And now Blockbuster goes Bust

[NPBlue]

The problem for lots of shops at the moment is they are little more than showrooms. They are struggling, and when you try to buy something there and then, you are told to go on their website.

If they can't carry stock, what hope do they have? I recently read a report that said 140 high street retailers are in serious trouble.

Let's put it this way. Go into John Lewis tomorrow, and try and buy something. It will not be in stock, and they will direct you to their website. Type in the product you want to buy in Google, and you can buy it for far less than they are selling it for from an internet retailer.

If it costs £600 in John Lewis, you can pick it up on the internet for £480 or so.

It doesn't take a mastermind to work out what is happening.

 

[SWP's back]

And yet John Lewis are doing a roaring trade

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2013/01/11/john-lewis-maintains-sales-surge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.expressandstar.com/business/ ... les-surge/</a>

 

[The Ox]

The highstreet as we know it is disappearing.

Mothercare not doing too well now, there will be nothing left on the highstreet at this rate, in 10 years everything will be online, Market St will be a huge Pound shop

i think you are right. my shop is not really internet friendly, we need humans to measure and fit carpets. what does happen though is the radio/phone shop, the florist and even the jewelers will all be gone soon as people stay at home and order from their armchair. this means people just wont visit our town centre, i could be giving carpets away but there will nobody around to see them. thank goodness for the loyal customer base i have, but i fear i will struggle as "new blood" gets thinner on the ground.

The thing is Bill smaller companies that can weather the storm will come out nicely on the other side. The majority of those going bump at the moment are huge, because of greed and lack of forward planning
they are saddled with debt and massive overheads. In the last 6 months I have expanded my small Menswear business into 2 Traders Outlets in Altrincham and Sale where I pay a small rent and apart from stock that is my only overhead. I'm sure that Towns all over the country will start seeing large department stores going bump and landlords letting them out to small traders.
BTW I think Clintons will be next

 

[mindmyp's_n_q's]

And yet John Lewis are doing a roaring trade

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2013/01/11/john-lewis-maintains-sales-surge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.expressandstar.com/business/ ... les-surge/</a>

True but turnover on its own could mean nothing.

 

[SWP's back]

And yet John Lewis are doing a roaring trade

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2013/01/11/john-lewis-maintains-sales-surge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.expressandstar.com/business/ ... les-surge/</a>

True but turnover on its own could mean nothing.

I don't think they are worrying just yet.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74478f06-fd73-11e1-8e36-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2IKQJ1cRo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74478f06-fd73 ... z2IKQJ1cRo</a>

John Lewis enjoys 60% rise in profits

The partnership benefited from celebrations around the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics

John Lewis Partnership, the employee owned retailer, increased pre-tax profit 60 per cent in the first half of its financial year, as it benefited from Britain’s summer of special events.

The group reported a 59.8 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £144.5m on sales up 8.6 per cent to £3.9bn for the half year to the end of July, ahead of analysts’ expectations of an improvement after a weak first half of the 2011 financial year.

 

[cockneycarparkm32]

Have to applaud the CEO , when the protests started against the corporate dodgers He was the first to condemn them . A great marketing move it seemed everybody was talking about it , there sales that week went a thousand fold . Well done to them .


Cant for the life of me remember the last time I was in Blockbusters ..

 

[LittleStan]

Heard tonight that B&Q are closing 3 stores and are in a bit of trouble.

Anybody else heard this?

 

[Seosa]

The thing is, when these shops eventually go bust, what will be the point in town centres? What will even happen to them?

 

[The Ox]

The thing is, when these shops eventually go bust, what will be the point in town centres? What will even happen to them?

The Landlords will not be able to pay the mortgage and the banks will foreclose on them, the banks will again hold the real assets no matter how much of the mortgage has been paid. Even the TC will have plenty of empty shops soon enough.
When I worked there it was £7k a week just to walk through the door without rates, wages and all other overheads.

 

[MCFC-alan88]

The thing is, when these shops eventually go bust, what will be the point in town centres? What will even happen to them?

A genuine question not being arsey, but how many people actually go to town centres anymore?

My local town centre, Leigh (shit hole) is full of retards, rejects and crack heads. No one of any worth goes there any more. The only shops I will miss are Waterfields and Greggs.