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…

Co-ops are not really a thing where we live, but we went to Suffolk at Christmas with friends and they seemed to be everywhere. What great shops, and not just because of their good wine selection…I had Co-op envy.

Argos will probably go online and use the sainsburys stores for click and collect.
Poundstrecher I think has lost its way ,the one local to us always looks scruffy and tries but can't compete with the likes of home bargains B& M and the like.
Dont underestimate The Coop I worked 20 years for Coop group and they are a very clever company have loads of assets and can read the market.

I generally just get cards from M&S, I don't send many, just close relatives.

A depressing post. The ignorance about the retail sector is matched only by the negativity. Lots of the companies named are British-owned businesses, contributing to the economy, paying their taxes, and abiding by the law. This costs money. It’s a highly competitive market and a very difficult retail environment at present. As opposed to Chinese-owned businesses such as Temu, Shein and Alibaba where there is considerably less transparency. Shein’s UK sales hit £1 bn last year, just two years after setting up in the UK, but they paid just £2 m in annual tax. In September 2024, Shein employed just 14 people in the UK. It shipped everything direct from China which is super cheap because of a deal done with the UK government some time ago. As a result, it does not have to pay import duties on parcels under £135 so all consignments are broken into units of £135 or less.
If you are hooked on paying very low sums for products from these retailers, then be prepared for UK businesses to go under and the money they attract to the local economy haemorrhaging to China. By supporting these retailers we are cannibalising our economy, not to mention the damage done to British designers - many of whom are small, ethical UK businesses -whose designs are ripped off. It is not a level playing field. Don’t get me started on factory conditions.

I love Argos. Bought a brand new iron from there last month.

As easy as Amazon is to order from, I like the fact I can run to Argos to do a return really easily, with no fuss. And the quality is usually far far better than Amazon.

This

@auderesperare I completely agree with your post.

The UK economy is already having such a hard time, without having the general population talk down our high street stores/retailers.

It is like encouraging a run on a bank. Who would buy from a retailer (e.g. online sales) if they thought the retailer was going under? It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is deeply depressing and will only encourage the dominance of the likes of unethical retailers like Amazon and Shein.

Morrisons.

Yes for CDs but people probably prefer to buy vinyl in person as they are so breakable.

I’m always surprised by how often Boots is mentioned on these threads. They’ve made some very savvy decisions over the years. They got out of physical media long before the rest of the retail world realised it was dying. They got out of homeware once the supermarkets started doing it on a bigger and more effective scale. They also invested heavily in services (opticians, hearing aid clinics etc.) at the right time. And that’s before you even consider the amount of NHS community funding they receive.

I know Boots are reducing their store estate, which is usually a sign of trouble, but frankly this was well overdue for them (and is an area they haven’t made good decisions in the past). They took over quite a few smaller chains and simply converted the stores to Boots stores, rather than actually considering whether they needed them. For example, in my home town they converted the Dollond and Aitchison optician's to a Boots optician’s when they bought that chain, even though there was an optician’s in their main store barely two minutes walk away. And where I live now, there was still a Boots for years on what was traditionally the High Street, even though they’d opened a bigger and better store in the then new shopping centre just over the road. That’s the kind of thinking that needs to change.

Where I live Lidl wants to build a new store very close to a Morrisons. I wish they'd just take it over and turn it into a Lidl!

There’s loads of co-ops in the villages near us, our local one is always busy. Fruit and veg and meat are excellent there. Certain things can be overpriced but not excessively and they always have deals on. You can tot up points quite quickly on the co-op card.

Can you tell me what comparable national chemist's chain there is? Where will you take your prescription? One of the most intelligent questions you can ask in business is very simple: "compared to what?" I don't think Boots has improved since the Yanks took over but I know of no credible national alternative.

I’ve never understood how those ubiquitous American sweet shops in central London stay afloat. There’s hardly any customers but always several staff. Their rents must be sky high & they seem to be open late. I’m convinced they’re part of a money laundering scheme!

I think buying Argos was quite a clever move by Sainsbury’s. Where there’s a Sainsbury’s nearby, they can close expensive to run Argos stores and incorporate them into the supermarket (as has happened to my local branch and my parents’). Where there isn’t a suitable Sainsbury’s store, they keep the Argos stores.

I hope Claire’s. The prices for the tat they sell are ridiculous!

Why?

Why do you "hope" that? What harm are they doing you?

I dislike their tat, so I don't shop there. I don't mind that other people do!

New Look is teetering

It has been a long time theory that these shops do not stay in business by selling Reeces Pieces and overpriced can of pop.

Definately something going on to afford the priority sites they occupy

Dont underestimate The Coop I worked 20 years for Coop group and they are a very clever company have loads of assets and can read the market.

Look how long ago they did away with their department stores. Long before Debenhams went tits up and House of Fraser slashed its estate.

I’m not surprised. My local one is awful. It looks like they’ve already given up.

Morrisons

Just saw this article …
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/oxford-street-candy-shop-investigation-b1082733.html

Surely the Government /Westminster council can prioritise closing down these businesses? They are actual physical shops, not online retailers & it seems their unethical practices are well known - so why are they still allowed to trade?!?

My son has being saying for years that they are exactly that, and it’s well known. They are essentially the Breaking Bad car wash but on a larger scale.