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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2012 18:34:35 GMT
This follows on from Barratts, Blacks Leisure and so many others The way this is going the bookies should run a tab on who is next
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Post by Mark on Jan 16, 2012 18:59:16 GMT
And Past Times.
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Post by concretebob on Jan 16, 2012 19:00:57 GMT
That's what, 12,000 jobs gone in one swoop?
Awful for the employees. People sometimes forget it's people's livelihoods at stake.
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Post by The Fence End on Jan 16, 2012 19:46:37 GMT
Started by an Oxon man in Broad Street, headquarters in Witney.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2012 20:15:08 GMT
Must admit I always thought Past Times sold absolute rubbish when I saw the shop at Heathrow. Miniature post boxes made in China didn't cut it with me. But the number of jobs being lost is horrific and must be affecting so many people's lives now. Of the ones mentioned I hope Blacks don't suffer too much as a lot of their products are made here. So many think Berghaus is German and it is actually English. They are allied to Milletts who have been around for years but hopefully JD Sports will look after them
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Post by moobs on Jan 16, 2012 21:09:27 GMT
I'm not suprised about Past Times, I went in there once and found most of the stock a bit old hat, someone should tell them to catch up with the latest stuff
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Post by Gary Baldi on Jan 16, 2012 21:42:51 GMT
I never understood the appeal of Past Times. Whenever I walked past one it looked the concept of customers was in the Past Times.
I feel for the staff. It's not a nice position to be in.
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Post by carefreeoufc on Jan 16, 2012 21:52:54 GMT
I've always had a problem with both Past Times and Wittards, I find them pretentious bric-a-brac shops for the upper middle class who want to buy overpriced mock antiquities and trinkets.
I do however feel sorry for the staff and hope it acts as an eye opener for the teachers and public sector workers complaining about working for a few extra years, when in the last 6 weeks there have been announcements of possible losses for up to 30,000 people.
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Post by foghornleghorn on Jan 16, 2012 21:54:34 GMT
IMO Peacocks is a result of (vain?) decisions of the owner rather than trading conditions. He floated the company, didnt like valuation the stock market put on the business so saddled the company with loads of debt buying it back. The actual company trades at a healthy profit but pays over £75M servicing debt. I guess he hoped going into administration would help ditch the debts (kassam style) but they told him to bugger off. Quite right too, the admin laws in this country make it too easy to screw the people who placed faith in your business to start with.
(Never even heard of past times btw)
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Post by moobs on Jan 16, 2012 23:00:42 GMT
So past times is history?
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Post by collyox (banned) on Jan 16, 2012 23:22:32 GMT
Hawkins bazzar gone bust....empty shop in the Westgate centre...also i see Sony shops shut down.............."they" say that the sign of decline in a city centre is when a pound shop opens
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Post by KLYellow on Jan 17, 2012 0:16:02 GMT
Most retailers are reporting poor takings in store while NEXT and John Lewis and others report "robust" takings online.
Online shopping is the way to go, in fact I am surprised it has taken this long. Its a global shopping mall now. All of the below I look or buy online
Property Cars Holidays Computers and Gadgets Fashion Shirts (I buy them from the US)
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Post by foghornleghorn on Jan 17, 2012 1:26:12 GMT
John Lewis's robust sales where in-store. I'm not surprised, unlike every other store they have proper sales people (that is someone who tries to sell) as opposed to shop assistants. Every Christmas JL buck the trend. Independents also fared better than many feared (again proper sales people - its their shop, they are much more motivated).
JJB had a better than expected Christmas which is good, its a sports shop unlike crappy jd-sports and sports direct which just sell hoodies to chavs. Awful shops the pair of them. Hopefully jjb will claw back some market share.
The naughties (and back end of 90's) was an unfortunate period, there was a huge consumer boom but people weren't ready to shop online. The result saw capacity being met by new out of town shopping centers springing up everywhere. Now people are switching to online in a big way and the consumer boom is not there so we have way too many physical shops. A lot of people want dead shops in town centers to be turned into residential properties but I don't agree. I would like to see the out of town shopping centers gone and have town centers turn back into the focal point. All the public transport infrastructure already exists (shopping range should be available to public transport users as well). Also those large metal containers (shops) should be easy to demolish without upsetting locals (there generally aren't any locals and they are an eyesore anyway) and replaced with the residential areas we are told are needed.
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 17, 2012 7:47:09 GMT
La Senza have gone bust, didn't get the support they needed.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 9:41:51 GMT
Game could well be next always quiet in there and issued profits warning
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Post by moobs on Jan 17, 2012 11:04:29 GMT
I'm surprised Next is always so popular. I find their clothes really bland and overpriced
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Post by foghornleghorn on Jan 17, 2012 11:49:08 GMT
Game could well be next always quiet in there and issued profits warning Profit warning but Game is profitable and has Wii-U this year followed by the PS4 next year and an xbox to be announced this year as well. They are at the back end of a hardware cycle at the moment. Long term digital streaming, etc is an issue but I dont think Game is at risk at the moment. I hold a lot of game shares and am not tempted to cut my losses. There store closure programme hasnt kicked in yet (MK has two stores almost opposite each other, some stores can be closed with zero impact on sales). HMV on the other, now there's a basket case.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 11:51:48 GMT
I'm surprised Next is always so popular. I find their clothes really bland and overpriced I thought this until recently but went in recently and I thought their stuff looks a lot better now and the shop generally looked a lot more appealing
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Post by The Fence End on Jan 17, 2012 12:26:50 GMT
La Senza have gone bust, didn't get the support they needed. That's pants.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 13:55:54 GMT
HMV are a basket case and just haven't kept up with the times. I wish you well with Game shares as they have collapsed over the last few months. I know someone who works for them and he is worried as many are. JJB I don't know how they manage selling Chinese football kits and polyester track suits. Not the place to go if you into racquet sports or much away from cricket or football
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Post by stfconyourpitch (banned) on Jan 17, 2012 13:59:10 GMT
Most retailers are reporting poor takings in store while NEXT and John Lewis and others report "robust" takings online. Online shopping is the way to go, in fact I am surprised it has taken this long. Its a global shopping mall now. Quite. Next started their Directory business in 1988 (interesting fact - they are a rebranded Hepworths). I am surprised that they bothered continuing with their retail outlets. Way to go. If you don't like something you buy or it doesn't fit then send it back, so why have shops anyway? PS the Sony shop in Swindon has also shut down as well I noticed.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 14:08:54 GMT
I wondered what happened to Hepworths and can remember they became Next. Their shares used to be very cheap at one time and could have made a killing on them. Do you know what happened to Foster Brothers, Willetts, Dunn and Co or John Collier (the window to watch) Can't say I would be buying a suit anytime soon but Moss Bros would be my first port of call over M and S
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Post by stfconyourpitch (banned) on Jan 17, 2012 14:19:01 GMT
Another thought about the High Street following Virgin Money's acquisition of Northern Rock - what the hell do they think they are doing? I know they got a sweet deal from the government, but town centre banking? Really?
They should stick to online, they could build up their own savings and mortgage business. NR should have been allowed to go down the shitter as a failure, especially as the taxpayer has been forced to spunk £1.4bn into it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 14:24:25 GMT
I couldn't agree more with you on that. I moved out of Northern Rock shares and recorded a £2000 loss as I sold out at a £1 share. Would have actually made money on them had I thought to check the price the day after I bought them, then it was too late. My broker recommended RBS and I went on to lose another £4500. Now I stay out of shares and look elsewhere. Wouldn't invest with Virgin Money. People I know at Virgin Media hate Branson. Do you like the way Banks say on the ads...January sales? Now they are talking, investment rates now half price
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Post by stfconyourpitch (banned) on Jan 17, 2012 14:27:12 GMT
Do you know what happened to Foster Brothers, Willetts, Dunn and Co or John Collier (the window to watch) Foster Bros was bought by Sears (now owned by Sir Philip Green). I have never heard of Willetts (?), Dunn & Co went bust in 1996. John Collier is no longer the window to watch after being sold to the Burton Group in 1985 who discontinued the brand. Ah, the changing face of the High Street.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 14:37:51 GMT
Sears I can remember but I think they have gone too Willetts was a tailors much like Dunns but I can see why they went under I thought that Burtons took Colliers out. I bought Burtons shares in 1992 and sold them three days later within the same account so only had to pay one lot of commission. Made £100 for two phone calls free from work...happy days Cos I recall going bust Vospers Budge Cedar Holdings Sectorguard Charterhall Only remember them as I unfortunately lost money on them
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Post by stfconyourpitch (banned) on Jan 17, 2012 14:40:38 GMT
Only remember them as I unfortunately lost money on them You really don't have much luck with shares, do you?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2012 14:44:37 GMT
I have made a lot of money before I fell on bad times. They were examples of where I lost small sums. Remember QXL and Scoot.com I did OK on those. Made a lot of money on telecomms but did lost a very large sum on KCOM Best one was City of London PR rose from 21p to 980p and I had to sell over two separate tax years to avoid capital gains tax Best investment these days I think is Investment Trusts. I have one in Commercial Property and over the last year it has put on 35%
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Post by foghornleghorn on Jan 17, 2012 15:15:59 GMT
I wondered what happened to Hepworths and can remember they became Next. Their shares used to be very cheap at one time and could have made a killing on them. Do you know what happened to Foster Brothers, Willetts, Dunn and Co or John Collier (the window to watch) Can't say I would be buying a suit anytime soon but Moss Bros would be my first port of call over M and S Best place to buy a suit is slaters, www.slaters.co.ukCracking deals at every level, good for accessories too. My nearest is Birmingham, the best one I've been to is Glasgow (I think that's the original).
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Post by foghornleghorn on Jan 17, 2012 15:20:46 GMT
Another thought about the High Street following Virgin Money's acquisition of Northern Rock - what the hell do they think they are doing? I know they got a sweet deal from the government, but town centre banking? Really? Agree. Somebody sent me a cheque about three months ago for £35, I just couldn't be bothered to go into town to pay it in so it just floated around the house. I go into town about twice a year and am generally in a hurry so haven't got the time to hang around banks. I received another cheque for £3K this morning, that was enough to get me down to the bank
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