A IBU to predict which shops will close next?

[muttimalzwei]

I am pretty sure I won't be allowed to name them on here but it seems to me that the places where customer service is poor or resting on its laurels are the shops that will be closing down before those where staff actually try to engage with their customers and find out how they can help them. In my town it seems to be well established high street stores (going since at least the 80s) who are just not doing what they could to offer good customer service. And they.ll be next to close....

Boots won't close. They're currently expanding into untapped markets. They're opening up branches here in Sweden following the recent changes in law which brought the state monopoly to an end.

Yy Body Shop
Not Smiths IMO, they're handy at stations
And always busy.

Thorntons - reckon they'll just sell in supermarkets.

And the obvious MOTHERCARE their customer Service is legendary in its shitness.

Body Shop :(

BHS have no idea how it keeps going

WHSmith but whenever i go in (yesterday) there are people buying something

i do not think boots will, who does not spend more in there than what they planned too

primark

You're probably right about the flaming risk but look at Clintons - there are card shops round my way appearing to do really well despite the supermarket completion, I go into them all the time but can't remember when I last went into Clintons. Mothercare I think also needs to raise it's game.

Waterstones
HMV
Argos - will become online shopping only
Habitat

Oh Bunty yes! The body shop used to feel like a "healthy" place and now it's just awful!

TheUNMember I wonder if they will get into Australia too? They only have these weird little chemists and I really missed Boots when I lived over there.

Nancy75 - two Monsoons have closed by us as the leases were up. I love the kids stuff and used to buy a lot of gifts for babies/ things in Accessorise.

Clintons have gone under because we now have the cheapo shops for 7 cards for a £1, Papaerchase etc for funky modern trendy cards and Moonpig for cards for those in far flung places. They have no market anymore.

WH SMith too here always stinks to high heaven.
Debenhams always get awful service there
BHS for being so boring
Bodyshop for just once being ethical radical and brilliant and now being rather medicore expensive and too scmooze.

I think Body Shop as well though I think not Lush, as they have more of a trendy/ young/ organicky vibe going on.

Body Shop is always empty in my city centre but Lush generally has a few customers in.

Schuh? River Island? Maybe Next - they are never that full these days.

But I feel very sorry for anyone losing their jobs.

Are these guesses based on anything other than not liking the shop? Clarks is very successful here and in other countries. Boden is growing rather than shrinking and they don't have shop overheads to worry about.

Nevertoo I have the same...I go to small independant card shops and they have beautiful things...not that cheap but lovely...FAR nicer than Clintons.

Also think Boots will be fine but Body Shop and Thorntons have given up. I want these chains to be ok but I think they have lost sight of what they want to be.

Actually I think Paperchase too - they are overpriced.

Not boots purely cos of the loyalty card. Wh smith HOW are they still going?? cant even use gift card online with them. totally outdated.

Madame Habitat went into administration last year :(

I hope nobody who works for these stores is reading :( I don't relsih any company going under :(

Aqua I have to ask whereabouts are you? Our WH Smith is also stinky, it was flooded 5 years ago and they are too stingy to buy new carpets.

Body Shop is safe I reckon as the stores are franchises, so individual businesses rather than massive company debts or overheads. Plus the name is owned by Estee Lauder who can afford to underwrite any debts etc.

YY to WH Smith. Or Lakeland. And BHS. Holland & Barrett also.

I'm amazed Body Shop have lasted this long after being taken over by L'Oreal and still trading on their 'ethical superiority'

Even so, I really don't want anymore shops to be shut down and replaced with pound shops and pawnbrokers

used to love Bodyshop but it seems really naff now compared to Lush.

Habitat still in existence online, owned by group that own Argos. I work near an ex-Habitat store and I used to shop in there quite frequently - I can't explain why but I don't want to know and I do most of my shopping on the Internet

A lot of these companies are branching out into Europe. When I moved to Sweden I could only order from Amazon. In the last 2 years more and more companies have announced Europe deliveries. I can now order from Thorntons, Next, M&S, NewLook, Evans, Tesco (in the last few weeks), Lakeland, and they're just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

no one' s had a go at me yet and I didn't want to name any shops but seeing as you all have... Laura Ashley, BHS and Mothercare. In Laura Ashley I am ignored as stock phonecalls are made and in Mothercare treated as if I've got shit on my coat. BHS have pleasant staff but they don't seems to be about on the floor to help, only hiding at the till. Shame, I do not want to see anyone out of a job but the customer service of the first two shops I've named needs to be improved drastically if they want to stay in the game

I don't want any shops to shut down, just saying which it might be. I certainly don't want anyone to lose their job.