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What retailer do you think will go bust next?

1000 replies

good96 · 12/01/2025 17:17

My money is on Poundstretcher. Went into my local one today. Shelves empty, looking old and dirty and prices aren’t really cheap for a discount retailer…

OP posts:
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9
GreyPapoose · 12/01/2025 22:49

PickAChew · 12/01/2025 22:48

The convenience will attract people who are either not home for deliveries from the online store or simply don't trust Evri any more so that probably helps to make physical stores viable.

We have 2 stores in Durham city and even the tiny one in town, which has stayed long after most chainstores have gone, seems to be ticking over. It's no busier or quieter than it was 15 years ago, before the big one opened at the retail park. I think it will go soon, though, as most of that shopping arcade is set to be demolished and turned into yet another hotel and leisure "destination". Probably similar to the one where the old passport office was that never got finished.

Th prince bishops is getting pulled down????

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 12/01/2025 22:51

justasking111 · 12/01/2025 22:48

I'm surprised too. Anyone recall the polka dot dress a few years ago that caused such a lot of excitement in the fashion press and media?

Zara has not gone.

Needmorelego · 12/01/2025 22:52

@AllFurCoatAndFrillyKnickers I thought it was some dodgy pension deals that killed off the Phillip Green empire?

justasking111 · 12/01/2025 22:52

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 12/01/2025 22:51

Zara has not gone.

Wasn't me that said it had

AnxiousRose · 12/01/2025 22:53

I love Next online, so many brands and next day delivery.
I would be sad to see Crew Clothing go. I don't like all their stuff but their dresses always fit me well.
Used to like White Stuff but their patterns and colours not for me in recent years.
Would like to see Next buy Crew & WS so they don't go completely.

I hate shopping in stores now, much prefer shopping online and feel I buy less on impulse online.

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 12/01/2025 22:53

Needmorelego · 12/01/2025 22:52

@AllFurCoatAndFrillyKnickers I thought it was some dodgy pension deals that killed off the Phillip Green empire?

It was. That was before Covid.

PiggyPigalle · 12/01/2025 22:53

MyDeepZebra · 12/01/2025 22:36

I don't just do Click and Collect! There's always a huge queue when I go in and it takes a while to get served so ours aren't doing badly at all and one thing they never are is understaffed. I've never personally seen any bins.

Ours is a small branch so little choice. On second thoughts, the bin is for returns, not collections.

MyDeepZebra · 12/01/2025 22:54

I hadn't shopped at Asda since the pandemic but I got lured in with Asda Rewards in the lead up to Christmas this year which was very well delivered and before I knew it I was going in about 3 times a week!

Through the Rewards App, I got two of the big tubs of Celebrations and Heroes for £5 (which at that point was cheaper than anywhere else).

I came out of the store and got a notification that for scanning the rewards app,
I'd been rewarded with £5 in my Cashpot. So the tubs were essentially free.

While I'd been in there I'd also picked
up a lettuce and some potatoes for dinner...the app said if I completed a "mission" and bought 3 more items of fruit or veg in a two week period...I'd get another £2.50 in my Cashpot. Well of course, the next time I needed to top up on fruit/veg I went to Asda.

Then there was the Christmas Mission...buy so many items of wrapping/tags/cards and get another £2 in the cashpot...plus they were on 3 for 2. And there was this weird little gnome which would pop up on my screen when I was in store and when I rubbed it's nose suddenly at least 50p would end up in my cashpot.
Just for setting foot in the store.

And there were all little side missions and boosters.

It ended up costing me essentially nothing for all the little Christmas extra gifts for tutors/neighbours/acquaintances like bottles of fizz or naice chocolates, Baileys etc. From October Half Term to Christmas my Cashpot had built up a lot. They've esssentially game-ified shopping. And it didn't seem to be a false economy either as I do my research and prices were similar or less to their competitors.
So, whilst I wasn't really an Asda fan before, I am now. And my friends and I ended up getting very competitive over the size of our Cashpots 😂

ShampooCoveredTurd · 12/01/2025 22:56

Badbadbunny · 12/01/2025 18:39

Not this again. WHS HighSt and WHS Airports/RailStations are two separate divisions and both are profitable divisions. One half really isn't propping up the other. The High St division is in managed decline and shops are being closed piecemeal as and when they no longer meet the targets required. The rail/airport foreign side is continuing to grow.

WHS own a lot of their High St stores so they're not paying ruinous rents to landlords unlike other chains which have fallen which means their High St stores are more profitable/less loss making. They're also "managing the decline" by not spending a fortune on renovating the High St stores, hence why many of them are now starting to look shabby - again, not spending money, so they can keep them open for longer. They have also incorporated small Toys R Us outlets within many High St branches to continue to drive footfall into their shops, along with taking in many Post Office counters in towns where there's no longer a "crown" post office. High St stores are also often the "last man standing" in terms of newspapers and magazines and they're often the only "go to" place for more specialist foreign and obscure hobby/interest magazines that you can't buy in supermarkets, again, driving footfall into their stores.

Maybe in 10 years or so, their High St stores may well have all closed or radically reduced in numbers, but as I say, it's "managed" decline, so they're not trying to keep loss making stores open by propping them up with profitable high street stores, hence the long term closure/rationalisation program. That's a direct contrast to other chains like Woolworths who tried to keep all stores open, even loss making ones, which caused the entire chain to collapse.

WHS High Street aren't disappearing any time soon.

Eh? Have I missed something? How can both of these statements possibly be true?:

WHS HighSt... profitable divisions.

The High St division is in managed decline and shops are being closed piecemeal.

I get it if a chain has a rogue branch or two that don't pass muster, but no genuinely thriving, healthy chain can be described as 'in managed decline' - surely?

I love their combined museum and preserved 'old-style' shop in Newtown, Powys. I also used to find the WHS Carpets Twitter feed very entertaining, but that seems to have disappeared now?!

RatRatPig · 12/01/2025 22:56

MissyPants · 12/01/2025 17:38

Argos, never has anything in what you want, and both have closed down near me. Also don't see the point in it if you can just order from Amazon.
Agree to WH Smith as well.

Argos is great! We have one within 5 minutes walk and you can get pretty much anything you need for instant collection. It's saved me for the countless kids birthday parties I've forgotten, and we've bought heaters when it's suddenly cold etc. Amazon is usually next day.

I really hope it doesn't go bust!

PickAChew · 12/01/2025 22:56

GreyPapoose · 12/01/2025 22:49

Th prince bishops is getting pulled down????

Some of it, yep.

I'd forgotten about the obligatory student accommodation https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80edx8rl06o.amp

I think it's the other leg that's changing, as most of that is empty, now. It's all much like the gates before that was demolished, though. Quite depressing and can't even be cheered up with some jaunty umbrella art.

Raised two storey buildings looking down on a bridge over a river

Durham council approves Prince Bishops shopping centre plans - BBC News

A shopping centre will be partially demolished to make way for student accommodation and a hotel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80edx8rl06o.amp

AlbertAvocado · 12/01/2025 22:57

Our Pound stretcher is looking very bare too. Pretty sure it's on its way out here at least.

RampantIvy · 12/01/2025 22:57

thenightsky · 12/01/2025 22:46

Zara has recently closed down

Blimey! I never thought they'd go down.

Zara have recently opened a larger new shop in Meadowhall.

MyDeepZebra · 12/01/2025 22:58

PiggyPigalle · 12/01/2025 22:53

Ours is a small branch so little choice. On second thoughts, the bin is for returns, not collections.

We have three very locally...the smallest is a two floor one in the local shopping centre, then there's one in a retail park and an outlet store.

Medium sized Northern town.

Our orders and returns all seem to get processed and sorted in the store rooms beside the tills. I'm guessing all the stores here have one overall local Manager who likes things done that way.

AllFurCoatAndFrillyKnickers · 12/01/2025 23:01

Needmorelego · 12/01/2025 22:52

@AllFurCoatAndFrillyKnickers I thought it was some dodgy pension deals that killed off the Phillip Green empire?

No Arcadia went into administration in November 2020. My friend had to organise getting all the stock back to the distribution centre from the stores. Millions of units. I think his wife paid some extra £M to the pension fund to keep it afloat.
There were also issues with the BHS pension fund when it went into administration after he had sold it to an ex racing driver for £10, IIRC. He had to appear in Parliament to answer questions.

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 12/01/2025 23:03

justasking111 · 12/01/2025 22:52

Wasn't me that said it had

So? You commented on the erroneous to say it's a pity. It isn't a pity as Zara isn't closing.

Brighteyedtriangle · 12/01/2025 23:03

Not a chance for boots. Anytime I go in I spend £60/70 when I only wanted shower gel.

But just incase I best spend my points balance ASAP.

Ilovemyshed · 12/01/2025 23:03

Gowlett · 12/01/2025 18:36

Hotel Chocolat have closed their ROI branches.
I heard it’s the same in Scotland, is that right?

ROI?

Badbadbunny · 12/01/2025 23:04

Silvers11 · 12/01/2025 20:07

In a lot of smaller villages and more rural areas, the co-op is often the only supermarket available to local shoppers. At least in Scotland!

Yes, because they move in and force out the existing convenience stores who can’t compete. Not a nice business model.

Differentstarts · 12/01/2025 23:04

MyDeepZebra · 12/01/2025 22:54

I hadn't shopped at Asda since the pandemic but I got lured in with Asda Rewards in the lead up to Christmas this year which was very well delivered and before I knew it I was going in about 3 times a week!

Through the Rewards App, I got two of the big tubs of Celebrations and Heroes for £5 (which at that point was cheaper than anywhere else).

I came out of the store and got a notification that for scanning the rewards app,
I'd been rewarded with £5 in my Cashpot. So the tubs were essentially free.

While I'd been in there I'd also picked
up a lettuce and some potatoes for dinner...the app said if I completed a "mission" and bought 3 more items of fruit or veg in a two week period...I'd get another £2.50 in my Cashpot. Well of course, the next time I needed to top up on fruit/veg I went to Asda.

Then there was the Christmas Mission...buy so many items of wrapping/tags/cards and get another £2 in the cashpot...plus they were on 3 for 2. And there was this weird little gnome which would pop up on my screen when I was in store and when I rubbed it's nose suddenly at least 50p would end up in my cashpot.
Just for setting foot in the store.

And there were all little side missions and boosters.

It ended up costing me essentially nothing for all the little Christmas extra gifts for tutors/neighbours/acquaintances like bottles of fizz or naice chocolates, Baileys etc. From October Half Term to Christmas my Cashpot had built up a lot. They've esssentially game-ified shopping. And it didn't seem to be a false economy either as I do my research and prices were similar or less to their competitors.
So, whilst I wasn't really an Asda fan before, I am now. And my friends and I ended up getting very competitive over the size of our Cashpots 😂

Love asda rewards get so much money in my app

Needmorelego · 12/01/2025 23:04

@Ilovemyshed ROI = Republic of Ireland.

MerryMaker · 12/01/2025 23:11

Differentstarts · 12/01/2025 23:04

Love asda rewards get so much money in my app

What is the point when their shelves are half empty and you can't get what you want?

ShampooCoveredTurd · 12/01/2025 23:13

I don't know if it strictly counts as 'retail', but one chain I can see going before too long is the Post Office.

The absolute shocking disgrace of them knowingly destroying the lives of so many hardworking, loyal postmasters and mistresses certainly hasn't helped their reputation one bit.

I absolutely loved the idea that somebody on the BBC News Have Your Say thread about the new Vicar of Dibley stamps suggested: they should be made to release a new set of stamps - maybe one or two a week/fortnight - featuring Sir Alan Bates on the first one and then followed by every single one of the people they knowingly defamed in turn.

The sheer unreliability of Royal Mail - yes, I know they're technically two businesses, but they're very much co-dependent and most people don't really see them as different. All Amazon need to do is to tweak their existing highly-effective network organisation slightly and branch out into personal mail and parcel collection - maybe a yellow pillar box next to every red one - and delivery and RM will be toast in no time at all.

However, (sort of) back to the thread, as far as their high street presence is concerned... well, it isn't. How long can you keep the reputation and pride of a business going when they lack the resources/will/ability to maintain their own premises in the vast majority of high streets up and down the country?

How can a business model of 'sofa-surfing' in other shops - and then relying on those shops both surviving and happily continuing to host them - be taken seriously? Then, if they don't, they're desperately looking for somebody else willing to put them up in a corner somewhere.

The Post Office was once such a proud, strong, admirable presence on every high street (not to mention all of their own sub post offices). Now it's reduced to a parasite business - relying on finding whoever amongst the other shops will have them, almost like a charity case.

Differentstarts · 12/01/2025 23:14

MerryMaker · 12/01/2025 23:11

What is the point when their shelves are half empty and you can't get what you want?

There not at my local Asda obviously there are times you can't get exactly what you want just like any other shop but iv never seen empty shelves apart from the loo roll shelf during the pandemic

MyDeepZebra · 12/01/2025 23:15

MerryMaker · 12/01/2025 23:11

What is the point when their shelves are half empty and you can't get what you want?

They aren't here...

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