Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[alxndr]

WHSmiths recently brought CultPens which is quite a good online stationers, and one of my go tos. It might be that they're trying it new directions. Would be nice if they ended up having a better stationary selection in store though, there's some pens I might be tempted buy if only I could see them in person first.

 

[whhistle]

I’m still astonished WH Smith has survived for as long as it has.

That's a good one!
I wonder if their high street presence (they seem to be in good prominent locations) and gearing up with the Post Office has helped them?
Perhaps if Rymans, Staples or Partners (do they still exist?) fold, then WH Smith would be the place to go. But then many businesses use Staples for stationary.

I'm often amazed that Currys is still in business.

Ah ha, but they kicked Comet out of business so there's not many other places you'd go. Argos maybe?

The one near me is huge and sells nearly anything electrical. They have a large section for toasters, blenders, kettles, sandwich makers as well as cameras, speakers and all the stuff you'd expect - dishwashers, PCs, tablets, laptops, TVs, fridge freezers, vacuum cleaners.
I was surprised at how much they had diversed.

But then I used their store to see the product before going to buy online.
Deals, discount codes and cashback all encourage me to purchase there instead of in the store.

Mainly because Comet isn't there. I hate Currys and that restricts me to Richer Sounds in Manchester or TV/Laptops Direct in Huddersfield.

Richer Sounds is a good one too.
But they're not particularly everywhere.
And although an old friend of mine recommended them (they got 10 pairs of free 3D glasses), when I went, they wouldn't budge on anything or throw anything in free. Wonder if my TV was the active 3D instead of passive, thus needing posh 3D glasses instead of the cheap plastic ones.


There's places like Hobbycraft as well, but I think they'll survive longer than what many may think as they're pretty specialist.

 

[trash80]

A lot of it depends on how well the company is run and how racked with debt it is, i believe the latter was the main reason Toys R Us went under. Model Zone expanded too quickly i believe?

 

[gordonthemoron]

Boots are also better (in some stores, not all) for men's shaving products. Although they can be pricey, however they often do special offers when I like to stock up

 

[IanXC]

Aren't Bunnings/Homebase already in some trouble and closing some stores?

Also Boots have given up photo developing have they not?

I've wondered about Superdrug for some time. Whenever I go in there the items I want are either heavily discounted to the extent they've sold out, or just not stocked at that time at all. Inconsistent stock doesn't seem like a great barometer of health...

 

[61653 HTAFC]

In a previous life I worked for Dixons Stores Group (now trading solely as Currys-PC World) and the impact of Amazon diversifying away from mostly just books was hitting hard towards the end of my time there. There was a lack of discipline among the sales staff (I was behind the scenes mostly) who would be quite flexible with regulations on things like finance and the related PPI. The restructuring seems to have dealt with this, and they probably have enough to survive for now.

HMV can't have much of a future for me: streaming and downloading has become the norm, and those who still want physical copies tend to use Amazon or independents (which seem to have had a bit of a revival).

My prime candidate for "next big name to bite the dust" though is TopShop/Top Man. The stores seem to be deserted and on the mens' side (unsurprisingly the only area I have much experience) is tacky, overpriced and dated. Primark does what they do, but better and cheaper.

 

[Smethwickian]

Apart from a few high-end fashion brands in prime locations, the general high street shoe shop chains seem to be fading fast.

Talk of Maplins' woes reminds me of Tandy - remember when they were the high street go-to for electronics and gadgets?

This interesting thread serves to remind me that shops come, shops go, shops get taken over, new names grow to fill some gaps - it just means you show your age by reminiscing about Woolworths, Fine Fare, Fosters Menswear and the like!

 

[Antman]

WH Smith as mentioned, the one in Chatham closed a while ago and others are downsizing.

M&S.........is it me or is just about everything they do ridiculously overpriced?

 

[johntea]

Another vote for Argos I’m afraid.

I went into one recently to buy bathroom scales and was astounded to find the set up is still exactly the same as the last time I visited in the late 90s. To be fair it seemed pretty busy.

I hope they survive but it’s difficult to see how they can compete with online businesses.

Already happened to an extent since Sainsburys purchased them - any stores that have a Sainsburys near by are getting closed down and moved into Sainsburys - For example at Wakefield Trinity Walk there is/was a Argos there but since there is a massive Sainsburys literally next door it had posters up announcing it was closing down and go to Sainsburys.

Poundworld / Poundland are struggling at the moment I believe, I wouldn't be surprised to see their estate downsizing because they can't offer a store full of £1 items any more so have slowly turned into just another 'bargain' store, which stores like B&M and Home Bargains do a lot better as they've been doing it for years.

 

[EM2]

Fosters Menswear and the like!

One of my previous employers. Another one caught in the middle ground of being a little bit too expensive to be cheap, and a little bit too old-fashioned to be cool.
Mister Byrite (now Blue Inc.) took the former market and River Island, Burton and Top Man took the latter market.

 

[gordonthemoron]

WH Smith as mentioned, the one in Chatham closed a while ago and others are downsizing.

M&S.........is it me or is just about everything they do ridiculously overpriced?

I don't find M&S overpriced but it is largely dead and doesn't cater very well for it's fans, furthermore I have had to take 3 pairs of trousers back recently due to manufacturing faults which doesn't bode well

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I don't find M&S overpriced but it is largely dead and doesn't cater very well for it's fans, furthermore I have had to take 3 pairs of trousers back recently due to manufacturing faults which doesn't bode well

Until this post, I'd completely forgotten that M&S still do clothes! Don't think I've had anything from there since school uniform days. I only think of the food side these days and on that front they are expensive but they seem to have found a market for it... and compared to the "premium" options at the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's they're not that much more expensive really- and they do seem better quality than Tesco "Finest" stuff.

Their clothing side seems to drag the rest down though, especially if the quality isn't there as your post suggests.

 

[bramling]

Until this post, I'd completely forgotten that M&S still do clothes! Don't think I've had anything from there since school uniform days. I only think of the food side these days and on that front they are expensive but they seem to have found a market for it... and compared to the "premium" options at the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's they're not that much more expensive really- and they do seem better quality than Tesco "Finest" stuff.

Their clothing side seems to drag the rest down though, especially if the quality isn't there as your post suggests.

M&S seemed to have a reputation for the clothing being awful as far back as the 1990s. I remember comments being made like "never buy any clothes from M&S" or "no one under 70 wears clothes from M&S". And to be fair I can understand how this reputation came about. No idea if it's still true as I don't think I've been into an M&S in the last two decades!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

M&S seemed to have a reputation for the clothing being awful as far back as the 1990s. I remember comments being made like "never buy any clothes from M&S" or "no one under 70 wears clothes from M&S". And to be fair I can understand how this reputation came about. No idea if it's still true as I don't think I've been into an M&S in the last two decades!

That one definitely rings a bell!

 

[Antman]

I don't find M&S overpriced but it is largely dead and doesn't cater very well for it's fans, furthermore I have had to take 3 pairs of trousers back recently due to manufacturing faults which doesn't bode well

I've not actually purchased any clothing from M&S in years although it all looks a bit expensive to me, I occasionally get food items from there out of convenience and that's generally pricey compared to supermarkets.

 

[pdq]

- it just means you show your age by reminiscing about Woolworths, Fine Fare, Fosters Menswear and the like!

Ooh, Fosters. I remember getting my clothes there as a teenager in the late 80s. I have pics of me in almost head to foot shades of grey, all from Fosters.

 

[Bromley boy]

M&S seemed to have a reputation for the clothing being awful as far back as the 1990s. I remember comments being made like "never buy any clothes from M&S" or "no one under 70 wears clothes from M&S". And to be fair I can understand how this reputation came about. No idea if it's still true as I don't think I've been into an M&S in the last two decades!

No one under 70 and no one who isn’t well off enough to afford the extortionate prices!

The baby boomer generation must be supporting M&S clothing and I can’t help but wonder how they will fare over the next 20 years as this demographic retires and becomes more cost conscious.

My parents are in their 60s and both shop there, although my even my dad seems to have decided M&S clothes aren’t stylish enough for him and increasingly goes elsewhere. I genuinely don’t know anyone much younger than that who would shop there.

Their food offering on the other hand is excellent. Some of the products are better than Waitrose, in my view, and priced more reasonably.

 

[pdq]

M&S is OK for underwear - certainly lasts well. Not bad for work trousers and smart shirts, but I certainly wouldn't buy leisure clothes from there. You just need to see what they are flogging in the outlet stores to work out how far off the mark they are for almost all generations.

 

[takno]

Until this post, I'd completely forgotten that M&S still do clothes! Don't think I've had anything from there since school uniform days. I only think of the food side these days and on that front they are expensive but they seem to have found a market for it... and compared to the "premium" options at the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's they're not that much more expensive really- and they do seem better quality than Tesco "Finest" stuff.

Their clothing side seems to drag the rest down though, especially if the quality isn't there as your post suggests.

The clothing went to hell in the mid-90s. They started to lose their edge because it stopped being the done thing to start dressing as an old person on your 60th birthday. They did have some genuinely cool stuff - I was working in a new boutique-style store in Canada that focused on the relatively fashionable end of the range. In the UK though you had to wade through a million shapeless grey cardies to find any of it. Ironically killing off the Canadian operation (most of which was a complete basket-case) was one of the first things they did to right the ship.

To compound the issue, a lot of their reputation for quality came from using a small range or trusted and vetted manufacturers, largely based in the UK. When the EU market opened up to cheap imports, this quickly became unsustainable, and within a few years they had abandoned the UK suppliers, and with them the strong relationships and quality control. I don't think they've ever really recovered from that. They've made some progress to get to an acceptable level of dowdiness and closed a lot of marginal stores, but mostly they've survived by leaning ever more heavily on the food, and waiting out the competition.

Unfortunately the food has started to drop off as well in the last couple of years (evidenced by the head of the division being replaced only yesterday). There has been a growing reputation for high prices, which the station franchises haven't helped with. There has also been much greater competition, with Waitrose effectively taking over as the posh grocer of choice. Overall whenever I go in I tend to see a poor range (often with empty shelves), pretty indifferent quality, and eye-watering prices. Generally I leave empty-handed and go somewhere cheaper or more interesting.

 

[craig87034]

I wouldn't be surprised if a pay day loan chain go such as, The Money Shop, disappear from the high street given how many pay day loan/pawnbrokers have shut down round here, and in there place we have replacements 100 times better.

 

[northwichcat]

Boots is a popular shop, especially with women (I'm guessing this forum is male-dominated hence the apathy). They've just opened a new store on a retail park near me and it has been very busy during the first two days, I expect it to do well.

You can tell their main market is women by the vouchers you got handed with your receipt.

There's an argument that you can get toiletries and medicines (not requiring a pharmacist) cheaper at places like Bodycare but many smaller towns have a Boots but not a Bodycare. In Knutsford we have Boots but not Bodycare and it's the same in Northwich and Wilmslow but if you go to somewhere a bit larger like Macclesfield you find there's a Bodycare as well.

 

[Bromley boy]

There has been a growing reputation for high prices, which the station franchises haven't helped with.

Agree with this. The station and central London ones can be eye watering.

Of course I know that because I use them regularly. As someone who is regularly in London terminal stations I’m part of their captive market, which rather shows why the model works!

 

[Antman]

Agree with this. The station and central London ones can be eye watering.

Of course I know that because I use them regularly. As someone who is regularly in London terminal stations I’m part of their captive market, which rather shows why the model works!

And invariably their argument is that it's down to the astronomical rent.

 

[deltic]

Judging by today's news Next is struggling and Gap is meant to be as well

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Yeah you can buy the same magazines elsewhere, if you like a smallish number of mass market publications. Want anything more specialist or niche (like most railway magazines) and you have to go to Smiths. If they went down it would kill off scores of magazines.

I would agree. Someone said upthread that WHSmiths don't have any one thing that they do better than anyone else. I would actually say the opposite - they have several things that they do better than anyone else....

• Magazines - noone else on the high street has the same kind of range.
• Cards - yes, you can buy obviously cheapo ones from Card Factory, but now that Clintons has largely disappeared, there's not really anywhere else with a reasonable range of quality cards that has an extensive High Street presence. (Scribbler and Paperchase would be real competition there, but my impression is that neither of those maintains enough High Street stores). Cards are also one area that's somewhat immune to Internet competition because people so often need them urgently.
• Office stationary - again you can buy cheap stuff in places like Wilkos, or ridiculously overpriced stuff in Rymans, but if you want reasonable quality stationary that isn't too overpriced, and with Staples apparently focused solely on retail parks, there's nowhere else.
• Books - Yes, Waterstones invariably has a better selection, but if I want something random quickly (for example as a present) then I normally find Smiths is very better for having a good selection of popular/funny books right in front of me when I go into the books section, so I don't waste time finding my way around shelves that are extensive but probably too specialised.

Add to that, having Post Offices in their stores seems to me very clever as a way of ensuring that lots of people walk right past all your offerings. To my mind, that all adds up to being an excellent convenience store for all things stationary/office/book-related. I'd certainly be sorry if my local Smiths branches closed.

 

[Bromley boy]

In terms of car companies:

Volvo. Are they in danger of going the same way as Saab? Too expensive to be a volume brand, compete in the premium sector but an eccentric choice and the wrong (non German) name on the bonnet for the badge snobs;

Vauxhall (GM/Opel really). Not well regarded, bland undesirable cars, market share still high but falling and job cuts recently. Accesible PCP finance deals these days mean the equivalent of 1990s Cavalier/Vectra man probably now drives a 3 series/C class.

 

[IanXC]

In terms of car companies:

Volvo. Are they in danger of going the same way as Saab? Too expensive to be a volume brand, compete in the premium sector but an eccentric choice and the wrong (non German) name on the bonnet for the badge snobs;

Vauxhall (GM/Opel really). Not well regarded, bland undesirable cars, market share still high but falling and job cuts recently. Accesible PCP finance deals these days mean the equivalent of 1990s Cavalier/Vectra man probably now drives a 3 series/C class.

Volvo are doing rather well, first sales over 500,000 in their history in 2015, reaching 571,577 in 2017, with good financials.

GM sold Vauxhall and Opel to PSA (Peugeot Citroen) in 2017, so we are yet to see their impact on the brands really.

 

[Bromley boy]

Volvo are doing rather well, first sales over 500,000 in their history in 2015, reaching 571,577 in 2017, with good financials.

GM sold Vauxhall and Opel to PSA (Peugeot Citroen) in 2017, so we are yet to see their impact on the brands really.

Fair enough - I certainly wasn’t aware of Volvo doing that well*, although I do wonder how many of those sales were in the U.K. as don’t see that many on the roads. Glad to hear it as they’re a niche company and a tad different to the norm.

I also didn’t realise GM had sold Vauxhall*. Rumours in the press today about 1/3 U.K. showrooms closing, albeit swiftly denied by the company, and the job losses at Ellesmere Port don’t bode well.

*clearly I should be spending more of my time on PistonHeads.

 

[Temple Meads]

I've seen a fair few new Volvos about, I think the new S90/V90 looks great, and the stunning Polestar 1 is very promising as to what the future could bring, they definitely have a much better product line than Saab did at their demise!

Vauxhall had an awfully bland product line, but some of the recent models are much better, doesn't look like they've necessarily translated that into commercial success though!

I'm not sure that the rebooted MG will last much longer in the UK.

 

[Bromley boy]

I've seen a fair few new Volvos about, I think the new S90/V90 looks great, and the stunning Polestar 1 is very promising as to what the future could bring, they definitely have a much better product line than Saab did at their demise!

Vauxhall had an awfully bland product line, but some of the recent models are much better, doesn't look like they've necessarily translated that into commercial success though!

I'm not sure that the rebooted MG will last much longer in the UK.

Possibly the lack of Volvos where I am is due to regional differences. They’re less common in urban areas no doubt. Clearly the brand is doing better than my anecdotal impression led me to believe.

I can remember when Saabs were quite desirable, and not so long ago. 9-3 convertibles were pretty ubiquitous in the early noughties. Clearly the brand lost its way. I’m led to believe the later models had GM underpinnings and quality dropped off.

As for the new MG. Absolutely hateful perversion of a once proud brand, sold off for a price. The website reveals far eastern sh*t boxes, which resemble four wheeled fridges, being flogged for bargain prices.

It would have been better to let the brand die with dignity.