Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[Peter Sarf]

Fat chance of Weight Watchers surviving then.

Seriously. Perhaps they should have seen this coming and got into the jabbing business.

 

[The Ham]

Following the earlier discussion about Tesla setting sales dropping by over 50% in Europe but not seeing similar falls in the UK, apparently that was a short lived thing:

Tesla sales plummet across UK amid backlash to Elon Musk

It marks the lowest sales figure for the EV manufacturer in over two years

www.independent.co.uk

Tesla's new car sales in Britain experienced a significant downturn in April, plummeting 62 per cent compared to the same month last year, according to data from research group New AutoMotive.

This marks the lowest sales figure for the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in over two years, even as overall demand for EVs continues to rise.

This decline is not unique to Britain. April also saw Tesla's sales slump to multi-year lows in several other key European markets.

That's an issue for Tesla as they were (or at least going to generate) generating a reasonable income from selling their EV sales to companies who hadn't met their EV targets.

I'm not sure that 386 cars in April (72% of Tesla's sales) is going to make much of a dent when compared to the 120,300 new cars sales in April. It's also worth noting that the fines have been reduced, meaning the value of credits is also likely to be lower, which will further harm Tesla.

 

[Mojo]

Poundland must be in trouble as they are reportedly about to be sold for… one pound.

Poundland set to be sold — for a pound

Gordon Brothers has emerged as the frontrunner of a clutch of turnaround investors looking to take control of the discount chain for a nominal fee

www.thetimes.com

Poundland is expected to be sold for a nominal fee, according to several sources who were familiar with the bids. One source close to the matter said the price would be “effectively a pound”, because of the significant turnaround project that would be needed to arrest its performance.

 

[dgl]

So there is something actually for a pound at poundland?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So there is something actually for a pound at poundland?

Other than shrinkflated items?

 

[brad465]

Basing you business on everything being a fixed value was always going to have its days numbered, even if a rebrand/model change was pursued.

 

[DelW]

Basing you business on everything being a fixed value was always going to have its days numbered, even if a rebrand/model change was pursued.

Poundland abandoned its "everything's a pound" principle several years ago now.

 

[Mojo]

So there is something actually for a pound at poundland?

The full article (behind the paywall) says that the current owners have tried to turn the business around by (re-)introducing more items priced at £1.

 

[michaelh]

Poundland occupied the Wilko store in Droitwich when it closed. Wilko sold useful stuff - Poundland is Chinese tat.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Poundland occupied the Wilko store in Droitwich when it closed. Wilko sold useful stuff - Poundland is Chinese tat.

Chinese tat that you can get delivered to your door, and probably cheaper, from Temu.

When Poundland started selling items for multiples of £1, my suggestion was that they rename themselves to “Integer Pricing Shop”. Catchy, eh?

 

[Lewisham2221]

When Poundland started selling items for multiples of £1, my suggestion was that they rename themselves to “Integer Pricing Shop”. Catchy, eh?

Why? Nobody seems to have an issue with Poundstretcher selling items for (many) multiples of £1

 

[Mojo]

Why? Nobody seems to have an issue with Poundstretcher selling items for (many) multiples of £1

Because they were never a £1 shop and nor did they ever advertise themselves as such.

 

[Sun Chariot]

When Poundland started selling items for multiples of £1, my suggestion was that they rename themselves to “Integer Pricing Shop”. Catchy, eh?

They missed an opportunity to brand their higher priced offering as "Piling on the Pounds".

 

[C J Snarzell]

So there is something actually for a pound at poundland?

Same could be said for the Pound Bakery. They should maybe have completely ditched the name and reverted their outlets back to Hampsons or Sayers.

CJ

 

[Sun Chariot]

And the car pound. I'm sure it costs more than £1 to get a car back out

 

[skyhigh]

Poundland are currently auctioning off a load of 'surplus' fittings and fixtures from their "Store Reuse Centre", in various lots including everything from shelving to 10 shopping baskets or a box of vinyl gloves... Which is never a particularly good sign for long-term survival.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Missus has informed me that the charity shop chain Scope are closing many, if not most of its branches. Certainly the poorly-performing ones.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Missus has informed me that the charity shop chain Scope are closing many, if not most of its branches. Certainly the poorly-performing ones.

Been talk of half of them closing. Indeed, several have closed last month already. Understandable if the ones which are closing are a drain on the charity's resources.

 

[TFT YouTube]

Me sees "Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon"

Also me: GREAT BRITISH RAILWAYS

 

[david1212]

Missus has informed me that the charity shop chain Scope are closing many, if not most of its branches. Certainly the poorly-performing ones.

I wonder compared to say 10 years ago how charity shops have been affected by
- the decline in town / city centre and local shopping street footfall
- rather than giving items that will sell quickly to charity shops people instead listing them on eBay, Vinted and similar
- increased overheads e.g. energy, (part)paid staff including the hike in employer NI

 

[Ashley Hill]

I wonder compared to say 10 years ago how charity shops have been affected

We’re lost Barnardos and ClicSargeant recently. Also the quality of goods on offer is becoming close to tat as the good stuff (like decent railway books) gets moved onto online retailers.

 

[Iskra]

I’m wondering how much longer companies such as Just Eat can keep going, since they seem to have become very expensive and many outlets are producing their own websites now to cut them out and save on commission, and offer a minor discount on their own website.

 

[GusB]

I wonder compared to say 10 years ago how charity shops have been affected by
- the decline in town / city centre and local shopping street footfall

A decline in footfall is definitely going to have an impact, although there are still a few charity shops on my local high street that seem to doing okay; shops that have a central location will probably do better than those that are on the fringes of the main shopping area.

- rather than giving items that will sell quickly to charity shops people instead listing them on eBay, Vinted and similar

Companies such as Vinted will have had an effect on the second-hand market but it all depends on how quickly you need to get rid of stuff. When my brother and I were clearing out my late father's house we were able to sell much of the furniture on Facebook Marketplace but it was far easier to drop some of the lower value goods off at a charity shop (British Heart Foundation in our case). We had a deadline to empty the house and simply didn't have enough time to faff about with time-wasters (of which there were many); ultimately it would have cost us more in fuel to go back in forth than we'd have made from the actual sale.

I do have to tip my hat to the guys at the recycling centre who were really good at spotting items that were in good condition and put them aside for someone else to take.

- increased overheads e.g. energy, (part)paid staff including the hike in employer NI

I'm not sure that the hike in National Insurance will have had a massive effect when many workers will be volunteers. The cost of energy will definitely have had an impact, though.

 

[DavidGrain]

I have seen several charity shops having notices about not taking any donations at present. Not seen that since the signs saying no more Da Vinci Code books.
At one time I was thinking there were too many charity shops.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This discussion about various charity shops - there was something on the news a week or two ago saying that the vast majority of charity shops in England if not the whole UK are going to be closing in the next few months because they are too expensive to keep open - which suggests to me the landlords might be getting a bit greedy again?

 

[duffield]

This discussion about various charity shops - there was something on the news a week or two ago saying that the vast majority of charity shops in England if not the whole UK are going to be closing in the next few months because they are too expensive to keep open - which suggests to me the landlords might be getting a bit greedy again?

I don't think there's any evidence that

the vast majority of charity shops in England if not the whole UK are going to be closing in the next few months

Some particular charities are closing stores - Scope in particular seems to be closing more than half. But other major charity shop chains like the BHF, Oxfam, Age UK, Save the Children, Salvation Army etc. don't seem to have any current, definite plans for significant closures that I can find.

 

[gswindale]

This discussion about various charity shops - there was something on the news a week or two ago saying that the vast majority of charity shops in England if not the whole UK are going to be closing in the next few months because they are too expensive to keep open - which suggests to me the landlords might be getting a bit greedy again?

I don't necessarily think that is the case.

Depending on the location, rents may be relatively stable, however their National Non Domestic Rates will have increased, as may the service charge payable (this will be very location dependent). Any increases in the latter will not be due to greed, but due 6o a desire by the Landlord to maintain the site in a satisfactory condition - if units are vacant, then the service charge for the site remains the same, but the "greedy" landlord pays their share. They'll also be picking up the NNDR liability once the empty rates relief runs out (3 months I believe).

 

[brad465]

I’m wondering how much longer companies such as Just Eat can keep going, since they seem to have become very expensive and many outlets are producing their own websites now to cut them out and save on commission, and offer a minor discount on their own website.

My favourite summary of the cheap money era came from an FT columnist and went something like this: "You would order a Deliveroo and repay on Klarna in 3 monthly instalments."

If the gig economy can't function outside of the cheap money era, it's only a matter of time before they're in trouble; recently Deliveroo had DoorDash take them over as well (maybe they've seen the writing on the wall, or they had an offer they couldn't refuse).

 

[trebor79]

recently Deliveroo had DoorDash take them over as well (maybe they've seen the writing on the wall, or they had an offer they couldn't refuse).

They were paid a lot of money. Founders walked away with hundreds of millions.

 

[Sun Chariot]

They were paid a lot of money. Founders walked away with hundreds of millions.

DoorDash, a US-based food delivery platform, is acquiring Deliveroo. The deal values Deliveroo at £2.9 billion and is expected to close in the final quarter of 2025,

Nice little earner.