Shops you are surprised are still going

[fajitaaaa]

WHSMITHS - who is buying from them? Anything other than a emergency magazine for the train and maybe a bottle of water? But some of their stores are HUGE!

FAT FACE - always a massive sale on!

If we're taking more money than sense, why buy books at all, when you can use the library?

I use Waterstones because I want to protect them. The Works will be a very poor substitue once they're gone, even if you can buy a small selection of books there very cheaply. Not everything has to be about price. Sometimes you're paying for the environment, service, specialist knowledge

I saw Holland & Barret mentioned a few times.
I always buy my vitamins only there. Most of the time they also have some sale on; BOGOF, Buy 1 , get second for a penny, 10% off £25 etc.

If I can get 240 Vitamin D tablets for a tenner or 2 packs of my hair vitamins for the price of one, I bloody will!

QD!

WH Smith is baffling. I ordered some click and collect books from there in early December. They took about 10 days to get to the store!! When I got there, I said to the assistant that I wanted to return 1 of the books and she said “I don’t know how to do that”…and then there was silence as if it was the end of the conversation. So I suggested that she call the manager who she thought wasn’t there, but he was actually hiding on a different floor. It’s such a sad depressing place!! Everything else I looked at to buy was ridiculously overpriced. The whole high street presence of WH Smith just doesn’t make commercial sense. It’s like a badly run jumble sale with super high prices. I like the mafia front idea!! Genius 😆

I don't live there anymore but friends do so when we meet up it's always at the front of Cav house. They survived the arrival of Hoopers department store directly opposite in the 90s but I think John Lewis has really done them in.

Whittards. Who buys all that tea? There's a shop near me in a mall where most of the other shops have closed down.

Did you mean to add a ‘crying with laughter’ emoji? Why? What humour am I missing in your post?

As a PP notes, Card Factory is cheap. That’s their USP. They are a very successful business. My mother wouldn’t dream of buying cards anywhere else, and she can’t be the only one!

They also pay for employees HRT prescriptions too.

My hypochondriac husband keeps them in business. He will only countenance Holland and Barrett’s high strength cod liver oil. When he ran out I suggested that he took two of my Tesco cod liver oil capsules instead. No, that would have been unconscionable.

They also do unusual supplements, like potassium (nobody say ‘and snake oil’) that are hard to find elsewhere. A boon to the health anxious everywhere.

They also pay for employees HRT prescriptions too.

Vanishingly rarely amongst rich business-owners in their position, I've heard a lot of reports that Sir John Timpson (and his son James, who is now also high up in the company) are thoroughly decent, caring sorts and wonderful to work for. I hear that Theo Paphitis (Ryman) is another big boss who cares about the ordinary people who work for him and make/keep him rich. I don't think there are many of them out there, though.

Amazon is more expensive than it used to be, it's not cheap now that they have a bigger market share. I try to avoid them if I can, I'd prefer to spend my money somewhere else.

I don't claim to be any sort of expert but I have a couple of friends who are really into their supplements and they're realy snippy about H&B, claiming that they're over priced and poor quality. I'm not sure how you're supposed to know!

They also have a number of holiday homes staff can use free of charge. I love that idea. It makes sense from a business POV because they're getting the property investment and they get to offer a valuable benefit to staff. The business does well out of it, there's no need to be greedy.

@Dryandirriatble The Works used to be that it sold books that weren't the new releases and often the 'left' overs from other book shops but in the last few years they have changed.
A lot of chick-lit, saga books, crime books are published straight to paperback specificly for The Works 3 for £6 offer.
They also sell more new releases now.

Lots of talk on this thread about shops people don't like, but the initial question was about it being hard to understand why some shops are still going. It's not hard to understand why shops like Boots, Marks and Spencer and Sports Direct are still going. Loads of people shop there. And why would anyone think it's hard to understand why Sainsburys are still going? Again, loads of people shop there. Within a couple of miles of my house there is a Sainsburys local and a huge superstore and they're both always busy.

I have shopped in Sainsburys, Boots, Superdrug, WH Smith, Sports Direct, Next, all in the run up to Xmas. I'm a fairly average shopper. It's not hard to understand why they still survive.

Well said @Pearl664. Sadly, some mumsnetters seem almost gleeful about the demise of retail.

Next. The only thing that keeps me going back is their oversized t shirts and that they stock Bath & Body Works. I hate the fussy details they add to their stuff - what looks like a lovely top/jumper, so often ruined by a random pleat or ruffle. Good jeans though.

Their ‘upside down’ business model is all about keeping staff happy and supported.

Waterstones and other bookshops) are fantastic. Amazon is no substitute for a bookshop, and isn't the same thing at all.

The same for HMV in a way. Vinyl has reinvigorated the brand. And lots of people still prefer analogue music and knowledgeable staff.

Not sure re WH Smith though.

A few people have mentioned Ann Summers. I was just thinking that even if you did shop there, surely you would only go there once in a blue moon just to buy something silly for a hen night or something? I can’t see how anyone would bring them enough repeat business to keep them going. At least with WHSmith there are thousands of people going on train journeys and making hospital visits every day.

This! Does anybody really write, ‘why would anyone still go to Sainsbury’s?’ with a straight face? Retailers who get the offer right, stay in business. You might not like what is being offered - witness the Shoezone dismay - but enough people must.

I’ll reserve judgment on Ann Summers though. I thought it was a vanity business for the daughters of David Gold, who made his money in pornography and Soho strip clubs.

I take foreign currency (or a currency card) on occasions where I'm staying for a few weeks and/or expecting to be spending a few hundred pounds whilst there, because the exchange rates are often much better if you go through a bureau de change, plus there's always a bit of commission on my debit card. Which doesn't matter for small trips but can add up on bigger ones.

Who is shopping at Holland and Barratt?

I boycotted them when the war against Ukraine began as they were part owned by a mate of Putin's. I believe he's since stepped down from the board (due to sanctions) but remains the owner. So no more shopping there.

I am a sucker for their industrial bags of bombay mix.

I still use Waterstones for the sole purpose of keeping it alive.

Same here. I definitely don't feel the same way about WH Smith.

Just remembered something strange about Boots. I wait for 25% off on expensive items like skincare or foundation and then do an online order and collect at my local store. Three out of four of these orders never arrive as they apparently 'disappear' at the warehouse. It's happened way too many times to be a blip. Must be some people with big pockets and busy eBay accounts.