Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[317 forever]

My experience of the W H Smith stores here in Nottinghamshire very much is like that. The large store in Nottingham is very dated and is never very busy. It just seem unattractive, not very well lit and just generally dull and uncared for. In complete contrast the small W H Smith shop in Newark Market Place appears modern, bright and well stocked. The small Newark shop is always busy and seems to be the main newsagent, stationery and bookshop for this market town. If the shop in Newark closed I think people would really miss it, whereas the one in Nottingham probably wouldn’t be missed very much. Theres also a large store in Mansfield which is dated and unattractive like the Nottingham store but it is fairly well used because there are few alternatives in Mansfield these days. The main problem with all of these shops is the high prices of even basic items like birthday cards.

Another difference is that in big cities the main line station usually has a WH Smith that everybody can reach, even people not travelling. To come back to Manchester, the one in the Arndale Centre and the replacement store just outside have closed, but there are still WH Smith stores at Piccadilly and Victoria stations. However, stations in smaller towns tend not to have a WH Smith (although some still will).

 

[Harpo]

Another difference is that in big cities the main line station usually has a WH Smith that everybody can reach, even people not travelling…………………..stations in smaller towns tend not to have a WH Smith (although some still will).

Wolverhampton station branch disappeared last year, and WHS were the first occupants of a new retail unit there.

 

[Cletus]

Seems Eurosport's channels are ending and its sports are to go onto TNT.

Closure of Eurosport channels 28/02/25

Post created to reflect topic being discussed. Be aware that the decision to close the Eurosport channels and transfer content to the TNT sports channels was made by the channel’s parent company Warner Brothers Discovery.

helpforum.sky.com

 

[jfollows]

Another difference is that in big cities the main line station usually has a WH Smith that everybody can reach, even people not travelling. To come back to Manchester, the one in the Arndale Centre and the replacement store just outside have closed, but there are still WH Smith stores at Piccadilly and Victoria stations. However, stations in smaller towns tend not to have a WH Smith (although some still will).

Yes, I had forgotten but now you remind me that the Arndale Centre store used to be huge, on two levels. I worked for ICL in 1980 before I went to university and we moved from Alberton House (behind Kendals, still there) to the Arndale tower block, so I certainly remember my lunchtime wandering around the WH Smith at the time.
Now all I think is sticky carpets and over-priced rubbish.

 

[johntea]

Interesting times ahead for Poundland

Seems to be a combination of factors including the fact not a lot of items are a pound any more and they've perhaps expanded a little too much for their own good...plus shoplifting on top hasn't helped

I've never understood their attempt with the clothing range personally although I did get a very decent light jacket in there once for around £15...most customers wanting cheap clothes already have the giant that is Primark or the supermarket ranges

What does Barry Williams' return mean for Poundland? - Retail Gazette

With Pepco set to reveal its grand plan for Poundland on its Capital Markets day on 6 March, Retail Gazette takes a look at what Barry Williams may have up his sleeve and what's next for one of the UK's much-loved high street retailer.

www.retailgazette.co.uk

Former Poundland boss Barry Williams was parachuted back onto the board of the discount chain late last month as owner Pepco looks to address its struggling performance.

Williams stepped back from the helm of the value retailer in September 2023, when Pepco moved him across to head up and the group’s European sister chain.

His arrival coincides with the departure of Poundland’s managing director Austin Cooke, who resigned from the business after seven years and more than a year since he took over from Williams.

The return of its former boss comes at a crucial time for Poundland after it reported its fourth consecutive quarter of declining sales, which fell 7.3% in the three months to 31 December and 3.6% in its most recent financial year.

 

[Steddenm]

With the potential closure of WHSmith, what will happen to the Toys R Us concessions in some of their stores?

 

[styles]

With the potential closure of WHSmith, what will happen to the Toys R Us concessions in some of their stores?

I don't believe WH Smith will close down, even their high street division. It may get sold, but ultimately the high street division made £22m profit last year, down £2m the year before but still profitable. Post Offices, Toys R Us, etc will likely keep them afloat for a while yet.

Their travel outlet sales and profits are up on the previous year so the group overall is going to stick around as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2025 ==

Body Shop.

For a long time they were the premium skincare shop on the high street. But they're a bit.. boring.. inside now, particularly compared to the likes of Lush which appears to have a stronger brand identity.

They've also got a huge amount of competition from online now, and any Tom, Dick, or Harry can create a skincare product and get it mass marketed on Facebook.

Doesn't help imo that Body Shop operates an MLM scheme.

 

[Ken X]

Our Body Shop in Horsham is now called "The Natural Body Co". Looks identical inside, but wonder if it has been sold or rebranded?

 

[SuspectUsual]

I don't believe WH Smith will close down, even their high street division. It may get sold, but ultimately the high street division made £22m profit last year, down £2m the year before but still profitable. Post Offices, Toys R Us, etc will likely keep them afloat for a while yet.

Their travel outlet sales and profits are up on the previous year so the group overall is going to stick around as well.

I suspect the ongoing lack of store refurbishment and maintenance is helping manipulate that profit figure. Most high street stores reek of decline

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Our Body Shop in Horsham is now called "The Natural Body Co". Looks identical inside, but wonder if it has been sold or rebranded?

It's looks to be a newly-incorporated replacement. The Horsham store was one of a number of Bodyshop outlets that were closed by the firm's administrators a month ago, including Plymouth, Sheffield, Norwich and Exeter.

 

[Harpo]

I suspect the ongoing lack of store refurbishment and maintenance is helping manipulate that profit figure. Most high street stores reek of decline

True. The WHS corridors of tat are similar to better organised charity shops.

 

[RuddA]

It's looks to be a newly-incorporated replacement. The Horsham store was one of a number of Bodyshop outlets that were closed by the firm's administrators a month ago, including Plymouth, Sheffield, Norwich and Exeter.

I believe the one in Norwich closed as it was a franchise, and The Body Shop decided to stop supplying them.

 

[cactustwirly]

I don't believe WH Smith will close down, even their high street division. It may get sold, but ultimately the high street division made £22m profit last year, down £2m the year before but still profitable. Post Offices, Toys R Us, etc will likely keep them afloat for a while yet.

Their travel outlet sales and profits are up on the previous year so the group overall is going to stick around as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2025 ==

Body Shop.

For a long time they were the premium skincare shop on the high street. But they're a bit.. boring.. inside now, particularly compared to the likes of Lush which appears to have a stronger brand identity.

They've also got a huge amount of competition from online now, and any Tom, Dick, or Harry can create a skincare product and get it mass marketed on Facebook.

Doesn't help imo that Body Shop operates an MLM scheme.

Well I doubt every Tom Dick and Harry on Facebook is entirely compliant with the regulations. There are strict safety regulations over the manufacturing process, ingredients and product labelling etc, some of which is cost prohibitive to a small business

 

[styles]

Well I doubt every Tom Dick and Harry on Facebook is entirely compliant with the regulations. There are strict safety regulations over the manufacturing process, ingredients and product labelling etc, some of which is cost prohibitive to a small business

Sure but you can outsource that to a reputable supplier; beyond that it's marketing. I highly doubt all these new skincare brands are really sat in labs doing R&D to make something truly innovative - it's just a change in formula and rebadging.

 

[brad465]

The end in sight for Skype with Microsoft closing it this May:

Skype announces it will close in May

The internet chat and phone service, which is owned by Microsoft, made the announcement on X.

www.bbc.co.uk

Skype, the video calling service that had hundreds of millions of users, is closing in May, its owner Microsoft has said.
It was once one of the world's most popular websites and allowed people to make voice calls via their computers to friends and family all over the globe for free.
Skype was not the first or only company offering this service but by allowing the public to make computer-to-computer calls free, it helped popularise the concept.
In an announcement on X, external, Skype said users can sign in to Microsoft Teams with their account to stay connected with all their chats and contacts.
Microsoft made no immediate comment when contacted by BBC News.
First released in 2003, Skype was bought by the tech giant in 2011 for $8.5bn (£6.1bn) - its biggest-ever acquisition at the time.
As Microsoft once outlined, external, Skype became integrated with the company's other products such as Xbox and Windows devices.
In December 2010, tech industry commentator Om Malik called it one of the "key applications of the modern web", when the website suffered a two-day global outage.
So what happened?
When Microsoft bought Skype, the company was buying into an app that had been downloaded one billion times and had hundreds of millions of users.
"Together we will create the future of real-time communications," Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said at the time.
But as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger grew in popularity, Skype was waning.
In 2017, Microsoft redesigned Skype, with some features looking very much like rival Snapchat. Users were not happy.
At the time, Rachel Kaser, a reporter at The Next Web, said: "People are annoyed by this update to the Skype app because it's fixing something that was never broken to begin with."
In June 2021, speculation persisted that it was the beginning of the end for Skype.
When Microsoft announced Windows 11, its new operating system, it stated that Microsoft Teams would be integrated by default, while Skype, for the first time in years, was not.
Teams had seen a boost in popularity during the Covid pandemic as people moved their work and personal meetings online.

 

[Backroom_boy]

The Times reports today that WHSmiths won't be licencing the brand when they sell the high street business; my prediction is the name will disappear from the high street in two years along with half the shops

 

[Trackman]

The end in sight for Skype with Microsoft closing it this May:

Not really a shock, it was bound to happen because of MS Teams.

 

[jon0844]

My WH Smith now has almost everything marked down 30% (not the magazines, drinks or confectionary) and is back to having no staff near the tills/exit (encouraging people to just walk out without paying). I can only assume the end is near.

 

[styles]

The end in sight for Skype with Microsoft closing it this May:

Skype announces it will close in May

The internet chat and phone service, which is owned by Microsoft, made the announcement on X.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hardly surprising. I didn't even realise Skype was still going - I assumed Teams had replaced it.

 

[GoneSouth]

My WH Smith now has almost everything marked down 30% (not the magazines, drinks or confectionary) and is back to having no staff near the tills/exit (encouraging people to just walk out without paying). I can only assume the end is near.

Reducing their confectionary prices by 30% might have meant they actually sell some. As it is they’re ridiculous prices and people won’t pay and go elsewhere. Victims of their own greed.

It’s a miserable place to go shopping for anything. They’re unique in the market for one thing, magazines, and in one branch I visited recently they’ve stuffed them in the corner out of the way which makes no sense to me at all. Another company run by clowns.

 

[Gomper]

Manchester United PLC

 

[gswindale]

Hardly surprising. I didn't even realise Skype was still going - I assumed Teams had replaced it.

I currently use Skype on a weekly basis to talk to my parents.

I guess we'll be moving to Teams in future, although the fact that Skype was designed simply for calling people means that the replacement is, in effect, overkill for most users

 

[styles]

I currently use Skype on a weekly basis to talk to my parents.

I guess we'll be moving to Teams in future, although the fact that Skype was designed simply for calling people means that the replacement is, in effect, overkill for most users

Too much competition - even without all the bells and whistles of Teams; there's Zoom, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Hangouts, FaceTime, etc. Microsoft dedicated their resources towards Teams, and Skype fell by the way side and now seems to lack any USP. Not to mention that things like Messenger, WhatsApp, FaceTime, etc are apps most people already have installed for another purpose. Even on desktop they support voice/video calling.

 

[1D54]

How many people will nip into a WHS on a station for sandwiches etc when there are small versions of Tesco / Saintsburys near all the main ones selling meal deals a couple of quid cheaper.

 

[styles]

How many people will nip into a WHS on a station for sandwiches etc when there are small versions of Tesco / Saintsburys near all the main ones selling meal deals a couple of quid cheaper.

Seemingly a lot of people given their travel outlet sales figures.

There's also the convenience factor - if you're popping into Smiths for a book, a travel pillow, a phone charger, etc; then getting the meal deal at the same time is quicker than going to a second shop.

Not to mention the stations where Smiths doesn't have the supermarket competition, of which there are many. Chester station for example you have Smiths, Costa (more expensive for a sandwich + snack + drink), or the in-house cafe option (also more expensive).

Also foreign tourists at bigger railway stations not knowing that supermarkets may offer a slightly cheaper meal deal. I know when I'm abroad and fancy a sandwich I don't go into all the outlets to check the prices - I judge based on appearance what might be within the budget I'm aiming for and pluck for one.

That's before we get to airports, where Smiths is on par (price-wise) with the competition - Boots.

 

[GoneSouth]

There's also the convenience factor - if you're popping into Smiths for a book, a travel pillow, a phone charger, etc; then getting the meal deal at the same time is quicker than going to a second shop.

I must say I don’t think WHS would have been my first choice for a phone charger, I didn’t even know they sell them! I’m sure they are very unreasonably priced!

 

[styles]

I must say I don’t think WHS would have been my first choice for a phone charger, I didn’t even know they sell them! I’m sure they are very unreasonably priced!

They're very expensive, but so are 99% of outlets selling phone chargers at travel points - they have customers who are "desperate".

I was caught out at Crewe once on a long journey with multiple changes. My charger packed in at the start of my journey, but I needed my phone charged for my ticket and railcard. I resigned myself to buying a charger at Smiths in Crewe. I didn't pick up a meal deal though as I'd had a solid sit-down Chinese in Bangor before leaving!

 

[1D54]

I get the tourists who have no idea of meal deals at local places but who in their right minds would shop at a station / airport for travel pillows and phone chargers etc knowing fine well they can get such stuff at half the price elsewhere. Still there are enough people who purchase foreign currencies at airports at scandalous exchange rates so you have probably rested your case.

 

[Bald Rick]

but who in their right minds would shop at a station / airport for travel pillows and phone chargers etc knowing fine well they can get such stuff at half the price elsewhere.

Lots of people - because they don‘t know different. Do not underestimate the ignorance of the British Public!

 

[jon0844]

WH Smith also have branches at many foreign airports and possibly rail stations, so there's a recognition that might make many feel more safe shopping there because they have one at home (albeit not on their high streets).