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!

our h samuel and m and s have gone nearest one is in a shopping mall thats too big for me

I dont know if it actually has shops but as a business.....Boden.

Never really understood how they where still going anyway but after seeing the sale advert on MN I get it even less! Their stuff is horrible! Why on earth would anyone want to dress in those ugly shapeless creations?!

Always found Clarks children's shoes lasted the entire academic year. However, when DD was in Year 9 she wanted Kickers for school (all the rage). Not keen but we got her a pair. The were about £60 so a bit more expensive than Clarks equivalent. They lasted until she finished her GCSEs so well worth the higher price-tag!

Boden is the original 'quirky' that others including Joules emulated to a lesser extent, surely? Some of their stuff is nice but it's a very recognisable brand, worn by a definite and specific tribe.

Vinyl is undergoing a big resurgence so not at all surprising that HMV is thriving in some places (although there aren't many shops left, are there?).

@LouisCatorze according to Wikipedia HMV has just over 100 branches. So doing ok at the moment I'd say.

I don't really see how £8 is expensive for a key. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Car keys on the other hand...

£8 is a lot for a basic house key, but you may not know that if you don't get keys cut regularly and it also doesn't matter much if it's something you only do every few years.

I know logically £8 is a lot for a basic key. But I get one cut about every 10 to 15 years. So having somewhere easy to get to is more important.

We tried that but it didn't turn the alarm off so we had to get the fancy one. I bought one on ebay, it was a used key from a scrapped car, and then got local key company to reprogramme it. So I had a cheap key for the lock and a fancy one that didn't work the locks but did switch the alarm off.

Sometimes I think things are too clever for their own good.

I agree and it is why I get so annoyed when they use cheap nasty tea bags. It is such a tiny saving to them and means I'm not going there again.

I know logically £8 is a lot for a basic key. But I get one cut about every 10 to 15 years. So having somewhere easy to get to is more important.

Yes, I think there's a balance to be had here. Any key cutter has to have a huge range of different kinds of keys available for all circumstances, as well as one or more machines and then the training and skills to use them.

If you got yourself a cutting machine and learned how to use it - or just a fine file and allowed loads of time - and then scoured the internet for the exact key blank type that you need every time, you could maybe save money over a lifetime; but it seems so much less faff to just hand over less than a tenner on the odd occasion when you need one, leave somebody else to deal with all the rest on your behalf and walk away with your key a few minutes later.

Also, we have independent DIY stores in our town that also cut keys - and charge a little bit less than Timpson's - but I've been to them on a number of occasions where they just haven't been able to cut a particular type of key I've needed a copy of, or have given me a 'that'll do' similar sort without asking, that does work to open the lock but isn't as practical or convenient in form. I've never had that from Timpson's.

I agree and it is why I get so annoyed when they use cheap nasty tea bags. It is such a tiny saving to them and means I'm not going there again.

Oh, yes, one of my hates as well. As I ranted discussed on the latest 'whatever happened to Cadbury's?' thread, any company/business that doggedly pursues the tiniest of cost savings and is very happy with customers who are just content enough not to bother leaving/trying a competitor - rather than wanting to delight their loyal customers with their quality and service - is not a company I have much time for.

Our area has just been dug up to instal Virgin fibre broadband, and now not only Virgin but also BT are constantly at the door asking if we're happy with our current service and to 'reassure' us that they are the best/most reliable/whatever (they only ever compare with the other big companies, never any of the hundreds of smaller ones). They never bothered doing that before Virgin came on the scene.

We're not actually with either company for our broadband (don't have a choice but to use OpenReach infrastructure) - and would never want to be - but maybe their MO is to try to persuade new customers as well as keep existing ones, before Virgin ramp up their patter. Although, it is slightly concerning that they don't even seem to know who their current customers actually are.

I think of the office (almost always has a sale on now), monsoon (kids stuff is always on sale) and jojo maman bebe (again with the sales). I actually do shop in all 3 and quite like their stuff but I wouldn't buy for my kids from monsoon at full price as I can't justify it.

I love Argos though I do compare the prices with amazon before I purchase but there is often discount codes for argos and I love same day delivery and collection. It's a life saver for party gifts.

Exactly this! I haven’t shopped there since they moved into Sainsburys because I have Amazon deliver free if I can’t pick it up in person straight away.

I buy some of my books in Waterstones even though I could I buy them cheaper online because I want to still have a decent bookshop in town. Same goes for the small independent bookshop in my nearest shopping precinct.

Argos works better for us now it’s co-located with Sainsburys.

The Shoezone near here benefits from being across the road from a Clark’s. What happens is people book a slot to take their kids to try on school shoes - only the poor assistants look uncomfortable once they’ve measured the child’s foot - because they have absolutely no black shoes in a size x in. Then the people panic and go across the road because school starts next week and they just have to have some / any shoes.

I am a bit surprised at all the people who hate Seasalt. They don’t have a massive range of colours and patterns but they have a lot of sizes. If you are a larger size, it’s nice to be able to get well made stuff that’s suitable for most of my daily life.

The Shoezone near here benefits from being across the road from a Clark’s. What happens is people book a slot to take their kids to try on school shoes - only the poor assistants look uncomfortable once they’ve measured the child’s foot - because they have absolutely no black shoes in a size x in. Then the people panic and go across the road because school starts next week and they just have to have some / any shoes.

I'll bet there are also a fair few who get their kids' feet measured at Clark's and then decamp across the road to SZ anyway, even if Clark's do have a good selection in!

Yes, there might be.

I suspect Clark’s stay in business because they are the ones that people go to in the summer holidays. It irritates me no end when I book an appointment and it’s still super stressful and they have virtually no stock.

Ooooh. Yes. Hello neighbour! I also go to Peacocks for basics. Sad, sad shopping options.

I loved catalogues of all kinds as a kid but especially those big fat agency catalogues. I was always asking my mother to get one. Sometimes she did but she didn’t want to be an agent so she stopped getting them eventually.

Dh uses a local record shop. Vinyl sales are on the up. Real music lovers always buy vinyl it’s worth far more than CDs or any other music format. Not for everyone but there is a strong market for vinyl.

Our WHSmiths closed last year. Peacocks can and went, as did New Look. Shoezone though is somehow clinging on, maybe because there is nowhere else to buy shoes in town apart from Tesco!
We are a small market town and high street chains don't seem to last. M&Co is closing. Boots is not much more than a pharmacy. Superdrug is still going.
Shoezone is on a very small retail park with B&M, Poundland, Iceland, Pets at Home and M&S food. Go Outdoors has just replaced Peacocks there. Don't know if that will last.
Of course for a tiny town there are 3 Costa coffees!

What do HMV actually sell in the physical shops now?

@inappropriateraspberry HMV sell loads in store.
They have vinyl records plus they sell actual record players for them.
They sell other electronic things like headphones, speakers etc.
They also sell
DVDs
CDs
Books
Graphic novels
T-shirts
Novelty socks
Bags
Plushies
Pop Vinyl figures
Japanese/American sweets
Badges
Posters
Novelty things like door mats, mugs, keyrings etc
Stickers
And probably more I can't think of right now.
Absolutely loads of stuff in there. It's a fantastic shop.

I loved catalogues of all kinds as a kid but especially those big fat agency catalogues.

My Mum had the Kay's catalogue. In retrospect, it was like Amazon in handy book form!! I always wondered if most people ran them as agencies, though - wouldn't people who wanted to buy from them regularly just apply for their own and get the 10% off themselves?

I suppose CFs might have hugely preferred it buying from somebody else as an agent, mind, as they could then renege on the payments and somebody else would be liable for the next 20 or 38 weeks' instalments on their item.