Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[Blindtraveler]

But yet I have quite a few friends with pre-teen or teenaged daughters and although some of them have quite a bit of money to spend as they have either saved it or got babysitting or other jobs or whatever, their money goes in superdrug or in some of the larger supermarkets whose prices are better and range bigger for stop I think boots are indeed in not necessarily imminent danger but certainly need to give it some thought, not sure if store closures and job losses is the answer though

 

[dangie]

Finding the Boots discussion fascinating. They are in absolutely no danger of going under.

As the demographic of Boots’ customers is largely female, and the demographic of this forum is largely not, then I think it’s fair to say that this forum is not representative of typical Boots’ customers.

But do the ‘typical’ Boots customers actually use Boots?

I go into my local Boots once/month for my tablets. I go to the dispensing counter. Invariably I have to queue.

There is a separate counter for customers who wish to make a purchase. There is rarely anyone there. If a customer does turn up they need to wait for an assistant to come and serve them. Certainly from my observations, Boots is only for prescribed or behind the counter medication.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Boots and sandwiches. I find their sandwiches cheap and good I will hunt them out as choice number one if I am travelling.

Pharmacy is probably my main reason for going to Boots as still get about 50% of our prescriptions there. Not sure why - force of habit probably. It is obvious why the pharmacy is at the back of the store - it is behaving like a loss leader. drawing customers through everything else. I get some other over the counter medications in Boots. Gone are the days when I would routinely go into the basement to the photo processing area and while there look at gadgets, cameras, batteries etc etc.

I went off Boots about 20 years ago as it was so large I often could not find what I went in for in a Lunch (half) hour. Dawned on me I was walking past Superdrug which was a lot smaller so easier to hunt round. Superdrug was marginally cheaper that Boots but Boots rewards were effectively 3% iirs (quite high) - nowadays I have no idea where my rewards card is and that says how often I visit. Meanwhile Superdrug have decided to re-arrange the store so they have lost my patience!

A lot of non-pharmacy drugs I go to "Savers" for and Poundland for painkillers that everyone round me seems to live on. I drink water and/or go for a walk but my joints are beginning to get noticeable of late!

Both Boots and Superdrug pharmacies use the same SINGLE supplier I have discovered so I have learnt not to queue up at both for the missus' more obscure medicine.

I go to an independent pharmacy "AtoZ" that uses whatever suppler has what they (we) want. It is a bit deeper into the seamier end of Croydon but worth it.

 

[brad465]

Not a UK company, but US trucking company Yellow has ceased. It was 99 years old and had 30,000 employees.

Perhaps they overspent on Centenary marketing/celebration kit

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Finding the Boots discussion fascinating. They are in absolutely no danger of going under.

Indeed. Perhaps a topic for a separate thread.

 

[SuspectUsual]

As the demographic of Boots’ customers is largely female, and the demographic of this forum is largely not, then I think it’s fair to say that this forum is not representative of typical Boots’ customers.

Maybe, but is that demographic also relatively old? Where are the next generation coming from?

 

[birchesgreen]

Our Boots always seems to have plenty of young female customers in it, er... apparently.

 

[Bald Rick]

But do the ‘typical’ Boots customers actually use Boots?

I go into my local Boots once/month for my tablets. I go to the dispensing counter. Invariably I have to queue.

There is a separate counter for customers who wish to make a purchase. There is rarely anyone there. If a customer does turn up they need to wait for an assistant to come and serve them. Certainly from my observations, Boots is only for prescribed or behind the counter medication.

Yes! The Boots I go to (on errands for wife or daughter) are usually filled with woman of all (shopping) ages.

Maybe, but is that demographic also relatively old? Where are the next generation coming from?

No. At least not those that I go to.

 

[jfollows]

Analysis/reporting in The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/busines...mortgage-price-war-us-inflation-business-live and https://twitter.com/resi_analyst?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1689555772907077632|twgr^36fa27ca2530c62f815455eefc7b9d09fcbcbfeb|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2023/aug/10/uk-house-prices-fall-banks-mortgage-price-war-us-inflation-business-live) shows the effect on mortgage arrears from the recent interest rate rises, which in turn implies reduced spending on retail items, especially "non-essential" spending.

More UK mortgage-holders have fallen into arrears on their loans in the last quarter, as rising interest rates and the cost of living squeeze hits households.

Trade body UK finance reports that 7% more homeowners are now behind on their payments, compared with the first quarter of this year.

The number of buy-to-let mortgages in arrears has jumped 28% quarter-on-quarter, suggesting that more landlords are struggling to cope with higher interest rates.

Here’s the details:

• There were 81,900 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2023, 7 per cent greater than in the previous quarter.
• Within the total, there were 30,940 homeowner mortgages in the lightest arrears band (representing between 2.5 and 5 per cent of the outstanding balance). This was 12 per cent greater than in the previous quarter.
• There were 8,980 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2023, 28 per cent greater than in the previous quarter.
• Within the total, there were 4,810 buy-to-let mortgages in the lightest arrears band (representing between 2.5 and 5 per cent of the outstanding balance). This was 41 per cent greater than in the previous quarter.

Buy-to-let will presumably feed through as rent increases in due course also.

 

[ainsworth74]

As Wilkos has actually gone into administration a new thread, containing post from this thread, has been set up which you can find here.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Such a shame about Wilkos, just like Woolies all over again.

I really thought Poundstretcher would go before Wilkos, after the demises of 99p Stores & Poundworld, as their stores don't seem to be as busy. I once browsed in a near empty Poundstretcher while the B&M next door had many more customers inside.

I predict WHSmith may be the next one to go, I expect them to disappear from the high street to focus only on airports, rail stations and motorway service stations similiar to John Menzies years ago.

 

[Cross City]

I predict WHSmith may be the next one to go, I expect them to disappear from the high street to focus only on airports, rail stations and motorway service stations similiar to John Menzies years ago.

No chance they disappear from the high street IMO. They own a lot of their premises so they don't have rent to pay and from what I know they make an absolute packet from the in-store Post Offices.

 

[AM9]

No chance they disappear from the high street IMO. They own a lot of their premises so they don't have rent to pay and from what I know they make an absolute packet from the in-store Post Offices.

Smiths is also a major player in distribution.

 

[skyhigh]

Smiths is also a major player in distribution.

Not any more. The distribution arm is now a separate company.

 

[jon0844]

Not any more. The distribution arm is now a separate company.

If you can now take liquids through airport security, the travel division is going to lose a fortune from lost sales of bottles of water at grossly inflated prices.

Plus, if these trials to open banking hubs as part of the post office (and using in many cases former banks) then I wonder if we'll see post offices relocate to those premises and out of places like WH Smith? We have one coming in a former Halifax bank, and it remains to be seen if the post office moves (as it is currently in what appears to be a temporary location in an empty retail unit far too big for the size of the post office itself).

 

[DavidGrain]

Lloyds Pharmacy is a company I would watch. In their early days they were buying up any retail chemist shops which came on the market until they were able to boast that they had more branches than Boots. In fact on my 5 mile drive to work in the early 1990s, I passed 7 of their shops, two of them directly opposite each other. They have now closed many of them.

In just this year they have closed all their pharmacies in Sainsbury's stores. Also Lloyds Direct, which is part of the same operation dealing with online prescription renewals have said that they will no longer accept orders for medication to be collected from Lloyds retail pharmacies.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I suspect New Look are in a spot of bother too

 

[skyhigh]

Lloyds Pharmacy is a company I would watch. In their early days they were buying up any retail chemist shops which came on the market until they were able to boast that they had more branches than Boots. In fact on my 5 mile drive to work in the early 1990s, I passed 7 of their shops, two of them directly opposite each other. They have now closed many of them.

In just this year they have closed all their pharmacies in Sainsbury's stores. Also Lloyds Direct, which is part of the same operation dealing with online prescription renewals have said that they will no longer accept orders for medication to be collected from Lloyds retail pharmacies.

I doubt Lloyds will be in any trouble. As you say, the direction they're pushing towards is centralised warehouse dispensing and delivery by next day post. They are getting rid of a lot of branches but moving towards a more profitable method of delivering some of the services.

 

[J-2739]

I predict WHSmith may be the next one to go, I expect them to disappear from the high street to focus only on airports, rail stations and motorway service stations similiar to John Menzies years ago.

People have been saying this for a while, but has it actually come to fruition yet?

The closure of their Barnsley branch, I feel, was a major loss on its High Street (although things have picked up since).

 

[jon0844]

People have been saying this for a while, but has it actually come to fruition yet?

It didn't happen before because WH Smith was making a fortune at its travel locations, had some level of protection/revenue from stores with post offices in them, and the distribution side of the business (with VERY nice profit margins on most newspapers and magazines).

As they change their business, sell off some parts of their company, and people change their buying habits, I do think parts of WH Smith (namely the high street stores) are in danger. The fact that many stores have not had any sort of internal refit for decades (hence the jokey WHSmith carpet account on Twitter/X) and some shops have no staff on the shopfloor at all (press a button if you need them to come out of the back office) and I think we can see they can't possibly cut anything more.

 

[Merle Haggard]

I predict WHSmith may be the next one to go, I expect them to disappear from the high street to focus only on airports, rail stations and motorway service stations similiar to John Menzies years ago.

Although obviously buying habits have changed since, when I was commuting, every evening large numbers of people bought their copy of the Evening Standard at railway station newsagents. I used the Menzies at St Pancras; I picked up my copy from the stack, turned to a counter nearby and presented my 50p or whatever; the assistant would give me my change from already-counted stacks of change for each possible amount tendered. It was all done at a slow walking pace, throughput of hundreds. Then WH Smith took over. You had to retrieve your newspaper from a display and pass it to the assistant who scanned the barcode and handed it back. You then handed the assistant the payment, and they would enter into the computerised till the amount you had tendered (each coin denomination recorded). The computer would then work out and indicate to the assistant what coins I should be given as change, they extracted them from the till, and gave them to you.

Having a life, that's why I stopped patronising W.H. Smiths.

Somehow, Private Eye offended the board of W.H. Smiths (perhaps with a cover) and they refused to stock it. Subsequently they were always referred to as 'W.H. Smugs" by that organ.

 

[Busaholic]

Although obviously buying habits have changed since, when I was commuting, every evening large numbers of people bought their copy of the Evening Standard at railway station newsagents. I used the Menzies at St Pancras; I picked up my copy from the stack, turned to a counter nearby and presented my 50p or whatever; the assistant would give me my change from already-counted stacks of change for each possible amount tendered. It was all done at a slow walking pace, throughput of hundreds. Then WH Smith took over. You had to retrieve your newspaper from a display and pass it to the assistant who scanned the barcode and handed it back. You then handed the assistant the payment, and they would enter into the computerised till the amount you had tendered (each coin denomination recorded). The computer would then work out and indicate to the assistant what coins I should be given as change, they extracted them from the till, and gave them to you.

Having a life, that's why I stopped patronising W.H. Smiths.

Somehow, Private Eye offended the board of W.H. Smiths (perhaps with a cover) and they refused to stock it. Subsequently they were always referred to as 'W.H. Smugs" by that organ.

It was W.H.Smiths who took fright at the litigious bully and crook Robert Maxwell suing Private Eye every other week and threatening to sue vendors of the magazine, and so chickened out of selling it. Once Richard Ingrams had given way to Ian Hyslop at the Eye there was a rapprochement.

 

[Merle Haggard]

It was W.H.Smiths who took fright at the litigious bully and crook Robert Maxwell suing Private Eye every other week and threatening to sue vendors of the magazine, and so chickened out of selling it. Once Richard Ingrams had given way to Ian Hyslop at the Eye there was a rapprochement.

Thanks for the background info.

Really as an aside; my (long late) mother worked as a cleaner at a printer's that was taken over by Maxwell. She received a card (I expect everyone who worked there did!) from Maxwell at Christmas - the one between him buying the business and asset stripping and closing it - it wasn't very Christmassy but was a colour picture of Maxwell and family standing smugly in front of a very large house. His (presumably) children were in the photo, all in graduation finery. I took it to be to show the workers how rich they were. The daughter in the picture is possibly not looking so smug now though...

 

[alxndr]

I doubt Lloyds will be in any trouble. As you say, the direction they're pushing towards is centralised warehouse dispensing and delivery by next day post. They are getting rid of a lot of branches but moving towards a more profitable method of delivering some of the services.

I'd be surprised too, the nearest Lloyds to me recently got/is currently getting refurbished (not sure, it's not actually my preferred pharmacy) and it didn't look particularly old.

 

[Ianigsy]

It was W.H.Smiths who took fright at the litigious bully and crook Robert Maxwell suing Private Eye every other week and threatening to sue vendors of the magazine, and so chickened out of selling it. Once Richard Ingrams had given way to Ian Hyslop at the Eye there was a rapprochement.

There was also the cover of the issue immediately following Princess Diana’s death, which was fairly unsparing of the crocodile tears being shed by the press who never left her alone in life but fell over themselves to bring out commemorative supplements. WHS refused to stock it and may have declined to distribute it as well.

 

[GCH100]

A lot of WH Smith High Street branches have closed in the North West over the last few years, namely Blackpool, Blackburn, Accrington, Barrow-in-Furness, Wigan, St Helens, Leigh, Birkenhead, Chorley, Crewe and Widnes, I think this is in order to only concentrate on locations it deems Profitable, the most profitable one in Northern England is the store in York, I am lead to understand.

In terms of Lloyds Pharmacy the local branch I use has just been taken over by Cohens.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

I feel Morrisons' future looks uncertain after it was overtaken by Aldi in market share and likely will be again by Lidl soon.

If it hits the wall like Safeway years ago then Sainsburys & Asda probably will take on their stores as Tesco could be banned due to competition rules. Waitrose probably will also want a number of stores to keep up with M&S foodhalls.

 

[Swanny200]

I feel Morrisons' future looks uncertain after it was overtaken by Aldi in market share and likely will be again by Lidl soon.

If it hits the wall like Safeway years ago then Sainsburys & Asda probably will take on their stores as Tesco could be banned due to competition rules. Waitrose probably will also want a number of stores to keep up with M&S foodhalls.

Our Morrisons in Jarrow is undergoing a refurb just now, the car park has been redone and rearranged (although it shares it with the shopping centre), the interior is in the process of having all but 4 or 5 tills shut down with self serve in its place, the coffee bar has been shut with the cigarette and lottery kiosk moved in it's place, the Cafe is being fully refurbed and the freezers which have been icing up for about a year relaced by new ones and their position moved from the back of the store to the front, oh and new LED lighting too, it certainly looks better than it used to and the refurb is only half done

 

[Blindtraveler]

Lidl can hardly overtake anything and less they actually get enough stock in their stores, every time I go into one it's like old mother hubbard's cupboard and increasingly it's less of their own brand items and more branded goods at about a penny cheaper than Tesco offered for sale. Not what I'm looking for in a supermarket especially with the often slightly dubious customer service you get. I like Morrisons but certainly not as impressed with them since I moved to the south and a switch may well happen soon

 

[SuspectUsual]

I feel Morrisons' future looks uncertain after it was overtaken by Aldi in market share and likely will be again by Lidl soon.

If it hits the wall like Safeway years ago then Sainsburys & Asda probably will take on their stores as Tesco could be banned due to competition rules. Waitrose probably will also want a number of stores to keep up with M&S foodhalls.

Morrisons biggest problem isn’t a small change in market share, it’s the unsustainable level of debt they’re carrying since the takeover. £600m in finance payments in the last financial year