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Old 27-04-2016, 16:49
skp20040
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I miss those times of the mid to late 80s. Just about any store when I was a child going in with my mother, they took time with me to fit my shoes. You hardly see it nowadays or the store you go into don't have whatever footwear you're specifically after.

In fact I barely remember seeing any place fitting your footwear mid to late 90s.
I know Clarkes still do for kids they use a more modern Ipad gauge in the shops now and also sell the plastic style ones online, not sure about adults though but I would assume they can measure you up in store.
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Old 29-04-2016, 20:19
mseven1
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Good article by Mary Portas about how she would have changed BHS: http://www.theguardian.com/business/...have-saved-bhs

She makes the point that Woolworths has been replaced in the marketplace by the pound shops - the former Woolworth shops may have turned into other stores but the job of Woolworths is now done by the pound shops. Likewise BHS will be replaced by shops that do what BHS used to do in a way that works in the current market, but if they'd had the vision to do it themselves they could have survived.
The thing with Mary Portas is seeing it from the outside like we are. She did previously say similar with Woolworths but that was in hindsight what she would have done. If she wanted to she could have helped. Companies in general close down and new ones open, if you look at your high street 10,20,30 etc. years you would see many shops long forgotten which have been taken over, renamed and some just closed.

It is rare that a company lasts for more than a few decades and those companies aren't as they originally were and those that did close had a good innings, BHS is now 88 years old. Allders was 151 years old when the last store closed in 2013 and Woolworths was just over 99 years. Allders was sold by the Allders family in 1908 when the company was 46 years but the company acquired many other stores and was acquired it's self.

Woolworths lost its purpose, i remember the final boss saying that they had a load of different pencil cases but no ladies tights for sale which his mum always went into woolies for. At the end it was basically known for piling up chocolate and pick & mix to the ceiling and kids clothing and both are low profit items as fashions in kids clothing change and food has an expiry date.

The motto should be that you have to evolve along with your customers wants and expectations as I doubt Grace bro's would still be in business today using its old methods even if Mr Humpreys will measure your inside leg.
I disagree it lost it's purpose, Woolworths owned brands such as Ladybird, Chad Valley and 2Entertain as well as their entertainment distribution company EUK. In the late 1980s / early 1990s when Woolworths restructured they stopped selling adult clothing because it wasn't making as much money as the departments they kept. Woolworths also used to own B&Q, Comet and Superdrug so Woolworths stores stopped selling many of those departments to focus on smaller stores and better selling products.

By having sweets it made them an easy choice for people to buy Easter eggs and Christmas sweets and also put them in a good position for better deals with confectionary companies and children's clothes are easier to sell than adult clothing, all they need to do is get licencing to print a cartoon character on the clothing and it will sell. Ladybird was one of the top 3 children's clothing companies in the UK.

Grace brothers would've been acquired by Allders, Debenhams or House of Fraser as many department stores did although in the TV programme the department store closed when Mr. Grace died. Moss Bros. measure for suits still and there are many independents that still do.

Some retailers are destined to go out of business due to changes in fashion and tastes. There's nothing you could do to stop it.

The increase in car ownership in the 70s and 80s lead to a growth in out of town supermarkets - which quickly worked out that if they had regular customers then why not try to sell them as much stuff as possible - which lead to many other stores that supplied specific items no longer being able to compete. Overall this was good for the consumer as margins and prices fell considerably. People no longer have to pay WH Smith prices for stationary or HMV prices for CDs.
There are different things that can lead to companies going out of business so none are safe. The end of gas manufacturing and minimum wage made it too expensive for some companies to manufacture in the UK leaving large spaces vacant and allowed many out of town retail parks to open. As I mentioned before the reason many shops in high streets are vacant is due to the stores being too small for modern companies and due to being out of town the price per square foot is much lower in retail parks.

Supermarkets don't have as large range of products as a supermarket would. HMV and WHSmith would pay more rent on a high street than an out of town supermarket so their prices will be higher.

The sad thing is that Mr Humphries was a professional with many years' experience of measuring inside legs, but the public has decided that it would rather be served by teenagers on minimum wage if that means cheaper trousers.
It's probably more the case that no one really wanted to be measured for clothes and if you can get a cheaper pair of ready made trousers you can take home the same day.

Nowadays people seem to just buy clothes and shoes off the rack to try on and see, and the staff simply go in the back to get the size you want.
It costs less to have all the shoes out and you can take them to the till and pay than to have one of each shoe and having to have staff get the shoes. A problem is if they don't have enough staff to get the shoes they will lose business because some people don't like waiting for a free staff member.

The irony is it's people buying their clothes online at fault.

Soon all we will have in shops is just a newspaper stand with some bread and milk and an ATM. All of our meat and veg and clothes will be bought online and delivered daily by Argos and Asda vans. Our cities will just be full of tenement buildings and roads with very little grass or anything green.
As I mentioned before the internet is like the story of the Emperor's new clothes, people say it's amazing but really it's nothing and isn't as good as some people say.

Vending machines won't be able to replace shops. There would be a possibility they could automate Argos stores but these wouldn't be a small machine but a large store. Some dry cleaners have automated collections. There are interesting vending machines selling fresh popcorn, helium balloons and umbrellas but you probably wouldn't get clothes vending machines but it would be interesting if there were machines that knitted you a jumper on a cold day. Photo booths didn't put photographers or camera companies go out of business.

Not just that, it is everything. They all want dirt cheap.

Is it, all I see is betting shops, loan and pawn shops. I've also seen a few banks and ATM's close in my area.

I also see many shops in my high street always sitting waiting for customers.
Not everyone wants things cheap, if that were true there would be no designer brands. Most people choose brands over price, companies like Aldi and New Day show this in their adverts. Most people go for brands than price, even M&S now sale known brands because more people want known brands and if people shopped for price supermarkets would only sell their own low range products.
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Old 14-05-2016, 23:39
Eliza Poolittle
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As the thrice bankrupt Chappel (who in my opinion along with the vile greens are utter scum of the earth) seeks to buy back BHS I'm baffled how anyone is stupid enough to give financial backing to this scummy shit knowing what hat he will once again run the Newco BHS into bankruptcy whilst taking money fraudulently from the company.
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Old 02-06-2016, 14:22
Everything Goes
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BHS Rescue bid fails and it goes into liquidation with loss of 11,000 jobs

Its all over now for BHS.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...0-jobs-at-risk
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Old 02-06-2016, 15:16
chinchin
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Austin Reed

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...dministration/
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Old 02-06-2016, 15:20
Charnham
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got to feel bad for Austin Reed, you know your business is doomed, if the reporting of its closing is over shadowed by another firms.
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Old 02-06-2016, 15:37
skp20040
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BHS Rescue bid fails and it goes into liquidation with loss of 11,000 jobs

Its all over now for BHS.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...0-jobs-at-risk
I would be interested to know what those offering to buy the chain offered and the Liquidators turned down
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Old 02-06-2016, 19:54
Ovalteenie
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BHS Rescue bid fails and it goes into liquidation with loss of 11,000 jobs

Its all over now for BHS.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...0-jobs-at-risk
I will miss BHS.
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Old 02-06-2016, 21:26
ayrshireman1
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Duff and Phelps?.

The same dodgy w*nkers who were involved in the (potentially criminal) sale/takeover of Glasgow Rangers in 2012. With two of their staff ending up in court along with the likes of Craig Whyte and Charles Green.

As a Rangers fan (and fan of BHS), I wouldn't trust Duff and Duffer to run a bath.
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Old 02-06-2016, 23:07
Everything Goes
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Duff and Phelps?.

The same dodgy w*nkers who were involved in the (potentially criminal) sale/takeover of Glasgow Rangers in 2012. With two of their staff ending up in court along with the likes of Craig Whyte and Charles Green.

As a Rangers fan (and fan of BHS), I wouldn't trust Duff and Duffer to run a bath.
White collar crime is acceptable to those in power. Dominic Chappell who bought BHS for £1 and pocketed several million in "Management Fees" when the take over was completed had been declared bankrupt 3 times. Corruption is endemic and a blind eye is turned while the rich and corrupt get richer.
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Old 02-06-2016, 23:22
skp20040
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Duff and Phelps?.

The same dodgy w*nkers who were involved in the (potentially criminal) sale/takeover of Glasgow Rangers in 2012. With two of their staff ending up in court along with the likes of Craig Whyte and Charles Green.

As a Rangers fan (and fan of BHS), I wouldn't trust Duff and Duffer to run a bath.
Liquidators like LPA Receivers often work on a commission rather than fixed fee so at times whilst a reasonable offer may be on the table to save a company that would mean a lower fee for the liquidator than if they sold things off bit by bit, so as it stands we do not really know that BHS couldn't have been saved , just that the liquidators don't like what they have been offered.
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Old 05-06-2016, 01:02
mseven1
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White collar crime is acceptable to those in power. Dominic Chappell who bought BHS for £1 and pocketed several million in "Management Fees" when the take over was completed had been declared bankrupt 3 times. Corruption is endemic and a blind eye is turned while the rich and corrupt get richer.
What he was doing isn't illegal, the amount he got in management fees was probably quite low when compared to the turnover of the company and for the amount of money BHS had coming in he would probably be getting paid less in equivalent than any other worker in BHS based on how much money they are bringing to the company.

Liquidators like LPA Receivers often work on a commission rather than fixed fee so at times whilst a reasonable offer may be on the table to save a company that would mean a lower fee for the liquidator than if they sold things off bit by bit, so as it stands we do not really know that BHS couldn't have been saved , just that the liquidators don't like what they have been offered.
There is a possibility they will find a buyer for part of the company. The whole company would probably cost too much and they have some companies interested in the leases of some of the stores so they are in negotiations for the stores in case they can't sell them. If you look at Woolworths they sold some stores to companies such as Iceland and 99p stores. They also sold their website and Ladybird to Shop Direct and Chad Valley to Argos.
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Old 05-06-2016, 01:08
barbeler
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Next and Gap – hopefully.
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Old 05-06-2016, 01:15
stargazer61
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Next and Gap – hopefully.
Why the hell are you hoping that thousands of people will lose their jobs?
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Old 05-06-2016, 01:24
Ovalteenie
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Sad to see the few remaining staff in Austin Reed and BHS dealing with all the bargain hunters
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Old 05-06-2016, 05:57
BarmyTights
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I think BHS will be next.
Oh, how I prayed that'd never be the case. I felt slightly numb with shock when I read the news about their demise.

Wonder what shops like Wilko etc will be like in another ten years time? People early on in this thread saying shops like JJB are doing well, only for them to disappear completely four years later.

Which is why I will never take it for granted about how well shops like Wilko etc are doing currently, it may not be the case in say 2026.

I understand they're doing quite well with their international franchises.

Also, don't forget that they're part of Arcadia, so they're currently in safe hands, although there have been rumours over the last few years about Philip Green trying to sell it off, this won't happen in the current climate.
I bet that nobody back in 2008 would have thought that it'd end up slipping out of safe hands into a three times bankrupt person's hands! If only those rumours had stayed rumours.
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Old 05-06-2016, 14:26
simonk243
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What do people think will replace bhs stores, obviously most stores are pretty large so I'm thinking Primark will be interested in towns where they don't already have a presence, also Debenhams, Next and h&m

My local town lost m&s last year now it will be loosing bhs
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Old 05-06-2016, 16:06
chinchin
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Primark or Bargain Buys/Pound stores is my guess for new occupiers.
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Old 05-06-2016, 16:56
Wolfie_Smith
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Given the state of most high streets now, it's liable to be cash converters, pound shops or bookies that will probably move into them
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Old 05-06-2016, 19:37
CappySpectrum
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What do people think will replace bhs stores, obviously most stores are pretty large so I'm thinking Primark will be interested in towns where they don't already have a presence, also Debenhams, Next and h&m

My local town lost m&s last year now it will be loosing bhs
My high street is full of pawn, betting, pound, coffee and take away shops. Nearly all the banks have pulled out. 1 or 2 left.
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Old 05-06-2016, 21:00
Charnham
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Given the state of most high streets now, it's liable to be cash converters, pound shops or bookies that will probably move into them
im betting a few BHS stores are in shopping centres, which are not going to let that happen
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Old 05-06-2016, 22:06
simonk243
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Primark or Bargain Buys/Pound stores is my guess for new occupiers.
Given the state of most high streets now, it's liable to be cash converters, pound shops or bookies that will probably move into them
Most bhs stores are quite large, too large for pound shops, bookies and cash convertors.

im betting a few BHS stores are in shopping centres, which are not going to let that happen
True and there the ones that will be filled in the short to medium term where as the high St ones may lay empty longer going by what happened with woolworths.
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Old 05-06-2016, 22:11
Fairyprincess0
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Pounstrechers are probably on borrowed time......

But my sources have me suspecting it will be looking for a company to take over their stores.
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Old 05-06-2016, 22:26
Charnham
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Pounstrechers are probably on borrowed time......

But my sources have me suspecting it will be looking for a company to take over their stores.
there are alot of similar stores out there now, B&M, The Range being examples, certainly not sure about Poundstretcher Extra or Instore, however its branded this year.
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Old 05-06-2016, 22:28
tim59
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Pounstrechers are probably on borrowed time......

But my sources have me suspecting it will be looking for a company to take over their stores.
I agree about Pounstrechers , being on borrowed time.
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