Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[bspahh]

While we know what you meant to say, a motorway services is one of the easiest places to leave (barring a vehicle breakdown!).

When I was a kid, I couldn't understand how the people who worked at Motorway services were able to travel to work.

 

[Egg Centric]

How does that work, exactly, if it's not an airport duty-free outlet?

They were airport duty free outlets. Even if that wasn't clear as they were selling normal WH Smith things and just keeping the money.

 

[Broucek]

Funnily enough, we were at a service station yesterday. Everything in WHS and M&S was (even) dearer than the high Street but a handbag outlet was full of cheerful customers and doing a brisk trade. My wife bought a rather nice small leather handback for only £40. Last time I bought something in a WHS in a service station, it was a charger and I really resented the price

 

[SuspectUsual]

Back in Halifax for the first time in ages and popped into Smiths. Stunned that a once extensive magazine section is now confined to a single double sided shelf.

But it is clean and tidy and the crappy floor has been fixed

 

[johntea]

The hospital WHS where I work is quite useful for a late lunch…

Nobody wants to pay the rip off prices so the fresh food sits there all day until just before closing where they reduce it to crazy prices under £1 to get rid rather than throwing it out

 

[Andyh82]

The hospital WHS where I work is quite useful for a late lunch…

Nobody wants to pay the rip off prices so the fresh food sits there all day until just before closing where they reduce it to crazy prices under £1 to get rid rather than throwing it out

There is a lot of stuff like this that goes on in WHSmith

They’ve got Easter Eggs which are something like £6.99 or 2 for £10

They’ll be about £4 in a supermarket

They’ll sit there barely sold until Easter and then be discounted and hang around for ages afterwards. If they actually sold them for a sensible price they might actually sell some without having to clear them.

 

[Dai Corner]

Say the new owners decided to

There is a lot of stuff like this that goes on in WHSmith

They’ve got Easter Eggs which are something like £6.99 or 2 for £10

They’ll be about £4 in a supermarket

They’ll sit there barely sold until Easter and then be discounted and hang around for ages afterwards. If they actually sold them for a sensible price they might actually sell some without having to clear them.

Hopefully the new owners will sort this nonsense out.

I wonder whether they'll keep the two businesses separate or start stocking books and magazines in Hobbycraft stores, which tend to be in retail parks which lack stockists of them?

 

[Kite159]

The only time I've been shopping in WH Smiths in the last few months is when they were trying to get rid of the Pepsi blue for 80p a bottle, especially over black Friday weekend when it was reduced to 50p in some places.

Now I wouldn't even dream of buying stuff at full price, Waterloo wanting £3,19odd for a bottle of pop

 

[Andyh82]

They also seem to latch onto trends but far too late

Remember that “Prime” drink that kids were all over a while back, and bottles of it were selling online like hot cakes for inflated prices

WHSmith finally got their hands on loads of it and now they are selling it for £1 and can’t give it away as the TikTokers or whoever have moved onto something else.

They did the same with loom bands and fidget spinners etc!

 

[jon0844]

They also seem to latch onto trends but far too late

Remember that “Prime” drink that kids were all over a while back, and bottles of it were selling online like hot cakes for inflated prices

WHSmith finally got their hands on loads of it and now they are selling it for £1 and can’t give it away as the TikTokers or whoever have moved onto something else.

They did the same with loom bands and fidget spinners etc!

Give it a few years and they'll be onto Dubai Chocolate and those tear-and-share cinnamon buns then.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Give it a few years and they'll be onto Dubai Chocolate and those tear-and-share cinnamon buns then.

Erasable ink pens are all the rage at the moment - judging by the shops (including WHSmith) my Granddaughter drags me round.

 

[DavidGrain]

Seeing comments above about WHS and other shops in motorway service areas reminded me about many many years ago when I worked for an oil company. The situation is likely to have changed so I may not be talking about the current situation. At that time, the government, as the landlords, took as part of the rent a straight percentage of the till receipts. As far as it affects the oil companies this percentage was more than the profit margin on the petrol. This is why petrol at a service area is so much more expensive.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Erasable ink pens are all the rage at the moment - judging by the shops (including WHSmith) my Granddaughter drags me round.

Similar pens were popular with unscrupulous bashers in the 80s. They would fill out the dates in their rovers,then the next day rub it out put that days date in. Naughty boys!

 

[jon0844]

Similar pens were popular with unscrupulous bashers in the 80s. They would fill out the dates in their rovers,then the next day rub it out put that days date in. Naughty boys!

Given these pens existed in the 80s, WH Smith may have been ahead of the game with these. And they're probably still on a shelf (or on the carpet) today...

 

[Cloud Strife]

At that time, the government, as the landlords, took as part of the rent a straight percentage of the till receipts.

Yes, this was later changed to a system in 1979 where the operators would pay a peppercorn rent, but they would also pay a large lump sum at the beginning of their rental. I'm not sure if this was done competitively or not, although it likely was. Later on, in 1992, they were deregulated and the government of the day sold off the freehold of the sites.

IMO, selling off the MSAs was a stupid, stupid move, especially as we don't have real deregulation on the provision of them.

Stunned that a once extensive magazine section is now confined to a single double sided shelf.

This is largely a problem of the publishing industry as a whole. There's simply nothing to sell nowadays.

 

[Jimini]

This is largely a problem of the publishing industry as a whole. There's simply nothing to sell nowadays

Back in Halifax for the first time in ages and popped into Smiths. Stunned that a once extensive magazine section is now confined to a single double sided shelf.

But it is clean and tidy and the crappy floor has been fixed

This may well be quite the turning point in print magazine circulation, in my opinion. WHS (High Street) are the only remaining stockists who generally have a vast range of titles -- niche transport magazines being a key case in point. If the new owners opt for a smaller range, then it may well sound the death knell for newsstand sales of some magazines, who will then either a) move to a subscription only model, or b) stop selling their product in print altogether.

Interesting times ahead.

 

[Dai Corner]

This is largely a problem of the publishing industry as a whole. There's simply nothing to sell nowadays.

Printing your content and distributing it to hundreds of outlets in the hope that somebody might be interested enough to buy it is far less efficient than getting them to pay up front to have it sent in the post or better still read it online.

 

[GusB]

Why does WH Smith's keep cropping up in this thread when it's quite clear that the brand isn't about to disappear?

 

[SuspectUsual]

Why does WH Smith's keep cropping up in this thread when it's quite clear that the brand isn't about to disappear?

Well, the brand is absolutely going to disappear (from the high street) - they've said as much

 

[Jimini]

Printing your content and distributing it to hundreds of outlets in the hope that somebody might be interested enough to buy it is far less efficient than getting them to pay up front to have it sent in the post or better still read it online.

100% this. I've not been involved with it for ages now, but even back in the early '00s, the unsolds budget for most monthly magazines was ~65% or so. Crazy amount of waste.

 

[Ianigsy]

T G Jones sounds like a butcher’s shop in Wrexham - I wonder whether it’s a placeholder name to go in the contracts and they end up trading as something a bit more meaningful.

As far as print magazines go, yes, there’s only so much content to go around if the railway titles are anything to go by. There are only so many articles about the West Highland or the Settle and Carlisle that can be written (and sold). If you follow the modelling magazines for a couple of years, you’ll see that there’s a group of about 20 or 30 layouts which will appear in one title one year and another the next.

 

[jon0844]

Well, the brand is absolutely going to disappear (from the high street) - they've said as much

Indeed. We've been questioning how/why WHS High Street is still going and now we know it won't be any longer. WHS Travel has and likely always will be profitable as there are customers effectively 'trapped' in many locations.

To be honest, they did far better than imagined - but I expect they were being subsidised by the profitable arms and someone said enough was enough.

Perhaps the new stores will create some excitement and improve choice and range (and lower prices) but that awaits to be seen.

T G Jones sounds like a butcher’s shop in Wrexham - I wonder whether it’s a placeholder name to go in the contracts and they end up trading as something a bit more meaningful.

It sounds like someone taking the mick, being unable to say W H Smith so coming up with something else with a similar convention; Two initials and a surname.

 

[Freightmaster]

It sounds like someone taking the mick, being unable to say W H Smith so coming up with something else with a similar convention; Two initials and a surname.

Alas!

 

[Harpo]

Printing your content and distributing it to hundreds of outlets in the hope that somebody might be interested enough to buy it is far less efficient than getting them to pay up front to have it sent in the post or better still read it online.

There are 4 OK-ish model rail mags. I will buy one now & then if there’s something of interest. (And when it’s not in a sealed bag and £9.99).

I buy Modern Railways occassionally for Messrs Walmsley and Williams writing in between the deep weeds ‘analysis’ and nauseating industry self-congratulation.

There’s other rinse and repeat piffle too but there’s nothing I’m wanting a lifetime’s supply of.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

TG Jones just smacks of Office Outlet which didn't last long after Staples pulled out of the UK. Give it probably 2 years then it'll be gone.

Would it make more sense to sell off each store individually to "tailor" each location? A store in a less affluent area would become a vape shop while a prime location one becomes a M&S food hall.

Just seen a prototype logo, it looks near identical to WHS with just the name changed, understandably to save on full rebranding, likely temporary thus easier for the asset strippers sorry owners to pull the plug when it flops.

Not sure if WHS would allow a "clone" on the High Street mimicking it, because if TG Jones bombs meaning potentially negative publicity for WHS as some might think WHS owns TG Jones?

 

[Sun Chariot]

One that's slipped under the radar... Select Fashion entered liquidation on 24th March and its remaining 35 retail stores closed on 28th March.
Fast fashion is a challenging sector at the best of times; and bordered on the brutal during recent years.

 

[Peter Sarf]

TG Jones just smacks of Office Outlet which didn't last long after Staples pulled out of the UK. Give it probably 2 years then it'll be gone.

Would it make more sense to sell off each store individually to "tailor" each location? A store in a less affluent area would become a vape shop while a prime location one becomes a M&S food hall.

Just seen a prototype logo, it looks near identical to WHS with just the name changed, understandably to save on full rebranding, likely temporary thus easier for the asset strippers sorry owners to pull the plug when it flops.

Not sure if WHS would allow a "clone" on the High Street mimicking it, because if TG Jones bombs meaning potentially negative publicity for WHS as some might think WHS owns TG Jones?

It might not be asset stripping. I suppose it is likely that most of the high street WHSmiths are leasehold so it is merely up to alternative businesses to approach the freeholder. Indeed most high streets have a number of empty shops so the real estate part of WHSmith might be pointless.

I can only see TGJones being of benefit if the new owners feel they can bring in new product ranges and dispense with the unprofitable part the WHSmith just could not bring themselves to do. I expect there to be some extra outlets for other hobbyist products.

Whether "The Works" needs to feel under threat I do not know.
Irony is that in Croydon The Works is the only other stationers (Rymans went a while ago). Although we perhaps should include the pound shops.

 

[jon0844]

Just seen a prototype logo, it looks near identical to WHS with just the name changed, understandably to save on full rebranding, likely temporary thus easier for the asset strippers sorry owners to pull the plug when it flops.

Redoing the website should be easy then.

Find "WH Smith"
Replace "TG Jones"

 

[dgl]

Our "The Works" has actually got a genuine closing down sale on at the moment, though what is actually happening is they are moving to a different premises (bigger I believe), so if they are able to do that then they should be OK at the moment.

One other company that has gone bust recently is the musical instrument retailer GAK, when you have giants like Thomann who can do it all cheaper then it's always going to be difficult for smaller companies to survive, even more so if your business has a lot of debt (something Thomann has none of).

 

[BingMan]

This may well be quite the turning point in print magazine circulation, in my opinion. WHS (High Street) are the only remaining stockists who generally have a vast range of titles -- niche transport magazines being a key case in point. If the new owners opt for a smaller range, then it may well sound the death knell for newsstand sales of some magazines, who will then either a) move to a subscription only model, or b) stop selling their product in print altogether.

Interesting times ahead.

McColls used to hasve a big range of niche magazines before they went bust. Now we don't have a newsagent in the village