Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

DelW · 9 Aug 2026

brad465 said:
"TG Jones" as a rebrand made no sense at all. For all WHSmith's flaws, the name was far more recognisable and if they were going to keep it for the "over a barrel" locations, then they might as well have kept it for all of them. The name rebrand only made sense if it came with a massive interior overhaul of the stores, which clearly hasn't happened. If the High Street ones are not viable, they are better off closed.

I think that the original company, which retained the travel locations, insisted that the buyer of the high street shops had to rename them as a condition of the sale. So keeping the WHSmith name on high street shops wasn't an option for them. Despite which, a lot of the stuff on sale in TGJones is still WHS branded.

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STINT47 · 9 Aug 2026

TG Jones says that one of the reasons they're struggling is the the stores were in much worse condition than they were expecting. It does raise the question did they not do due diligence before purchaes? If I was buying a shop I'd want a qualified person to take a look at its condition and what need to be done on it.

There was even a satirical twitter account about the state of the carpets a few years ago.

SuspectUsual · 9 Aug 2026

DelW said:
I think that the original company, which retained the travel locations, insisted that the buyer of the high street shops had to rename them as a condition of the sale. So keeping the WHSmith name on high street shops wasn't an option for them. Despite which, a lot of the stuff on sale in TGJones is still WHS branded.

The deal had two different grace periods in it - one setting a deadline for rebranding and the other a time period during which they can still sell WHS branded stock. One of the new owners’ many problems is that stock levels at handover and current rates of sale mean they haven’t a hope in hell of selling through in time

(That’s in addition to the previously mentioned moratorium period on store closures)

Djgr · 9 Aug 2026

STINT47 said:
did they not do due diligence before purchase?

I think the kind of people who engage in financial engineering activity never go shopping.

Russel · 9 Aug 2026

STINT47 said:
TG Jones says that one of the reasons they're struggling is the the stores were in much worse condition than they were expecting. It does raise the question did they not do due diligence before purchaes? If I was buying a shop I'd want a qualified person to take a look at its condition and what need to be done on it.

There was even a satirical twitter account about the state of the carpets a few years ago.

I'm guessing they had never actually stepped foot into a WH Smith store before making an offer then, it was obvious to almost everyone that there was some serious issues...

The exile · 10 Aug 2026

Russel said:
I'm guessing they had never actually stepped foot into a WH Smith store before making an offer then, it was obvious to almost everyone that there was some serious issues...

Ah - but it looked OK on the spreadsheet and Conpliance gave it the nod. That seems to be all the bean counters care about /understand.

dgl · 10 Aug 2026

Our WHSmith/TG Jones here in Weymouth has been drab for years, the only thing it ever seem to get used for was as a covered walkway, and that doesn't make any money!
It wasn't like a badly maintained store was the exception.
I bet a lot will close once the cost to fix them up becomes apparent, that's supposedly part of the reason Weymouth M&S moved to a new building at Weymouth Gateway, the old building needing too much work to be a sensible proposition, though given they'd been there for 99 years you'd have thought they'd maintain the place!

Also I've noticed the Bon Marche in Bridport has closed, that was an interesting one as it opened after they had gone into administration, being in what was M and Co.

styles · 10 Aug 2026

STINT47 said:
TG Jones says that one of the reasons they're struggling is the the stores were in much worse condition than they were expecting. It does raise the question did they not do due diligence before purchaes? If I was buying a shop I'd want a qualified person to take a look at its condition and what need to be done on it.

There was even a satirical twitter account about the state of the carpets a few years ago.

I thought it was pretty universally acknowledged that their shops were in a poor state.

Every time I went into one I wondered if they'd forgotten to pay their electricity bill given how dim the lighting was.

And why would you even go to one? If you want books you go to somewhere like Waterstone's which is far more aesthetic, space to sit and read, and the staff who work there take an interest in books. If you want a greetings card, you've got Cardfactory and supermarkets who stock decent ranges. If you want stationery, you've got Ryman's or Staples where again the staff are more knowledgeable and you don't need a headtorch to see what grade pencil you're picking up. If you want a board game, probably just Amazon or Argos.

Their saving grace may be magazines, as they tended to have a decent range. But it's pretty hard to turn a profit on people buying specialised market magazines when you're paying rent on a store which is 95%+ not magazines.

Of course their tactic towards the end was to sublet their retail space to Post Offices. It seems there's merit in this, but again, if a Post Office couldn't survive on its own, it's unlikely they'll be paying rents inside a TGJones such that it can keep TGJones itself afloat.

I'm not really sure what the WH Smith buyers thought was going to happen. I'm no investor but I think I could've sussed that it would be a bad purchase!

johntea · 10 Aug 2026

I think a lot of the stores are far too big so they have to fill much of the space with random junk (and then overprice it so it just gathers dust for years!)

Although that does apply to a lot of retail brands in general, I went to John Lewis in Westfield Shepherd's Bush the other week and it was essentially a day out and free gym workout in itself over FOUR floors...or I could just sit at home and browse a website at my own leisure

Djgr · 10 Aug 2026

The exile said:
Ah - but it looked OK on the spreadsheet and Conpliance gave it the nod. That seems to be all the bean counters care about /understand.

When I worked in retailing (HQ Marketing), I found it impossible to get managers (Finance, Buying etc.) to leave their spreadsheets and actually visit the stores (officially or incognito).

Peter Sarf · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
I thought it was pretty universally acknowledged that their shops were in a poor state.

Every time I went into one I wondered if they'd forgotten to pay their electricity bill given how dim the lighting was.

I remember Croydon Woolworths being dingy like that.

styles said:
And why would you even go to one? If you want books you go to somewhere like Waterstone's which is far more aesthetic, space to sit and read, and the staff who work there take an interest in books. If you want a greetings card, you've got Cardfactory and supermarkets who stock decent ranges. If you want stationery, you've got Ryman's or Staples where again the staff are more knowledgeable and you don't need a headtorch to see what grade pencil you're picking up. If you want a board game, probably just Amazon or Argos.

I agree. Only exception is stationery in Croydon because there is a lack of Rymans or Staples, but that is Croydon for you.

styles said:
Their saving grace may be magazines, as they tended to have a decent range. But it's pretty hard to turn a profit on people buying specialised market magazines when you're paying rent on a store which is 95%+ not magazines.

Magazines must be TG Jones' USP.

That and bringing Post Office counters in, But :-

styles said:
Of course their tactic towards the end was to sublet their retail space to Post Offices. It seems there's merit in this, but again, if a Post Office couldn't survive on its own, it's unlikely they'll be paying rents inside a TGJones such that it can keep TGJones itself afloat.

I'm not really sure what the WH Smith buyers thought was going to happen. I'm no investor but I think I could've sussed that it would be a bad purchase!

I think they knew what they were doing. Managed decline of the dead wood by keeping it separate from the rest of WH Smith.
I am going to assume any surviving branches of T G Jones are a bonus.

johntea said:
I think a lot of the stores are far too big so they have to fill much of the space with random junk (and then overprice it so it just gathers dust for years!)

...................................

Again, my recollection of Woolworhts towards the end - just an enormous pick-n-mix sweet shop (was that eventually their USP ?).

Djgr · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
I thought it was pretty universally acknowledged that their shops were in a poor state.

Every time I went into one I wondered if they'd forgotten to pay their electricity bill given how dim the lighting was.

And why would you even go to one? If you want books you go to somewhere like Waterstone's which is far more aesthetic, space to sit and read, and the staff who work there take an interest in books. If you want a greetings card, you've got Cardfactory and supermarkets who stock decent ranges. If you want stationery, you've got Ryman's or Staples where again the staff are more knowledgeable and you don't need a headtorch to see what grade pencil you're picking up. If you want a board game, probably just Amazon or Argos.

Their saving grace may be magazines, as they tended to have a decent range. But it's pretty hard to turn a profit on people buying specialised market magazines when you're paying rent on a store which is 95%+ not magazines.

Of course their tactic towards the end was to sublet their retail space to Post Offices. It seems there's merit in this, but again, if a Post Office couldn't survive on its own, it's unlikely they'll be paying rents inside a TGJones such that it can keep TGJones itself afloat.

I'm not really sure what the WH Smith buyers thought was going to happen. I'm no investor but I think I could've sussed that it would be a bad purchase!

Spot on

The exile · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
Of course their tactic towards the end was to sublet their retail space to Post Offices. It seems there's merit in this, but again, if a Post Office couldn't survive on its own, it's unlikely they'll be paying rents inside a TGJones such that it can keep TGJones itself afloat.

The benefit to TGJ from the rents paid by Post Office Counters (or whoever) will be minimal compared to the potential benefit to be derived from the footfall.

SuspectUsual · 10 Aug 2026

Djgr said:
When I worked in retailing (HQ Marketing), I found it impossible to get managers (Finance, Buying etc.) to leave their spreadsheets and actually visit the stores (officially or incognito).

That's absolutely typical

I worked in head office logistics roles for the last 30 years and at my last two employers (one retailer, one wholesaler) I tried to encourage head office supply chain people to visit depots and understand how the products they were responsible got to stores. Almost universal apathy. I then spoke to the supply chain directors and suggested it might be a good idea to include a depot visit as part of the induction for new starters. One agreed and implemented it, the other told me "they don't need to know about things like that, its your job to deal with those problems"

Harpo · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
Their saving grace may be magazines, as they tended to have a decent range.

I’ve assumed that’s why magazines have been moved to the back of TG Jones stores, to force a walk through the corridors of tat.

Lloyds siding · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
I thought it was pretty universally acknowledged that their shops were in a poor state.

Every time I went into one I wondered if they'd forgotten to pay their electricity bill given how dim the lighting was.

And why would you even go to one? If you want books you go to somewhere like Waterstone's which is far more aesthetic, space to sit and read, and the staff who work there take an interest in books. If you want a greetings card, you've got Cardfactory and supermarkets who stock decent ranges. If you want stationery, you've got Ryman's or Staples where again the staff are more knowledgeable and you don't need a headtorch to see what grade pencil you're picking up. If you want a board game, probably just Amazon or Argos.

Their saving grace may be magazines, as they tended to have a decent range. But it's pretty hard to turn a profit on people buying specialised market magazines when you're paying rent on a store which is 95%+ not magazines.

Of course their tactic towards the end was to sublet their retail space to Post Offices. It seems there's merit in this, but again, if a Post Office couldn't survive on its own, it's unlikely they'll be paying rents inside a TGJones such that it can keep TGJones itself afloat.

I'm not really sure what the WH Smith buyers thought was going to happen. I'm no investor but I think I could've sussed that it would be a bad purchase!

Just wondering where your branch of Staples is?

styles · 10 Aug 2026

Lloyds siding said:
Just wondering where your branch of Staples is?

Tbf I'm a software engineer with the handwriting of a doctor - I avoid buying stationery because it mostly causes problems for other people if I try and write things instead of typing them. So I've no idea where any local stationery shop is. Most of my stationery purchases are carpentry pencils from the local DIY shop. But if I were taking a school child to get their "back to school" stuff before the end of the summer holidays, I'd pick a Ryman's over a TG Jones.

Russel · 10 Aug 2026

The exile said:
Ah - but it looked OK on the spreadsheet and Conpliance gave it the nod. That seems to be all the bean counters care about /understand.

Sadly that seem to be the logic behind a lot of decisions made these days.

jon81uk · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
But if I were taking a school child to get their "back to school" stuff before the end of the summer holidays, I'd pick a Ryman's over a TG Jones.

I'd probably pick a supermarket for that, they have large displays of back to school stuff at cheaper prices than Ryman's. Unless something specialist is needed, the supermarkets will have more kid-friendly options.
Supermarkets made a big push into non-food a while ago and have scaled back as TVs and electricals didn't really sell that well, but things like stationery and homeware they do fairly well.
But yes if I wanted specialist stationery Rymans is the best bet, TGJones will be worse for price than supermarkets and worse than Ryman for choice.

35B · 10 Aug 2026

styles said:
Tbf I'm a software engineer with the handwriting of a doctor - I avoid buying stationery because it mostly causes problems for other people if I try and write things instead of typing them. So I've no idea where any local stationery shop is. Most of my stationery purchases are carpentry pencils from the local DIY shop. But if I were taking a school child to get their "back to school" stuff before the end of the summer holidays, I'd pick a Ryman's over a TG Jones.

And I'd go to the Range over either.

Andyh82 · 10 Aug 2026

Lloyds siding said:
Just wondering where your branch of Staples is?

I was thinking the same, as didn’t they close down about a decade ago?

Djgr · 10 Aug 2026

SuspectUsual said:
That's absolutely typical

I worked in head office logistics roles for the last 30 years and at my last two employers (one retailer, one wholesaler) I tried to encourage head office supply chain people to visit depots and understand how the products they were responsible got to stores. Almost universal apathy. I then spoke to the supply chain directors and suggested it might be a good idea to include a depot visit as part of the induction for new starters. One agreed and implemented it, the other told me "they don't need to know about things like that, its your job to deal with those problems"

A lot of people get comfort from their silos!

Yew · 10 Aug 2026

What do we think the solution might be for TG Jones? I think I'd probably lean towards investing in smaller towns/high streets that don't have a Rymans, Waterstones, or other more "specialised" shops that overlap with the TGJ offerings, so that you're the best bookshop/stationers on that particular high street.

Equally, even fairly small high streets often have a bookshop or stationers.

Russel · 10 Aug 2026

Yew said:
What do we think the solution might be for TG Jones? I think I'd probably lean towards investing in smaller towns/high streets that don't have a Rymans, Waterstones, or other more "specialised" shops that overlap with the TGJ offerings, so that you're the best bookshop/stationers on that particular high street.

Equally, even fairly small high streets often have a bookshop or stationers.

I'm not sure there are any good outcomes if I'm honest.

Peter Sarf · 10 Aug 2026

Russel said:
I'm not sure there are any good outcomes if I'm honest.

For TG Jones its most likely "managed" decline. As long as the owners get more out than it cost them the job will have been done.

AngusH · 10 Aug 2026

Yew said:
What do we think the solution might be for TG Jones? I think I'd probably lean towards investing in smaller towns/high streets that don't have a Rymans, Waterstones, or other more "specialised" shops that overlap with the TGJ offerings, so that you're the best bookshop/stationers on that particular high street.

Equally, even fairly small high streets often have a bookshop or stationers.

Sort of be better than nothing ?
I could maybe see that working, especially where the nearest supermarkets are small
and don't have much of a range of stationary items.

Also, supermarket stationary doesn't seem as consistent somehow,
so maybe a guarantee of stable lines?
So my plastic boxes all stack together and aren't different sizes
and my file folders all look the same.

Rymans seems to be doing passably in the "I need immediate stationary" line.
But their average store seems about a quarter the size of TG Jones.
Oddly they don't *seem* to have a smaller range, so I'm not sure how that works.

edit: actually one more idea: budget co-working desks.
Lots of floor area, a few empty tables and charge a few pounds an hour?
Could work in a shopping centre if there is a cafe and toilets nearby, not standalone though.

SuspectUsual · 10 Aug 2026

Yew said:
What do we think the solution might be for TG Jones? I think I'd probably lean towards investing in smaller towns/high streets that don't have a Rymans, Waterstones, or other more "specialised" shops that overlap with the TGJ offerings, so that you're the ~~best~~ only bookshop/stationers on that particular high street.

Realistically I think that premise holds if they're the only such outlet; they won't be better than anyone

Russel · 10 Aug 2026

Peter Sarf said:
For TG Jones its most likely "managed" decline. As long as the owners get more out than it cost them the job will have been done.

Indeed, I don't think TG Jones have a place on the high street any more, multiple other places do the same thing but better and cheaper.

I feel for the staff, but as a company, TG Jones and WH Smith put themselves in this position over a number of years.

Andyh82 · 10 Aug 2026

Yew said:
What do we think the solution might be for TG Jones? I think I'd probably lean towards investing in smaller towns/high streets that don't have a Rymans, Waterstones, or other more "specialised" shops that overlap with the TGJ offerings, so that you're the best bookshop/stationers on that particular high street.

Equally, even fairly small high streets often have a bookshop or stationers.

Is the ultimate outcome for the high street that there is only one choice for every type of product?

Down the line the independent bookseller retires, or Rymans itself has a restructure and closes down, not that everywhere has a Rymans, and then you end up with nowhere in a particular town.

I still sometimes struggle when I need household goods now there is now Wilkos, without having to put it on the list for the next ‘big shop’ at the major supermarket. Often your only choice is some sort of pound shop where you might be buying cheep rubbish.

Djgr · 10 Aug 2026

Andyh82 said:
Is the ultimate outcome for the high street that there is only one choice for every type of product?

Down the line the independent bookseller retires, or Rymans itself has a restructure and closes down, not that everywhere has a Rymans, and then you end up with nowhere in a particular town.

I still sometimes struggle when I need household goods now there is now Wilkos, without having to put it on the list for the next ‘big shop’ at the major supermarket. Often your only choice is some sort of pound shop where you might be buying cheep rubbish.

I mean, crudely it's supply v demand. We don't live in a controlled economy, certainly when it comes to consumer goods.

Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

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