Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[61653 HTAFC]

Probably. They haven't been very customer-friendly though. The local one still has queueing (which Tesco hasn't had for months), and I've been challenged for 'proof' about mask exemption by the door guardian (I contacted their customer services, who said that this was not company policy).

Tend to use Tesco mostly now, who have generally been very sensible and avoided the officiousness of M&S and many other retailers.

The Tesco thing must vary from branch to branch. I've long considered Tesco to be the worst of the "big four" and only go there because it's the nearest to my flat. Their COVID changes in my local have been ridiculous and compound the already poor design of the store: making customers walk in the road to get in, filing the self-scan and self-checkout exits through the same narrow opening, typos on their POS...

With regard to M&S, I'd completely forgotten they still did clothes, as I only ever seem to encounter the "Simply Food" outlets these days. However I'm now 38 so I've only a couple of years to wait and then I'll get my membership card for ill-fitting cardigans from M&S. That's how it works, right?

 

[david1212]

Probably. They haven't been very customer-friendly though. The local one still has queueing (which Tesco hasn't had for months), and I've been challenged for 'proof' about mask exemption by the door guardian (I contacted their customer services, who said that this was not company policy).

Tend to use Tesco mostly now, who have generally been very sensible and avoided the officiousness of M&S and many other retailers.

The Tesco thing must vary from branch to branch. I've long considered Tesco to be the worst of the "big four" and only go there because it's the nearest to my flat. Their COVID changes in my local have been ridiculous and compound the already poor design of the store: making customers walk in the road to get in, filing the self-scan and self-checkout exits through the same narrow opening, typos on their POS...

With regard to M&S, I'd completely forgotten they still did clothes, as I only ever seem to encounter the "Simply Food" outlets these days. However I'm now 38 so I've only a couple of years to wait and then I'll get my membership card for ill-fitting cardigans from M&S. That's how it works, right?

I've not been in an M&S ( aka Sharks & Spendmore ) since the start of Lockdown 1, maybe even January, except the shop at the local BP when all I needed was bread to wait a few more days for a big shop so doesn't really count.

Local to me both the Tesco superstore & high street Metro have been reasonable. Back from Easter onwards I've walked into the Metro while a queue outside M&S maybe 250m away. For the superstore once bare shelves were not a problem I went late afternoon when quieter. I never went near the Sainsburys superstore but when occasionally in a nearby town there was always a queue at that Sainsburys. Work colleagues reported Morrisons queuing yet could walk into Tesco.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is Tesco a company that's expected to disappear anytime soon?

 

[Bobdogs]

£3 a pint in my favourite independent pub here in Newport South Wales. That's for a proper ale from a local brewery, not the mass produced stuff.

Could be some time until you enjoy it again owing to Drippys introduction of prohibition by stealth.

 

[whittlesfordok]

In Cambridge the former BHS site is in the hands of H&M as last Wednesday was empty I reckon they will be chopping H&M stores next clothing side next.

 

[SteveP29]

I just hope Goulds in Dorchester survive, not necessarily because I shop there (although their garden centre restaurant in Littlemoor is fantastic) but because it's rare to see independent department stores now and I like to see independents thriving.

The landlady of the guest house we stay in every summer in Weymouth is of the opinion that it is the Goulds, The descendents of the Pope's (yes, those Pope's, they nearly ruined my parents marriage) and a certain Prince of Wales that keep Dorchester from attracting inward investment, which does keep it looking picturesque, but depressing.

 

[Trackman]

Only found out this morning my local William Hills is now a hairdressers.
Think it’s been mentioned in this thread they have closed over a 100 shops.

 

[DB]

Only found out this morning my local William Hills is now a hairdressers.
Think it’s been mentioned in this thread they have closed over a 100 shops.

Can't say the closure of a bookies is anything to be sorry about, apart from the loss of jobs.

 

[jon0844]

Can't say the closure of a bookies is anything to be sorry about, apart from the loss of jobs.

They don't really employ a great deal of people do they? Don't most bookies get by with just one person on duty most of the time?

 

[Jamesrob637]

Can't say the closure of a bookies is anything to be sorry about, apart from the loss of jobs.

Well it's probably safer than online betting - at least a human can stop you if you're above limits. Worst thing is drunks doing it online - at least a betting shop keeper can sense intoxication. Some people sadly can't control gambling even sober, and a few turn to it when they've given up the booze!

 

[jon0844]

Well it's probably safer than online betting - at least a human can stop you if you're above limits. Worst thing is drunks doing it online - at least a betting shop keeper can sense intoxication. Some people sadly can't control gambling even sober, and a few turn to it when they've given up the booze!

I can turn off gambling on my bank account, so I simply cannot put money on any online gaming site. You can also impose a limit per month (which cannot be overridden).

While someone in a bookmaker might be able to tell someone they've gambled enough, I am sure they are under pressure from above not to - and in some cases, people can be quite determined when desperate.

Going off topic now, but the worst thing bookies ever got involved in were the fixed odds betting terminals. I believe action has been taken on them now? If true, that has probably hurt them more than the pandemic.

 

[Trackman]

Going off topic now, but the worst thing bookies ever got involved in were the fixed odds betting terminals. I believe action has been taken on them now? If true, that has probably hurt them more than the pandemic.

They call them the 'crack cocaine' of gambling. My gambling stretches to buying the odd lottery ticket now and again. I wonder why they are so addictive?
Going back OT, when they brought in new regulations for FOBT's I think last year, didn't a lot of bookies shut shops as they rely on these machines for income?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Is Tesco a company that's expected to disappear anytime soon?

Just wishful thinking on my part, so I can get a decent night's sleep. I'll happily swap flats with anyone who gets "annoyed" by the soothing sound of CAT or English Electric diesels...

 

[Peter Sarf]

I can turn off gambling on my bank account, so I simply cannot put money on any online gaming site. You can also impose a limit per month (which cannot be overridden).

While someone in a bookmaker might be able to tell someone they've gambled enough, I am sure they are under pressure from above not to - and in some cases, people can be quite determined when desperate.

Going off topic now, but the worst thing bookies ever got involved in were the fixed odds betting terminals. I believe action has been taken on them now? If true, that has probably hurt them more than the pandemic.

Thing is, once the punter has used their card enough and then been stopped, they go outside to the nearest cash machine and carry on that way. That is what my step son was doing when I looked at his bank statements.

They call them the 'crack cocaine' of gambling. My gambling stretches to buying the odd lottery ticket now and again. I wonder why they are so addictive?
Going back OT, when they brought in new regulations for FOBT's I think last year, didn't a lot of bookies shut shops as they rely on these machines for income?

Yes it did seem to herald the closure of a few of those evil places.

The hard/cruel fact is that if all betting shops were closed then the gambling would go online and underground. Gambling needs to be legitimate enough to be regulated and still attractive for the punters. But gambling should not be advertised and fixed odds machines should NEVER have been legal.

Sorry - I have a LARGE bee in my bonnet about gambling.

Worries me that with this lockdown people who have a weakness for gambling will have found gambling more tempting.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Trafford Center has been saved

Canadian pension fund takes control of Trafford Centre

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board took over after administrators received "no viable bids" for the complex.

www.bbc.co.uk

A pension fund has taken control of the Trafford Centre after administrators received "no viable bids" for it.
The shopping centre, which attracts about 30 million visitors a year, went up for sale in August after owner Intu Properties (IP) entered administration.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a key lender to IP, has taken ownership as the principal creditor.
CPPIB's Geoff Souter said despite "challenging" retail conditons, the centre still had "strong prospects".
The Canadian fund had provided IP with a £250m lending facility for its Trafford Centre subsidiary prior to its insolvency during the first coronavirus lockdown.
A spokesman said after "no viable bids" were received for the Greater Manchester centre, CPPIB had exercised its rights to take ownership.
Mr Souter, managing director at CPPIB Credit, said the complex remained "one of the UK's top five shopping centres".
"While conditions for retail in 2020 have been very challenging, we are able to take a long term view and believe that, with strategic management and investment, the Trafford Centre has strong prospects," he said.
The pension fund is a significant investor in UK shopping centres and has previously invested in London's Westfield Stratford and Birmingham's Bullring.

 

[PG]

Trafford Center has been saved

Canadian pension fund takes control of Trafford Centre

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board took over after administrators received "no viable bids" for the complex.

www.bbc.co.uk

Mr Souter, managing director at CPPIB Credit, said the complex remained "one of the UK's top five shopping centres".

[Pedant Alert]
I assume that means its number 5, otherwise he'd have said top four or three.

 

[Typhoon]

Yes Poundstretcher seems to be losing the plot a bit. Because I visit Cardiff and used to visit Bournemouth I am familiar with Wilko (incidentally they remind my of what Woolworths were like back in the 1970s) and B&M.

I went in a Poundstretcher earlier in the week, first time for almost a year due to movement restrictions. It really had gone down hill, items I had bought in the past had gone up noticeably in price and more of the stuff seemed to be tat. They used to be quite good for short dated or discontinued stuff but there was little that I wanted to check the date of. The only beneficiaries of my visit will be garden birds. The store was almost empty (two other customers, two staff). There is a B&M a few doors away and a Home Bargains and Wilko nearby (Asda, also close by, sells some stuff cheaper).

If this is replicated elsewhere, they are in for a rough ride.

 

[C J Snarzell]

Thing is, once the punter has used their card enough and then been stopped, they go outside to the nearest cash machine and carry on that way. That is what my step son was doing when I looked at his bank statements.

Yes it did seem to herald the closure of a few of those evil places.

The hard/cruel fact is that if all betting shops were closed then the gambling would go online and underground. Gambling needs to be legitimate enough to be regulated and still attractive for the punters. But gambling should not be advertised and fixed odds machines should NEVER have been legal.

Sorry - I have a LARGE bee in my bonnet about gambling.

Worries me that with this lockdown people who have a weakness for gambling will have found gambling more tempting.

I believe certain parts of online gambling were tightened up in April - I'm sure you cannot use credit cards anymore to fund the online bets.

CJ

 

[Mojo]

Yes Poundstretcher seems to be losing the plot a bit. Because I visit Cardiff and used to visit Bournemouth I am familiar with Wilko (incidentally they remind my of what Woolworths were like back in the 1970s) and B&M. Irony is that back in Croydon we don't have either, just the Poundstretcher. Croydon really is getting poorly served for its size.

I went in a Poundstretcher earlier in the week, first time for almost a year due to movement restrictions. It really had gone down hill, items I had bought in the past had gone up noticeably in price and more of the stuff seemed to be tat. They used to be quite good for short dated or discontinued stuff but there was little that I wanted to check the date of. The only beneficiaries of my visit will be garden birds. The store was almost empty (two other customers, two staff). There is a B&M a few doors away and a Home Bargains and Wilko nearby (Asda, also close by, sells some stuff cheaper).

There was a TV series called "Saving Poundstretcher" the year before last on Channel 4; it's still on 40d if anyone wants to watch it. The management brought in Chris Edwards (former boss of Poundworld which he sold before it went downhill) but he ended up quitting after a few months in post.

I used to go in there quite often because they did have some quite good prices (when compared to Home Bargains or B&M), but I've found over the past few years that you cannot consistently rely on them having the product in that you want because they just seem to put out on display whatever they can get their hands on. They probably have going for them the fact that in many places they were first to the market so have shops in some quite useful locations where there are no other "bargain" shops elsewhere.

 

[C J Snarzell]

The Poundstretcher saga is an interesting one. There were two in my town last year - one has since closed, while the other is now called 'Bargain Buys' which I believe is still a Poundstretcher sub name.

As I've stated before, it does feel like Poundstretcher stores are being run into the ground with very little effort being made to attract customers and keep their premises trendy corporate environments.

Also, the stores I referred to were being run by a couple of minimum wage staff who were running around between the tills, replenishing shelves and taking deliveries. Very often you could find yourself at an unstaffed till waiting to be served, then the flustered shop assistant comes running down the side to serve you after abandoning their stock check.

My dad always used to use Poundstretcher for things like tinned soup, packets of biscuits and tea bags but he goes to Home Bargains now.

I remember him describing Poundstretcher as a cross between a shoddy garden centre and a run down wholesalers selling bankrupt stock.

CJ

 

[Jamesrob637]

[Pedant Alert]
I assume that means its number 5, otherwise he'd have said top four or three.

Bluewater, Metrocentre, Merry Hill spring to mind.

 

[LOL The Irony]

but he ended up quitting after a few months in post.

Wasn't it more the owners refused to listen to his ideas and then got rid of him & his staff?

 

[Mojo]

Bluewater, Metrocentre, Merry Hill spring to mind.

Surely at least one of the two “real” Westfield’s come to mind as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Dec 2020 ==

Wasn't it more the owners refused to listen to his ideas and then got rid of him & his staff?

It’s a bit like those Gordon Ramsay programmes - no idea why you’d ask someone to come in and save your business and then get moody with them when they use their expertise to do exactly what you brought them into to do.

 

[LOL The Irony]

It’s a bit like those Gordon Ramsay programmes - no idea why you’d ask someone to come in and save your business and then get moody with them when they use their expertise to do exactly what you brought them into to do.

Looking at the way Poundstretchers is going, it wouldn't surprise me if that was actually the case.

 

[johntea]

In Castleford when Woolies bit the dust it became a Poundworld, then they went so Poundstretcher eventually decided to relocate from their existing overkill premises into there, walked past last week and it has now turned into a OneBelow! (the new chain run by Chris Edwards junior but I think Dad can't resist getting involved, hope Chris Edwards senior's mum still looks after the pair of them if she is still around!)

If you watched the documentary (still available on 4OD) the original Castleford premises was one that Chris Edwards tried to renovate before Aziz fell out with him, been an empty shell and quite an eyesore for the past several years! (There is an excellent Wilkos across the road however in the former Co-Op supermarket building!)

It did make me laugh having a walk round the new OneBelow store which markets itself as "Everything £1 OR LESS!" the first thing you saw was a bucket of massive hand sanitizer bottles on 'Manager's Special' at...£2!

 

[philjo]

Herts Trading standards have advised that Debenhams will not accept the redemption of any gift vouchers after this Sunday.

 

[Westcountryman]

Herts Trading standards have advised that Debenhams will not accept the redemption of any gift vouchers after this Sunday.

This is potentially a big issue for Christmas. Our local supermarket is full of gift cards. I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of those still on sale are from companies either in administration or likely to go into administration. If you are going to buy a gift card, I would advise thinking carefully about which ones to get. I know a lot of people on this forum dislike Amazon, but their card is probably safe. Also National Book Tokens are quite safe, and I would opt for those rather than, say, Waterstones. Primark also would be pretty safe.

 

[jon0844]

I think you're likely better off loading a prepaid debit card with money, as MasterCard or Visa will be perfectly safe. Far less likely to expire after a year or two when someone inevitably forgets their card. I forget the percentage of gift cards that never get used, but it's quite high.

 

[philjo]

Morrisons still had Arcadia gift cards on display earlier this week.

 

[DB]

Bluewater, Metrocentre, Merry Hill spring to mind.

Meadowhall