Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[Bletchleyite]

If the extra grants for buses post-Covid cease, or the £2 single cap is insufficiently subsidised, I reckon CentreBus and Wellglade could cease, being taken over by Kinetic (owners of Go-Ahead) or Rotala (owners of Diamond). In the case of CentreBus, some subsidiaries could go to other purchasers or even close where there is already a large operator in the area.

How well off is Julian Peddle? I always had the impression of his operations being "playing buses" to an extent.

Wellglade to Transdev? Would put Hornby back in charge, I've heard a few times that Trent has deteriorated since he moved on.

 

[317 forever]

How well off is Julian Peddle? I always had the impression of his operations being "playing buses" to an extent.

Wellglade to Transdev? Would put Hornby back in charge, I've heard a few times that Trent has deteriorated since he moved on.

Actually, now you mention it, Wellglade and Transdev Blazefield have a similar character. Buses in different liveries and with interiors often matching, plus plenty of tendered routes.

Maybe Julian Peddle will keep his businesses going, profitably or otherwise, until he retires or just loses interest.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Actually, now you mention it, Wellglade and Transdev Blazefield have a similar character.

There is one very good reason for that - having, or having had, Alex Hornby as MD. He has a very specific way he thinks things should be, in close partnership with Best Impresssions. Love him or hate him, and I know he's a bit Marmite in that respect, you can tell one of his operations from a mile off.

 

[LowLevel]

There are far worse companies than SSP. I can't understand why anyone would specifically boycott them, they don't have a major ethics issue or anything.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Nov 2022 ==



Supposedly they surveyed customers to see if it should be renamed to something that wasn't an anti gay slur as well, but it was a resounding "no, keep it".

I loathe SSP. They treat their staff badly, they try to crowd out competition, their products are poor quality and in my opinion they add nothing to the railway. I refuse to use them.

 

[Russel]

There are far worse companies than SSP. I can't understand why anyone would specifically boycott them, they don't have a major ethics issue or anything.

I tend to avoid them for the same reasons @LowLevel has just posted. If the products they sold were actually worth the money, or the price they charged reflected the quality, then my opinion would be different.

They have a captive audience, so can do as they please, and they know it.

Most of the time, there will be better and cheaper options not far from the station.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Wimpy is one that i am always surprised is still open. It amazes me that they survive. They used to be one of the largest fast food chains in the UK as they had over 400 branches at one point. Now there is only 67 left (64 in England and 3 and Scotland and 0 in Wales) and more seem to close every year. Although in South Africa they still have over 500 branches and are the largest fast food chain there so seem to be more popular abroad. It is a shame as Wimpy is a lot nicer than Mcdonalds and Burger King and KFC and the other chains. I had always thought Wimpy had much better quality food.

The remaining Wimpy branches are in some interesting locations. Most seem to be in run down seaside towns or other rough suburbs. But then Dorking and Horsham both have Wimpy still and they are both very posh and wealthy commuter towns. I have been to the ones in Dorking and Horsham quite a few times. So i am not sure how they have decided on which ones to keep open.

Spud U Like is another one that i am surprised is still open. I see they are still clinging on with just a few branches. At one point they had over 50 branches and even in 2019 there was 37 left. So up until a couple of years ago there was still quite a few left. But then they suddenly closed a massive amount of them leaving just a couple left. I remember until 2019 there was one in Guildford which i used to go to sometimes. Then in 2019 the one in Guildford shut down along with almost all the other ones.

They seem to have 7 branches now. Looking online they seem to have some sort of sponsorship with James Martin now. It is a shame they were not more popular and widespread as it is nice simple tasty food and a lot healthier in comparison to any of the other fast food chains out there. There is nothing else like this available.

I wonder how much longer the remaining Wimpy and Spud U Like branches will last. I would certainly not be surprised if they disappear in the coming years.

Also another one is Safeway which still exists. But i do not imagine that it will for much longer. Although their supermarkets all shut down in 2005 when they were bought by Morrisons the Safeway brand continued to exist to supply own brand products to Mccolls and Martins stores. There is a large Safeway branded lorry that i always see that parks in the bus stop on the High Street in Lewes every morning (causing traffic chaos every morning) to deliver to the local Martins store.

Recently though Morrisons has bought Mccolls and has converted most of them to Morrisons Daily stores. So all of these stores now sell Morrisons own brand products instead of the Safeway ones. There are still quite a few Martins stores and a few remaining Mccolls ones so maybe the Safeway brand will continue for a little longer. But i imagine that eventually Morrisons will discontinue the Safeway brand. So it may not be long until Safeway disappears for good.

I think Morrisons will want to simplify the branding and drop the Safeway brand. I don't think the Safeway brand means much to anyone these days.

It will be interesting, hopefully they will as you can get some very good reductions, Spar survive given the niche market they serve.

As for Wimpey, saviour of my hunger in years past, certainly at Crewe and other stations, they have a large outlet in Nottingham I believe (open to correction here) and certainly a small kiosk at Milford near to Shugborough Estate, albeit parking can be a nightmare and even more so now the adjacent pub has installed number plate recognition cameras....thankfully, their famous " Bender" sausage is still available

The Wimpey in Croydon went quite a while ago. Must say I did not realise there were any left. They are better than junk food but unfortunately fast, easy to eat with one hand food is what people want.

The Wimpy at Milford, Staffs does well due to passing trade. There used to be one in Stafford town centre until quite recently and it did OK over the years.
Meanwhile McDonald's, in their quest for world domination, have FOUR branches in Stafford, including the drive-through down the road from my house.

I do feel Wimpey let the competition in a bit.

Of course the one that demised even more was Little Chef. I have a friend who always hated them but I thought they were OK and they were very convenient when out on a long drive. Being at petrol stations I always thought they had a good market position.

If the extra grants for buses post-Covid cease, or the £2 single cap is insufficiently subsidised, I reckon CentreBus and Wellglade could cease, being taken over by Kinetic (owners of Go-Ahead) or Rotala (owners of Diamond). In the case of CentreBus, some subsidiaries could go to other purchasers or even close where there is already a large operator in the area.

Where in the UK is this ?.

I tend to avoid them for the same reasons @LowLevel has just posted. If the products they sold were actually worth the money, or the price they charged reflected the quality, then my opinion would be different.

They have a captive audience, so can do as they please, and they know it.

Most of the time, there will be better and cheaper options not far from the station.

I tend to avoid eating at stations or on trains. It is usually expensive and, in the case of on trains, unreliable.

 

[317 forever]

@Peter Sarf I'm thinking of CentreBus in Leicester having Arriva, First and to a lesser extent Wellglade in the area; also Luton having Arriva in the area, D&G First or Arriva and Lincolnshire having Stagecoach nearby. This is not to say that any of these would necessarily buy CentreBus operations or even be allowed to due to competition concerns.

 

[GusB]

Also another one is Safeway which still exists. But i do not imagine that it will for much longer. Although their supermarkets all shut down in 2005 when they were bought by Morrisons the Safeway brand continued to exist to supply own brand products to Mccolls and Martins stores. There is a large Safeway branded lorry that i always see that parks in the bus stop on the High Street in Lewes every morning (causing traffic chaos every morning) to deliver to the local Martins store.

Recently though Morrisons has bought Mccolls and has converted most of them to Morrisons Daily stores. So all of these stores now sell Morrisons own brand products instead of the Safeway ones. There are still quite a few Martins stores and a few remaining Mccolls ones so maybe the Safeway brand will continue for a little longer. But i imagine that eventually Morrisons will discontinue the Safeway brand. So it may not be long until Safeway disappears for good.

Safeway products can be found in quite a few independent stores too. One of my local shops is a Key store, and stocks things like Safeway branded cheese.

 

[Steddenm]

The Wimpy in Portslade is my go-to whenever I'm over in Brighton. The food is excellent quality, staff friendly and a wide choice on the menu. For £8.95 I got a BBQ burger, chips, Coke and a free strawberry Eton mess sundae. Not too bad.

And all served on proper plates with proper cutlery!

 

[birchesgreen]

Addlestone Wimpy is worth visiting, Jeff is a legend.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Wimpy in Portslade is my go-to whenever I'm over in Brighton. The food is excellent quality, staff friendly and a wide choice on the menu. For £8.95 I got a BBQ burger, chips, Coke and a free strawberry Eton mess sundae. Not too bad.

And all served on proper plates with proper cutlery!

There were, curiously, two Wimpys, the sit down plated version and a paper and polystyrene McD's a like. The one we most often went to on Church St in Liverpool, converted to a BK and still that now, was the latter.

 

[BJames]

It will be interesting, hopefully they will as you can get some very good reductions, Spar survive given the niche market they serve.

As for Wimpey, saviour of my hunger in years past, certainly at Crewe and other stations, they have a large outlet in Nottingham I believe (open to correction here) and certainly a small kiosk at Milford near to Shugborough Estate, albeit parking can be a nightmare and even more so now the adjacent pub has installed number plate recognition cameras....thankfully, their famous " Bender" sausage is still available

No longer - assuming we are talking about the same one, it was in Broadmarsh and closed back in 2019.

 

[adc82140]

There were, curiously, two Wimpys, the sit down plated version and a paper and polystyrene McD's a like. The one we most often went to on Church St in Liverpool, converted to a BK and still that now, was the latter.

There was a programme about this on Channel 4 not that long ago. All the paper and polystyrene branches were taken over by Burger King. The sit down knife and fork ones they weren't interested in. I suppose it would have cost too much to convert them

 

[Lost property]

Of course the one that demised even more was Little Chef. I have a friend who always hated them but I thought they were OK and they were very convenient when out on a long drive. Being at petrol stations I always thought they had a good market position.

First, thanks for the reply about the Wimpey in Nottingham.

Little Chef...true. very innovative when the brand first appeared, and the food was generally pretty good albeit sometimes the surroundings not so. However, the brand was a victim of it's own success. Had to do a marketing analysis as part of my Degree and it was interesting to learn what emerged. Seemingly, they were a suppliers nightmare with their logistics / ordering...plus, they didn't believe in advertising, they felt the Chef symbol sold the brand alone...hence why, when they were taken over by Granada, there was a flurry of adverts, many involving Coronation St actors, to promote the brand but this came too late. That, and the days of stopping for large meals were declining.

They had a flowpath which showed they estimated every customer took 20 mins from entry to exit because people "knew " what they wanted prior to ordering. They were honest about the mark up on Motorway Services however, unlike many who used the risible " difficult to supply / isolated location " etc etc excuses for many years, because as they said, the mark up had nothing to do with the location, but, far more to do with the fact you got table service.

"Happy Eater " was a very poor imitation in comparison

 

[Butts]

First, thanks for the reply about the Wimpey in Nottingham.

Little Chef...true. very innovative when the brand first appeared, and the food was generally pretty good albeit sometimes the surroundings not so. However, the brand was a victim of it's own success. Had to do a marketing analysis as part of my Degree and it was interesting to learn what emerged. Seemingly, they were a suppliers nightmare with their logistics / ordering...plus, they didn't believe in advertising, they felt the Chef symbol sold the brand alone...hence why, when they were taken over by Granada, there was a flurry of adverts, many involving Coronation St actors, to promote the brand but this came too late. That, and the days of stopping for large meals were declining.

They had a flowpath which showed they estimated every customer took 20 mins from entry to exit because people "knew " what they wanted prior to ordering. They were honest about the mark up on Motorway Services however, unlike many who used the risible " difficult to supply / isolated location " etc etc excuses for many years, because as they said, the mark up had nothing to do with the location, but, far more to do with the fact you got table service.

"Happy Eater " was a very poor imitation in comparison

Still miss the "Olympic Breakfast"

 

[[.n]]

Agreed on AMT, I haven't bought much from there in the past but they aren't too common in the places I've been to I guess. Certainly in years gone by I would favour places like Pumpkin and Upper Crust because of the sadly long-gone Bite card discount and the loyalty scheme they ran. I don't boycott SSP brands, but I rarely use them given how expensive they are.

I think Bite Card still exists , just with a very reduced 10% discount https://www.bitecard.co.uk/faqs

I have one, but I only latterly really used it at Pumpkin cafes around the place like Southampton and Bournemouth, when I didn't quite have time to nip out of the station to get something else

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think Bite Card still exists , just with a very reduced 10% discount https://www.bitecard.co.uk/faqs

I have one, but I only latterly really used it at Pumpkin cafes around the place like Southampton and Bournemouth, when I didn't quite have time to nip out of the station to get something else

They don't issue new ones sadly.

 

[[.n]]

They don't issue new ones sadly.

Thanks for the update - I have 2 so I suppose I should keep those safe, they do occasionally come in useful - mainly to reduce "outrageous rip off" train station pricing to "standard rip-off" train station pricing when there isn't time to seek another option

 

[Russel]

Thanks for the update - I have 2 so I suppose I should keep those safe, they do occasionally come in useful - mainly to reduce "outrageous rip off" train station pricing to "standard rip-off" train station pricing when there isn't time to seek another option

I think I'd rather just go without.

 

[[.n]]

I think I'd rather just go without.

Generally I plan for the journey, but sometimes 3 hours is too long not to have a drink or snack, and I always like to make sure I have at least a bottle of water

 

[dosxuk]

I think Morrisons will want to simplify the branding and drop the Safeway brand. I don't think the Safeway brand means much to anyone these days.

Morrisons use the Safeway brand where they don't want people to immediately associate it with Morrisons - such as where it's being sold by other retailers. There's a lot of risk involved with an established brand appearing in locations that the brand has no control over, so it's less the value of the Safeway brand to consumers they're interested in as protecting the Morrisons brand.

The Safeway brand was brought back specifically for this use after having been abandoned for several years, so it's safe to assume it's not going to just disappear in an attempt to simplify things.

 

[trebor79]

Used to go to that Wimpy in Nottingham from time to time. There was also one in Newark when I lived there.
I'm not sure why they seemed to die out to such an extent, it's decent food at a reasonable price.

Little Chef in the 80s always seems busy. But in its latter years they were very quiet and the last few times I went in they were depressing places with hardly any customers, half the menu unavailable, seating ripped/worn out and some truly disgusting toilet facilities.
That's what happens when you take in the profits without reinvesting I guess.

Burger King seems to be going the same way. Slowly disappearing from the high street and a lot of their roadside locations are reminiscent of LC in its decline. Shame, I like their burgers.

 

[Russel]

Slightly related to the SSP posts, how long do Costa Coffee have until they start to struggle?

I brought one of the Christmas drinks today, the Toblerone Latte and was charged £4.20 for the privilege, next time I'll stick to Greggs.

At these prices, how long until they price themselves out of the market?

 

[Jimini]

Love heading to the Wimpy in Loughton. Proper throwback to the '90s and great food!

Stumbled across the one in Bicester the other week as well. They do seem to survive in some random places.

 

[trebor79]

Slightly related to the SSP posts, how long do Costa Coffee have until they start to struggle?

I brought one of the Christmas drinks today, the Toblerone Latte and was charged £4.20 for the privilege, next time I'll stick to Greggs.

At these prices, how long until they price themselves out of the market?

All of those coffee places are going to struggle at those prices I think. Greggs is popular because they don't take the p on their prices and TBH I can't tell the difference between a Greggs or McDonald's coffee and one from an expensive coffee shop.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All of those coffee places are going to struggle at those prices I think. Greggs is popular because they don't take the p on their prices and TBH I can't tell the difference between a Greggs or McDonald's coffee and one from an expensive coffee shop.

The thing is that just as you can get good beer for under two quid in a supermarket yet much more expensive in a pub, the coffee chains also provide a nice place to sit. They are overpriced for takeaway but that isn't all of their business. They also have to cover the costs from just a drink for most people, in McD's most people eat too.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Coffee is no different to other markets - at times like this it’s the middle ground that gets squeezed, as people watching the pennies trade down to McDonalds, Greggs and the like.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Coffee is no different to other markets - at times like this it’s the middle ground that gets squeezed, as people watching the pennies trade down to McDonalds, Greggs and the like.

Or just to cheaper drinks. Perhaps the Bucks would do well to get better at ensuring when filter is available, for instance.

 

[trebor79]

Or just to cheaper drinks. Perhaps the Bucks would do well to get better at ensuring when filter is available, for instance.

Agree. I find their espresso based stuff undrinkable so never buy it. Tea or filter coffee all the way for me!

 

[Techniquest]

All of those coffee places are going to struggle at those prices I think. Greggs is popular because they don't take the p on their prices and TBH I can't tell the difference between a Greggs or McDonald's coffee and one from an expensive coffee shop.

When I paid £3.20 for a medium black americano the other week in Costa, Inverness, I was shocked. If it had been some fancy drink, that would have been understandable but it's not as if it was all that worth it! I do like the coffee in Greggs, there is better out there but for the price it's absolutely fine.

The amount of people that go to places like Costa though, they're clearly not going to go out of business any time soon! Coffee #1 is similar here, very busy all the time. I personally don't rate them whatsoever, every coffee I have had from there has not been worth the money.

I wouldn't say I've traded down on my coffee, but I did drastically cut down on my takeaway coffee many moons ago. Too many inferior coffees when out and about made that decision easy, less diverting via Costa (for example) on the way back from an early morning shift given I can make a superior product myself with instant coffee (that's how much I rate the average coffee shop coffee these days!) and I drink up the savings.

What hit me harder though was increasing my buying of Aldi's coffee jars. I once bought, as a distress purchase, a jar of Just Essentials (Smart Price's new name in Asda) jar of coffee some weeks back, it was desperate and I vowed that I would rather go without than drink that nonsense again!

Which really is a sad sign of the times, so many people buying the cheapy-cheap brand stuff. I observed someone trying to buy 4 packets of 40 Just Essentials teabags today, with a limit of 3 per customer. Having to buy such low-quality stuff must be difficult to do, some epic trade-down going on there!