What retailer do you think will go bust next?

[good96]

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…

Yes, I will only buy Anker or Belkin accessories from Amazon as they are good known brands, never buy the cheaper unbranded ones

You also have recourse with your local trading standards.
if it’s sold in a bricks and mortar the shop has a duty of care to ensure the appropriate testing and safety marks are there.

They aren’t allowed to sell untested items. Whilst it should be the same for Amazon and eBay, it isn’t. Trading standards have a harder time enforcing, there’s grey areas around who is responsible for the sale as they are only marketing. B&Q is another one recently caught out with selling unsafe goods on their website now they are also a reseller.

How anyone can work in there without having a permanent migraine I will never know
it’s so bright!

I’m with you it is getting harder. I was getting stocking fillers of cables at Christmas. I ended up getting them in flying tiger as it was just too confusing with everything marked as genuine regardless of how genuine it is

I don't think the Entertainer is going anywhere anytime soon. They have expanded into Tesco, Matalan & M&S, also moon pig. They have not long went into Tesco's in Ireland .

That probably means they’re planning to close their own bricks and mortar and just be a concession in other businesses.

I think The Entertainer should make more of a big thing that they sell Early Learning Centre branded toys like Happyland.
I read comments a lot like "I wish we still had ELC....such a shame it's gone" etc.
But it's right there - in The Entertainer. Their pre-school products are Early Learning Centre ones.
But so many people don't know this. The Entertainer lets themselves down by shouting about that.

Maybe, but not in the near future, they would have been opening 2 new stores but with the NI increase, it was decided it was best not to .
They have also rented a second warehouse, but who knows, but I hope not.

Mine isn't it's a corner in the local sainsburys and it's either out of stock or order now collect tomorrow from 1pm

I agree, there are some really good items you can buy in there which you can’t find elsewhere, but I feel these are becoming less and less, as other shops are cottoning on and producing the same/similar items for a cheaper price.

Ours is also in Sainsburys. Three of them locally and always well stocked. Never had an issue other than the queues.

I can't believe people saying Argos! In order loads from there! Can use nectar points plus often you can get it delivered the same day for £3.95!

I think new look and maybe boots! Boots in my town looks so shabby now and the shelves are always empty. There is always one poor member of staff trying to do replen and serve customers at the same time.

Isn't Asda owned by Walmart in the US?

"Collect from 1pm tomorrow" is a pretty good service if you ask me.
They basically keep stock at a warehouse and send it out when ordered.
It's generally very efficient.

Not anymore.

Absolutely. The Entertainer is another one that if the pp had bothered with that oh-so-quick look at the figures at Companies House, they might have seen that they are doing perfectly well, even whilst daring to not open on a Sunday.

Not any more it was sold to brothers from Yorkshire who owned garages. The brothers have fallen out, one has gone back to the garages. The other is working with Stuart Rose (ex M&S) to improve the business.

I think the looking up companies house for the retailers on this thread is a bit of a red herring tbh. It all comes down to public demand and if you fall out of grace with the public then it really doesn't matter what you have in your accounts.

Yes, but if you know what you are looking for and can interpret sets of accounts for groups of companies, you can see it coming a long way off. Most large businesses have a variety of interests, all under a holding company umbrella. These things don't usually happen following a sudden downturn in the space of a year or so, there will be signs long before that.

The Argo in Sainsbury's are always busy.

Of course, up to a point. The Companies House figures are, after all, a year in arrears, but it's reporting season at the moment so lots of companies are saying what they made over the last quarter etc. I can't fathom why people upthread said Next so readily when Next reported, only last week, their massive profits.

There are certainly some businesses mentioned on this thread for whom it is looking pretty bleak indeed, but equally some have been banded about, whether because people don't like them or their local one has closed, that are actually quite strong. I'm not sure whether the pps then want it to become a self-fulfilling prophecy or what.

I think this might be a much more fun 'game' (hardly, who wants to see people losing their jobs?) this time next year, when the NI raise, a rapidly falling pound and various other things have kicked in.

I'm sure people must be saying Next because they don't like the clothes rather than any good reason.

Asda

Asda has just today reported its worst Christmas for 7 years and have started a massive job cutting programme, so it's certainly looking very bleak.

Let's hope it's Shein 75 hours a week? Surely we can do better in the West, boycott so they may up their game.