MK5 Golf GTI
General => Random Chat => Topic started by: Oli on January 14, 2013, 11:37:25 pm
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21021073
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21021073
Was only a matter of time as the Internet is killing all of these music/video/game stores.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21021073
Was only a matter of time as the Internet is killing all of these music/video/game stores.
Got it in one. It was to be expected when they sell DVDs/BluRays at extortionate prices when the same things can be had on amazon/online for less. Considering they started out as a music store, they seemed to have lost their way and tried to become a jack of all trades instead of a master of none. Serves them bloody right.
Shame ordinary people will eventually lose their jobs though. Soon the high street will be full of boarded up shops, 99p/£1 stores, betting shops, banks and coffee shops.
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found them to be expensive so never used them for a long time now
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As others have said, they were expensive for a lot of what they sold. However I was always surprised to find that when I did actually go in, a lot of the CDS they were selling were actually cheaper than iTunes/Amazon etc.
I think there is some merit in saying people's perception that bricks and mortar shops are always more expensive has helped in their demise.
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The local councils have a lot of blame to bear. High Street rents are beyond ridiculous. It's no surprise businesses can't exist there.
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In real terms the price of DVD's and CD's has been falling big time on the High Street. New release DVD's were 13-16 pounds when they first came out, and CD albums were 10-12 pounds in the Eighties! I think the current prices are what they have to charge to make a profit and cover their costs; costs that Amazon et al. just don't have, so therefore HMV haven't a chance of competing on a level playing field, especially as Amazon swing it so they don't have to pay tax. :fighting: :fighting: :fighting:
When our high streets and shopping malls are all run down, and full of nothing but estate agents, charity shops and fast food outlets, we'll all wish we'd supported these chains.
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I beleive business rates are to blame . They are set by governement and not by councils who cannot discount them even if their high streets are failing . HMV have had very stubborn senior staff for some considerable time who thought they knew better than their less senior staff . This would have had an effect on their business as it has been there for 15 years or more . Sad day for the high street again but failure to adapt to a changing business environmnet has caued many businesses to fail . Life on the high street will be very different in ten years.
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How do you compete with an online business dodging tax and VAT?
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.... And let's not forget piracy and illegal digital downloads. Online shopping isn't soley responsible for hmvs problems.
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It's a combination of the factors already posted: Lack of moving with the market's trends, business rates and rent, being too big to easily adapt, taking too much notice of the share price, etc. It also matters who is at the helm of the business.
Comet and Jessops have gone the same way but I can't say I'm sorry. My Dorset market town has a very vibrant high street (actually 3 because of a 'T'-shape layout) and no big chain shop players.
There'll be other big chains going bust but I wonder how the empty shop properties will be dealt with. The landlords will have to learn to be less greedy - If that's possible! Did you know that a high proportion of retail property is owned by the Church!
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.... And let's not forget piracy and illegal digital downloads. Online shopping isn't soley responsible for hmvs problems.
....Rightly or wrongly, many folks and especially youngsters don't see why they should pay for their music - It has become a culture. HMV's demise is due to a combination of factors and others will follow.
EDIT: Btw, I'm not condoning the practice but just telling it like it is.
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Can't use any vouchers you may have had for Christmas either! :fighting:
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Looks like HMV along with Jessops yesterday will be the start of it.
Yeah internet commerce and ease with which you can download movies and albums both legally and illegally is not helping the situation, but lets not forget the neverending rise in business rates which is having a massive effect.
We need to come up with a structure which in part links business rates to the turnover and profitability of the tenant/ business, this would then capture more business rates from Coffee shops et al which have a small footprint employ very few staff but have high turnover and profitablilty. If we don't and the big firms can't survive how will the small independent shops every come forward?? Every high street will look the same if we dont do something radical.
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It's a combination of the factors already posted: Lack of moving with the market's trends, business rates and rent, being too big to easily adapt, taking too much notice of the share price, etc. It also matters who is at the helm of the business.
Comet and Jessops have gone the same way but I can't say I'm sorry. My Dorset market town has a very vibrant high street (actually 3 because of a 'T'-shape layout) and no big chain shop players.
There'll be other big chains going bust but I wonder how the empty shop properties will be dealt with. The landlords will have to learn to be less greedy - If that's possible! Did you know that a high proportion of retail property is owned by the Church!
AND a vast amount by pension funds . Our government taxes success to death in this country to then give it away (Well 30%) to many who do F*ck all !!!
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We need to come up with a structure which in part links business rates to the turnover and profitability of the tenant/ business, this would then capture more business rates from Coffee shops et al which have a small footprint employ very few staff but have high turnover and profitablilty.
....I think that's a good idea in principle but in practice I think that many businesses are far too clever at concealing their true profits, and that applies to big and small businesses and who can blame them when the UK taxes success to death (as 'gerrardrj' points out).
The key to economic stability is the movement of money - Whether it's legal or illegal it still has to flow amongst folks.
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As we all know there is no competition between the prices from the high street shop and the internet, couple this with the ease in which you can buy things on the net, opposed to going into town / city... pay for parking, fuel, or god forbid public transport.. the net is going to win everytime. Shops that have a presence on the net and high street, probably sustain the high street shop by using the net profits.
Dixons was a very early adopter to this, closing all its shops many years ago and being soley an online business (they were part of pcworld / currys group then) but now are even conglomerated into Currys online website too... It seems even keeping the brand seperate is too costly these days.
Where's it all going?, as others have said... the high street will (most are almost there) become ghost towns... charity shops / banks etc. It's a shame for the specialist shops, as there are some very knowledgable independant sellers out there that can assist us in a purchase far more quickly and efficiently than trawling through endless online forum posts about a topic e.g. Camera / Telescope purchase.
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I thought this might happen so popped in yesterday and spent all my vouchers. My worry is the loss of Fopp (owned by HMV) who always have good prices and I visit well…erm..EVERY day!
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Well that's fooked my £20 Xmas voucher. :sad1:
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WH Smith are near the edge of the cliff too.
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That’s so irritating Hedge.I’ve been pestering my mum to spend all her Waterstones vouchers ASAP as you never know.
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WH Smith are near the edge of the cliff too.
Disagree. Got a source for this?
They've excelled in the past few years, shares have doubled with Kate Swann at the helm, hundreds of millions paid back to shareholders, etc.
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WH Smith are near the edge of the cliff too.
Disagree. Got a source for this?
They've excelled in the past few years, shares have doubled with Kate Swann at the helm, hundreds of millions paid back to shareholders, etc.
Only mentioned to me by a mate in banking. He's fairly good at predicting these things but for everyones sake, I hope all this would end. Our high street is nothing more than charity shops, coffee bars and mobile phone shops!
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Well that's fooked my £20 Xmas voucher. :sad1:
Used mine last week thank fook
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I also have a £20 voucher..danm!!
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/c64.0.403.403/p403x403/299597_547472551271_399299031_n.jpg)
Rich
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Went into HMV this mornings for a nosey around and have never seen so many
people vultures in there! :laugh:
Still walked out with nothing, even with a few reductions on certain items its still more expensive than the interweb. My local high street is dominated nowadays by Coffee shops, mobile phone shops, pound shops but most of all a LOT of empty shops and this in the heart of a "supposedly" affluent Sussex market town. Crazy days! :confused:
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HMV has never been so busy in my hometown. Sad to see it go though and Waterstones disappeared a few months ago from next door so the town centre is slowly dying, much like everywhere else in the country.
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The likes of tesco, mcdonalds, KFC etc is killing our high street. There should be a movement to bring back quality.
Cant stand big chains. Love privately owned restuarants that u usually find in the richer parts of london. Its all about variety, and big chains are killing that. Doesnt help that so many people waste money on the likes of mac'd but I suppose its the convnience, plus the fact that councils have ruined the high street with over zealous parking restrictions!
rant over
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^^^^
I agree. Let's hope that all the big chains go bust. Pandering to so called convenience is a killer. Variety is the spice of life.
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On the back of this, an independent music store in Aberdeen also announced today that its to close after 33 years in business. Citing similar issues - also had a dig at Amazon and their issues surrounding VAT.
It's a shame, but I went in there for the first time and every CD I looked at was fairly pricey!!
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On the back of this, an independent music store in Aberdeen also announced today that its to close after 33 years in business. Citing similar issues - also had a dig at Amazon and their issues surrounding VAT.
It's a shame, but I went in there for the first time and every CD I looked at was fairly pricey!!
Which store is that?
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Saw this earlier.....not sure how successful they'll be http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21024336 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21024336) but fair play to them for having a go :congrats:
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Saw this earlier.....not sure how successful they'll be http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21024336 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21024336) but fair play to them for having a go :congrats:
I guess they are pretty well off, and fortunate enough that they can pick and choose what they buy.
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Very noble but they are going to find that pretty difficult even on food.
As said, they have to be reasonably well off financially to do it too.
What about things they already have which aren't British? - Kitchen oven or washing machine, for example?
And apart from publicity what will doing this achieve? Other folks aren't realistically going to be doing the same even if it is possible - It's down to what folks can afford and in these frugal times it's always as little as possible unless you are already pretty wealthy.
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On the back of this, an independent music store in Aberdeen also announced today that its to close after 33 years in business. Citing similar issues - also had a dig at Amazon and their issues surrounding VAT.
It's a shame, but I went in there for the first time and every CD I looked at was fairly pricey!!
Which store is that?
One up on Belmont St.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-21030905
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Blockbusters has just gone!
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Blockbusters has just gone!
Yeah, madness, heard on the radio on the way home - they were doing all the online stuff for a while too. Although, probably again, too many high street stores and overheads to survive. Their website is still up though. (http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/)
Who's next then? :scared:
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Blockbusters has been on borrowed time for a while IMO. Lets be honest most films can be bought online/downloaded for a price of a rental and with the likes of box office, lovefilm and Netflix etc, it was only a matter of time.
With the demise of HMV and nearly everything being downloadable I can see CDs, DVDs, pc/console games etc going soon with everything being downloadable only which would be a shame as I prefer to own the physical copy, especially albums.
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I predicted WHSmiths a while back as its always empty in there and the books are far too expensive.
Again they are trying to be a jack of all when in fact they are a Newsagent.
I hope I am wrong as its another Man hangout when dragged to the shops.
As HMV was.
Went in the High Wycombe HMV tonight and all the latest stuff is STILL more expensive than anywhere............!
All the crap has been dragged out of the never reasons of the stockroom and put in the 'Blue Cross Sale' whoopy doo! Far too little, far too late!
Again big shame for me but I only ever browsed and ordered on Amazon from my phone while in the store, my bad I suppose but thats life :ashamed:
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I hope I am wrong as its another Man hangout when dragged to the shops.
As HMV was.
:signLOL:
That's classic! :congrats: :congrats: :congrats:
The high streets are being systematically stripped of Man Hangouts!
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The likes of tesco, mcdonalds, KFC etc is killing our high street. There should be a movement to bring back quality.
Cant stand big chains. Love privately owned restuarants that u usually find in the richer parts of london. Its all about variety, and big chains are killing that. Doesnt help that so many people waste money on the likes of mac'd but I suppose its the convnience, plus the fact that councils have ruined the high street with over zealous parking restrictions!
rant over
I mentioned greedy parking charges in the Jessops thread. You can also add savage business rates to the list as well!
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Its like 2008 all over again. :sad1:
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I hope I am wrong as its another Man hangout when dragged to the shops.
As HMV was.
:signLOL:
That's classic! :congrats: :congrats: :congrats:
The high streets are being systematically stripped of Man Hangouts!
Its a conspiracy I tell you........................ :fighting:
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(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fwiltshire%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2008%2F06%2F13%2Fdiana_dors_1_470x353_353x470.jpg&hash=bcaeb6d1668673096e80760cf2dbb24e10a07916)
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I hope I am wrong as its another Man hangout when dragged to the shops.
As HMV was.
:signLOL:
That's classic! :congrats: :congrats: :congrats:
The high streets are being systematically stripped of Man Hangouts!
The magazine rack in Tescos will be rammed with blokes sharing the latest car mag!!
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HMV are accepting gift vouchers. :happy2:
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Really? You're not just saying that to get my hopes up are you Rich? :pomppomp:
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You know me Hedge.... Mr Serious... :innocent:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21118711
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Unfortunatly,we've gone from a nation of shopkeepers to a nation of "I wabt it now and I want it cheap and never mind the quality" shoppers.
Margaret Thatcher wanted to de-nationalise everything and see a competetive business nation.
As a result,it became easy for the bigger more successful businesses to swallow up the smaller competitors,until you have the situation that we are in now.
But also bear in mind that the likes of Virgin and HMV came along and pretty much killed off the smaller independent music shops.What goes around,comes around.
As has been said,the next big challenge will be to change the attitude of the next generation who will find ways of downloading from the net illegally and think nothing of it,therefore probably killing off the music industry as we know it and leaving it to musicians to produce and sell thier music only at gigs.Where I live,we are lucky in the fact that most of the shops are privately owned and the number of "chains" are relativley few...Boots,Edinburgh Woolen Mill,M&Co and the Co-operative are about the only ones(apart from banks and building societies) that I can think of.
If they are pressed enough,the local politicians can excert pressure on the government to do something if there are enough of the population that want it to change....but does it?
As a nation,there's a generation now(mine) that have grown up with wanting better and have used to getting what they want at any time.In a sense,we've become spoiled and it's only now that were coming to realise that we have had it too good.The items you buy for 12p are cheap for a reason...the horsemeat scandal,is just one of the stories that made the headlines,but do you stop and think about how a supermarket can charge so little for something when you consider what goes into it (or what doesn't) that makes it so cheap?
I for one would prefer to go to my local butcher and spend a bit more but I know that the meat will be local and of good quality.
This,I think is the way forward for high streets...a complete reworking of the business rates system and smaller,independant and more importantly more high quality food suppliers.Butchers,bakers and candlestickmakers.
Bloody hell,I'm off for a lie down! :scared:
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I for one would prefer to go to my local butcher and spend a bit more but I know that the meat will be local and of good quality.
This,I think is the way forward for high streets...a complete reworking of the business rates system and smaller,independant and more importantly more high quality food suppliers.Butchers,bakers and candlestickmakers.
....I totally agree with you (but I would do - I'm 65).
This is my local butcher: Guess who appears in the vid at the very end after the spalsh screen - RR!
I was dropping by as usual, spotted a camera, and they decided to include me. They're all good mates and have a wicked sense of humour.