Mothercare. Another one bites the dust.

[TheQueef]

Another 2500 job losses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50287153

Sad news.
The high street is amassing job losses not unlike the mining and steel industries did.
We need to start trying to counter the unemployment now.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50287153

Very sad - but not really surprising. They were on the edge when my DS was born - he turns 18 at the end of this month!

High street stores need to change become more customer focused. Clean stores easy to navigate returns policies. Mother care was none of this

I'm not surprised they're going under, they've been in trouble for years but haven't actually done anything to try and counter it. I remember a few years ago (maybe five years ago?) MNHQ got one of the execs on for a webchat where everyone told them what was wrong with the business and what their customers actually wanted, he said it would all be taken on board. Nothing changed. For a company that is supposed to be parent-focused they seem woefully unaware of what parents want when making pregnancy/baby/toddler purchases.

Yes I think this is sad, since having our baby we've shopped in there a lot and there's no where else really to go on the high street

My local store is clean and well set out. Such a shame

Oh no I have a voucher, better spend it soon

Such a shame. I was always in there when my kids were small. I'm not entirely surprised though - people have been saying for a long time that Mothercare isn't what it used to be, that customer service wasn't always good and that it was hard to find staff to help you in store. Plus lots of people buy online now.
But awful news for the staff and right on top of Christmas too.

It's hardly surprising. A shame, but too many shops are refusing to update their business models and move with the times!

It isn't somewhere I've shopped lately, adult dc, I don't know how the stores had fared.

We are just not shopping on the high street enough to keep these stalwarts running.

It’s just the way the high street is going. Unless you’re selling something that can’t be bought and returned online (haircuts, coffee etc) then you’re going to flounder. Regardless of how clean your store is.

80% of those job losses are PT, realistically that's a lot of women losing their jobs. The way retail is at the moment it'll be challenging for many of them to get something else.

I would be sad to see Mothercare go- I live close to one of the few left in NI, probabaly still there because it's handy to the border for those from ROI taking advantage of the weak pound. It's handy when you need something really specific, but even then I could go next door to Boots and chances are could still get it in there. And they're bloody dear!

Not surprised. It was a terrible shop. I had £300 gift voucher for there and I struggled to spend any of it.

The problem is that they didn't realise they needed to offer an "experience" you can buy online everything you need and supermarkets sell most things too. Offering cafes, baby groups etc

I would always rather buy something from an actual shop than online. I like to see products and try them out. But if I can't find a sales assistant or the shop is grubby or the process is just difficult, then I come to the conclusion that it's too much like hard work and will go elsewhere or buy online. Which is why it's so important that shopping is a pleasurable experience. If they can't provide that,then people will go elsewhere.
It's not helped by the fact that baby clothes etc can be bought from supermarkets now.

Mothercare used to mean quality and so the prices were justified. Then the quality lowered significantly a few years ago but the prices stayed the same as John Lewis/ Mamas and Papas but without any of the guarantees / online customer service etc and I could no longer justify going there.

Unemployment is quite low atm isn’t it

If the High St changes because these old brands fail to deliver anything but the old old then they’re not going to survive

Ours closed ages ago and I do miss it, but realistically it was always a bit overpriced. There really is no similar shop on the high street though so it is a big loss. Ours is now an IKEA planning studio which seems a massive waste of retail space to me, but maybe others like it.

It was definitely not Amazon or supermarkets that closed Mothercare down as these are targetted to different types of customers. It’s the fact that they changed their ethos to offer supermarket quality at john lewis prices.

It depends on whether you count 0 hours contracts Marsha it's a bit like the bad backs that helpfully kept the unemployment figures down after pit closures.
If they are on the sick they aren't counted as unemployed / if they have a 0 hour contract etc

I've had two dc and never bought a single item from Mothercare. It doesn't offer anything to sway me through the door that I cannot get elsewhere for the same (or lower) price.

Sad but inevitable.
Had aovely big store in our local town that weost start of the year, along with a smaller one in the larger city. One in adjacent city went too due to redesigns in the shopping centre and it simply didn't relocate.
Prices aren't competitive at all, so end up waiting for sales which isn't a reasonable way to run a business.

I'm very sorry for the thousands losing their jobs

Hello

Commiserations to Mothercare workers - what a horrible bit of news for them

The BBC is asking us (MNHQ) whether MN users have any favourite memories of Mothercare they'd like to share - so if you've got any Mothercare-related nostalgic memories you'd be happy to share with the BBC please post them on here

Not surprising, I first used the stores when I was pregnant with DD1 15 years ago and wasn't impressed. Not the least for the length of time queuing when heavily pregnant while there was one assistant on the till fannying around with another customer and no-one else came to help.

I'm sorry for people losing their jobs but I don't have any nostalgic memories of the shop, I've always just used it as somewhere to look at larger items IRL before buying online, as shopping there was rubbish.

When I was pregnant with DS1 it was the place to shop for baby stuff - not as much was available on the internet then.
DD is 6 and we really love the Little Bird clothes, bright and fun.