were around i found them stupidly expensive!

 

[I Love Spreadsheets]

WHSmiths will probably be safe for a while as I believe they have a monopoly on the ditribution of magazines and newspapers.

Lauren - Blockbusters have gone several times just for someone to buy the brand and relaunch it. There downfall was that their board of directors refused to see downloading and streaming as a threat to their business model, and it was only when the writing was on the wall did they try to get in to that model. By which time Netflix and I Love Film already controlled the market.

 

[Jinxie]

Clinton's have cleared out where I am. Should have guessed they would go with their overpriced stuff

 

[Talay]

WHSmiths will probably be safe for a while as I believe they have a monopoly on the ditribution of magazines and newspapers.

Lauren - Blockbusters have gone several times just for someone to buy the brand and relaunch it. There downfall was that their board of directors refused to see downloading and streaming as a threat to their business model, and it was only when the writing was on the wall did they try to get in to that model. By which time Netflix and I Love Film already controlled the market.

However, I have tried both Netflix and Love Film and binned them both within the trial period. Why ? well, their content is largely rubbish and ancient and I already have most old stuff I will ever want to watch again. With Love Film, their newer (and even then not new enough) films are only available on DVD and not by download / streaming. This is the crucial reason why they were despatched as waiting for the post to deliver DVDs and then having the hassle of returning them is just 20th century.

It has to be streaming / download or nothing or they will fail as well.

 

[Laurenpears]

Have you tried Netflix usa? Much much better!

 

[emailblaster]

HMV - I think the way we buy music has changed forever and they are the last of the old guard to go.

 

[Talay]

Have you tried Netflix usa? Much much better!

Do I have to hack anything to do that ?

I have a WD TV Live ready to be put into use as the cellar conversion was finished the other week and the new TV put up.

http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

WHSmiths will probably be safe for a while as I believe they have a monopoly on the ditribution of magazines and newspapers.

Not if you take a look at the UK Press Gazette's website - most titles (newspapers & magazines) are sliding down dramatically. Online news is swiftly killing off printed media.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/
Surprisingly, the only title currently seeing any increase at all is Private Eye.

 

[InternetRadioServices]

What about Staples ?

 

[Talay]

Ryman near me has closed two outlets. Johnsons dry cleaners has closed one more outlet.

 

[shellrob]

I think River island may also not be around - they revived themseleves before from Chealsea girl and they are heading the same way with poor qualitly garments at high prices

 

[Laurenpears]

Do I have to hack anything to do that ?

I have a WD TV Live ready to be put into use as the cellar conversion was finished the other week and the new TV put up.

http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330

Give me a PM ill tell you how its done

 

[Ding Dang Doo]

Ryman near me has closed two outlets. Johnsons dry cleaners has closed one more outlet.

Not sure if Johnsons will go... They have consolidated the two main areas of their business (retail and commercial), and have merged their HQ offices. Yes, there will be some branch closures - those under performing and the ones in the wrong areas or close proximity to others, but this to me is the right thing to do.

Dry cleaning and clothing/ shoe repairs etc should be one of the few industries to benefit from a downturn in economic conditions, as people become more frugal with their spending.

My 2p

Pete

 

[and180y]

Travelodge has today announced that it will be undertaking a CVA, through which it will seek to transfer 49 hotels to other operators.

 

[businessfunding]

Ryman near me has closed two outlets. Johnsons dry cleaners has closed one more outlet.

Branch closures are ore likely to indicate close management than impending failure. Many of the high profile casualties are actually opening branches when they go under

 

[businessfunding]

I would be surprised if Mac Fisheries are still around this time next year, or Timothy Whites.

 

[and180y]

Travelodge has said it will seek to transfer 49 hotels to other operators within a six month period, and will see rents reduced on 158 of its 512 hotels.

The BPF said that despite struggling with more than £1bn of combined secured and unsecured debt, the budget hotel chain last year saw profits rise 20% to £55m and revenues grow 16% to £370m.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: “Once again landlords are being asked to play a significant part in rescuing a business, and a minority at that, who are being asked to take a big ‘hit’ to keep a far bigger business afloat. At least in this case, unlike many others, the pain is being shared amongst the other creditors, which we welcome, and dependent on the CVA being accepted the business will get new investment, which should put it on a far sounder future footing.

“We are becoming increasingly concerned, however, with a system that creates such a range of winners and losers and allows advisers to dice and slice creditors to reach the required voting thresholds. Everyone can only work within the rules that are set, and in this case the insolvency practitioners are simply working to get their job done, but what we are saying is that such rules need reviewing and some greater sense of fairness restored.”

 

[spreadtrader]

I think River Island is on pretty firm footing financially.

It's owned by one of the UKs richest families backed by £1bn+ in assets.

It's an absolute behemoth of a private corporation.

 

[Brecht]

WHSmiths will probably be safe for a while as I believe they have a monopoly on the ditribution of magazines and newspapers.

Lauren - Blockbusters have gone several times just for someone to buy the brand and relaunch it. There downfall was that their board of directors refused to see downloading and streaming as a threat to their business model, and it was only when the writing was on the wall did they try to get in to that model. By which time Netflix and I Love Film already controlled the market.

Re Blockbusters

Having worked in IT for a while and been through a few commercial companies, Ive seen this happen with new technology being dimissed at board level. Only for a competitor or upstart to adapt the technology to their needs and make a killing.

Usually to be fair, its because the technology, advantages and cost saving isnt clearly explained or because the boards are influenced by the initial cost outlay, or advised by influential people within the company who have no idea about the technology...........

Look at WHSMITH, surely they could have struck a deal with Amazon or Kobo over their ebook readers to have exclusive rights to sell the readers at Airports and Train stations bundled with a couple of decent ebooks for sale or even rent perfect for that business person who has a long distance flight and has sseen the in flight movies twice that week on recent trips.

Hell even get the flight companies involved and offer in flight ebooks, e-newspapers, destination guides, history of the boeing 747 your flying.....blah blah and "top up cards" for frequent flyers

 

[billie1]

I think Debenhams could be in trouble. I had an interview with them earlier in the year, at the end of the interview I asked, how well they were doing? The interviewer said 'Good', but she didn't sound very convincing, she was also very quick to get off the phone, after the question was asked.

 

[mhall]

As Debenhams are nothing more than a glorified market hall renting out space I think they will be ok as long as the people they rent space to are OK. I have noticed they are pulling out of some of the big Co-Ops that they sublet in.

 

[Vectis]

I would be surprised if Mac Fisheries are still around this time next year, or Timothy Whites.

My god, I remember my sister having a job with Mac Fisheries! Does that mean I'm getting old?

I'd better warn her that they may be in trouble (haven't spoken to her for a while....)

 

[businessfunding]

My god, I remember my sister having a job with Mac Fisheries! Does that mean I'm getting old?

I'd better warn her that they may be in trouble (haven't spoken to her for a while....)

I had a summer job in MacMarkets butchery department - they locked me in the industrial fridge as a joke & it scarred me for life.