Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[trebor79]

Our local Boots has two floors. The upper floor was film developing, Christmas shop and sundry non-core promotions. The area is really under utilised.
Round the corner, in a separate property, is Boots Opticians and, I think, audiology as well.

We often wonder why they don't close the opticians and move it to the upper floor of the main store so people visiting the opticians and audiology departments are drawn through the main store. Been like it for years and it just seems odd.

Sounds like Durham

 

[duffield]

Our local Boots has two floors. The upper floor was film developing, Christmas shop and sundry non-core promotions. The area is really under utilised.
Round the corner, in a separate property, is Boots Opticians and, I think, audiology as well.

We often wonder why they don't close the opticians and move it to the upper floor of the main store so people visiting the opticians and audiology departments are drawn through the main store. Been like it for years and it just seems odd.

Yes, that's the arrangement in the two-floor Boots at Nottingham - optician upstairs. But maybe they think having it visible as a separate store front helps it compete better with dedicated opticians like Specsavers?

 

[Thirteen]

I believe Three will be going (I'd say 99% certainty based on people I've spoken to in the industry). Users will be migrated over at some stage, and Vodafone/Three has promised no price rises for a specified period (to appease regulators) which means the prices will likely rise one day after that date passes.

I assume SMARTY will become a Vodafone brand as well.

 

[skyhigh]

I assume SMARTY will become a Vodafone brand as well.

I doubt it, they already have VOXI which is aimed at the same target market.

 

[STINT47]

Our local Boots has two floors. The upper floor was film developing, Christmas shop and sundry non-core promotions. The area is really under utilised.
Round the corner, in a separate property, is Boots Opticians and, I think, audiology as well.

We often wonder why they don't close the opticians and move it to the upper floor of the main store so people visiting the opticians and audiology departments are drawn through the main store. Been like it for years and it just seems odd.

A lot of Boots opticians are franchises that come with their own property. Those that tend to be incorporated into the stores are run directly by Bpots.

Boots also took over Dollond & Aitchison and rebranded their stores to Boots opticians.

 

[peteb]

Our local paper informs me that Bistro Pierre has gone into receivership and as a result has closed all but 10 of it's chain of French themed restaurants, including our local ones at Mere Green and Kidderminster. A shame because it was about the best place to get a meal in Kidderminster town centre, following the closure of the famous Brasserie a couple of years ago.........

 

[Egg Centric]

Our local paper informs me that Bistro Pierre has gone into receivership and as a result has closed all but 10 of it's chain of French themed restaurants, including our local ones at Mere Green and Kidderminster. A shame because it was about the best place to get a meal in Kidderminster town centre, following the closure of the famous Brasserie a couple of years ago.........

Again lol? They always confused me because their basic "problem" was astonishingly obvious - they didn't charge enough. Their food isn't cordon bleu or anything, but it's far better than the price suggests. All they have to do is whack £2 onto everything on the menu.

Anyway was opening the thread to report that according to the broadsheets WH Smith (highstreet) is now down to two different buyers neither of whom are known for being the cuddly face of capitalism...

 

[JamesT]

Again lol? They always confused me because their basic "problem" was astonishingly obvious - they didn't charge enough. Their food isn't cordon bleu or anything, but it's far better than the price suggests. All they have to do is whack £2 onto everything on the menu.

Anyway was opening the thread to report that according to the broadsheets WH Smith (highstreet) is now down to two different buyers neither of whom are known for being the cuddly face of capitalism...

The Guardian hasn’t been a broadsheet for 20 years.

Though they’re an example that potentially belongs on this thread. They consistently lose money and have to be bailed out by the owning company.

 

[Tester]

The Guardian hasn’t been a broadsheet for 20 years.

Though they’re an example that potentially belongs on this thread. They consistently lose money and have to be bailed out by the owning company.

Related (although probably should be in the anachronisms thread) - it's a long time since I heard the term broadsheet!

 

[Harpo]

Related (although probably should be in the anachronisms thread) - it's a long time since I heard the term broadsheet!

The increasingly bonkers Torygraph is definitely a sheet.

 

[Jimini]

The Guardian hasn’t been a broadsheet for 20 years.

Though they’re an example that potentially belongs on this thread. They consistently lose money and have to be bailed out by the owning company.

Ah yes, remember when they lobbed £80m at their Berliner product back in 2005?

 

[SuspectUsual]

Ah yes, remember when they lobbed £80m at their Berliner product back in 2005?

One of my mates from school helped design the font for the Guardian relaunch in Berliner format. I don't think he saw much of the £80m though!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Again lol? They always confused me because their basic "problem" was astonishingly obvious - they didn't charge enough. Their food isn't cordon bleu or anything, but it's far better than the price suggests. All they have to do is whack £2 onto everything on the menu.

Anyway was opening the thread to report that according to the broadsheets WH Smith (highstreet) is now down to two different buyers neither of whom are known for being the cuddly face of capitalism...

Thanks for finding this.

That will be another empty space in Croydon then.

I was passing through Ealing Broadway yesterday and I was early. I thought about some water and so I popped into WH Smith on the outside of the station. I noticed it is just food and drink. Looked at the drinks which were exorbitant unless you fall for the meal deals. I possibly miss read the shelf edge prices as saying meal deal because after I left I realised I had seen no sandwiches !. I even went back in and checked and there were no sandwiches and no space for them !. So I am not sure what that branch falls under ?.

 

[Noddy]

Tesla, at least with their consumer grade products. They might survive as a commercial grade battery provider and/or software licensing company. Elon/US government is burning bridges with every country outside of the US.

 

[jon0844]

Another huge drop for Tesla stock today, and more and more people seem to be selling their stock. It actually does look possible that Tesla might fail at this rate, unless Elon is booted out.

 

[Non Multi]

Thanks for finding this.

That will be another empty space in Croydon then.

I was passing through Ealing Broadway yesterday and I was early. I thought about some water and so I popped into WH Smith on the outside of the station. I noticed it is just food and drink. Looked at the drinks which were exorbitant unless you fall for the meal deals. I possibly miss read the shelf edge prices as saying meal deal because after I left I realised I had seen no sandwiches !. I even went back in and checked and there were no sandwiches and no space for them !. So I am not sure what that branch falls under ?.

It's a replacement for the WHSmith which was located on the south side of the old ticket hall area at Ealing Broadway. When you entered the station walking down the stairs it was on the right.

There's a Sainsbury's Local just a 1 minute walk from the station, with an M&S food hall across the road.

 

[Bald Rick]

Another huge drop for Tesla stock today, and more and more people seem to be selling their stock. It actually does look possible that Tesla might fail at this rate, unless Elon is booted out.

I doubt it. Whilst it has fallen a lot the last month, The share price is essentially now back to what it was before the US election. It is still 25% up in the past 12 months. You can bet your last penny that someone has made money out if this volatility

 

[lookapigeon]

I was passing through Ealing Broadway yesterday and I was early. I thought about some water and so I popped into WH Smith on the outside of the station. I noticed it is just food and drink. Looked at the drinks which were exorbitant unless you fall for the meal deals. I possibly miss read the shelf edge prices as saying meal deal because after I left I realised I had seen no sandwiches !. I even went back in and checked and there were no sandwiches and no space for them !. So I am not sure what that branch falls under ?.

Interestingly the M&S next door to WHS in Ealing Broadway is a franchise operation run by guess who? WHS. Probably deliberate to get people in next door.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Interestingly the M&S next door to WHS in Ealing Broadway is a franchise operation run by guess who? WHS. Probably deliberate to get people in next door.

Crickey I did notice that M&S. Nearly went in but was running out of time.

M&S is usually cheap for a 2 litre bottle of water, cheaper than everyone else's 500ml bottle !.

 

[The Ham]

I doubt it. Whilst it has fallen a lot the last month, The share price is essentially now back to what it was before the US election. It is still 25% up in the past 12 months. You can bet your last penny that someone has made money out if this volatility

Certainly someone has made money on the volatility.

However, there's been reports of significant falls in sales in some countries (Germany down 60%) and protests outside dealerships as well as the forced closure of some dealerships (fire).

Add to that reporting that Tesla may have over claimed the number of cars they sold in Canada to claim money from the government there and it's not a rosy picture.

 

[Noddy]

I doubt it. Whilst it has fallen a lot the last month, The share price is essentially now back to what it was before the US election. It is still 25% up in the past 12 months. You can bet your last penny that someone has made money out if this volatility

Tesla is in an absolutely terrible position (in terms of outlook). It has an ageing product lineup and the ‘new’ Model Y is just a mid-cycle refresh, there’s nothing new. Cybertruck, unsurprisingly, has not sold particularly well, and the Semi rollout is years late. Just like Full Self Driving. However, more importantly the CEO is alienating vast swathes of potential customers. How many Canadians are going to buy one? How many Europeans? The Australians don’t seem particularly impressed either. The Chinese are increasingly turning to home grown products. The correlation between buying and driving an EV and supporting a fascist/fascism is not high, even in the US itself. Consumers are voting with their feet and it won’t be long before business and fleets catch up. It may not be over night like Ratners, but the Emperor has no clothes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

Certainly someone has made money on the volatility.

However, there's been reports of significant falls in sales in some countries (Germany down 60%) and protests outside dealerships as well as the forced closure of some dealerships (fire).

Add to that reporting that Tesla may have over claimed the number of cars they sold in Canada to claim money from the government there and it's not a rosy picture.

In Germany sales were down 76% in February and are 70% down on the year. Pretty much the only European countries that they’ve held up (so far) are the UK and Ireland.

 

[The Ham]

In Germany sales were down 76% in February and are 70% down on the year. Pretty much the only European countries that they’ve held up (so far) are the UK and Ireland

Thanks, I hadn't been following closely the numbers and could remember 60%.

 

[styles]

Certainly someone has made money on the volatility.

I've done pretty well out of the volatility. I'm not one to day trade or even really buy individual stocks, but I allocate like 1% of my investments to it as bit of fun. Since October I've turned £800 into £1350 by guesstimating when Musk is going to do something which will help or hamper Tesla's valuation. Started when I noticed the share price had dropped about 15% in about a week. Currently have zero Tesla stock (except from index funds), but likely to buy some soon.

Tesla isn't dead, but Musk is going to get reined in - Trump doesn't want to be upstaged by Musk. He's not going to drop him completely though, he knows he's an asset. As support for his companies may drop in the 'lefty' space, I foresee the nationalism in Europe rising, and I can certainly imagine some of his fans buying a Tesla simply to support Musk on principle.

It's of course very frustrating, because Teslas remain some of the best EVs on the market, particularly with regards to range*, but I can't bring myself to buy one, not least because I genuinely don't trust Musk not to instruct his engineers to roll out some strange software update, much like he dictates to engineers at Twitter/X things which benefit him and his ego. It's a genuine safety concern I have about Teslas now.

* It's a bit off-topic, but what are the alternatives? EQS 450+ AMG line, which even Mercedes-Benz are distancing themselves from, ID.7 which is same range as Model 3 Long Range, but 25% more expensive, or a Polestar 3, which is the same range but 55% more expensive and more difficult to source parts and repairs for.

 

[SuspectUsual]

How much actual CEOing is Musk doing at Tesla right now?

 

[styles]

How much actual CEOing is Musk doing at Tesla right now?

Couldn't tell you tbh. But his position and actions in US politics has a significant effect on share price. At some point he's going to get Trump to make a policy change which favours his EVs in some way, shape, or form.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Couldn't tell you tbh. But his position and actions in US politics has a significant effect on share price. At some point he's going to get Trump to make a policy change which favours his EVs in some way, shape, or form.

Presumably the “some point” will be just after the wider Trump family have piled into Tesla shares?

 

[styles]

Presumably the “some point” will be just after the wider Trump family have piled into Tesla shares?

Coincidentally, yeah, or it'll somehow be tied to some Dogecoin or TRUMP scam.

 

[Snow1964]

Atlas leisure Homes Ltd, a caravan maker in East Yorkshire has entered administration, with about 180 staff made redundant

 

[brad465]

I doubt it. Whilst it has fallen a lot the last month, The share price is essentially now back to what it was before the US election. It is still 25% up in the past 12 months. You can bet your last penny that someone has made money out if this volatility

Tesla stock has looked overvalued since at least covid, if not earlier, and has had the look of a pump and dump scheme that has thrived off of QE and market manipulation.

 

[jon0844]

I doubt it. Whilst it has fallen a lot the last month, The share price is essentially now back to what it was before the US election. It is still 25% up in the past 12 months. You can bet your last penny that someone has made money out if this volatility

I think it's different now. Elon has revealed himself to the whole world who he is (before that, it was almost seem as a selection of people just having a beef with him out of jealousy) and his usual way to pump the stock would be to show photos of a new car and say it's coming in a fortnight for $15,000, or that we'll all be living on Mars by May. Take millions in deposits and then forget about it all for a while.

I can't see him being able to do that now. Even if he does do another event like the incredibly staged Robotaxi event, I think people will more likely boo him or simply not show up. His hardcore fans can love him all they want, but if they bought in on the dip this time I think they're going to find themselves worse off.

Now if Elon was to be ousted somehow, Tesla as a brand could be almost instantly restored under competent leadership. They have the manufacturing and distribution network set up perfectly, so with a few new cars actually made that are good and appealing to the mainstream, and Tesla is a company that we wouldn't expect to disappear.

Right now, it is all in on AI nonsense, FSD that can't work with current hardware, robots that can't do anything and appealing to people who don't even want electric vehicles to exist, let alone have one on their driveway.

You are right though, people ARE making money from the volatility but I am not so sure they will as much in the future. The trend seems to be continuing downwards and with all the protests I can't imagine what Elon can do to reverse this - especially after talking about slashing social security and healthcare.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

Tesla stock has looked overvalued since at least covid, if not earlier, and has had the look of a pump and dump scheme that has thrived off of QE and market manipulation.

Even though Elon has managed to dodge investigations, or at least any serious punishment, I think his current reputation means he's unlikely to be able to stage an event to promise the world next week (or the week after at the latest..) to bump the stock up as he's done many times before.

He needs to go to save Tesla.