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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

For wanting to play 'administration' bingo?

357 replies

TheSeriousSanta · 29/12/2008 21:15

I am.. I know I am.. It's mean..

But I have compiled a list of high street stores that will go bust before 31st January and now feel compelled to see if I can shout HOUSE before anyone else...

OP posts:
simpsonsChristmasSpecial · 29/12/2008 23:21

Think ELC will be ok as they are owned by mothercare.

Although (I used to work for ELC many moons ago!!) they used be owned by John menzies and were sold on as they were not making a profit...so the same thing could happen again.

llareggub · 29/12/2008 23:28

I think ELC will lose their stand alone shops and concentrate on their trade within Mothercare.

simpsonsChristmasSpecial · 29/12/2008 23:31

Don't they sell stuff in some boots stores too?

They made a big boo boo when I worked for them and went head to head with mothercare and started selling prams, cots etc in the bigger stores. only lasted a yr and cost them a fortune

MaHumbug · 29/12/2008 23:37

I'm mourning a few of my favourite shops in my local shopping centre.
Tchibo
The Pier
Habitat
and I liked Whittards [bunting emoticon]

Other shops I like -
The homeware (esp. lighting, cushions and bedding) section in BHS and Homebase.
Laura Ashley
My cousin works in BHS and asked if there were any jobs going in my place.....

simpsonsChristmasSpecial · 29/12/2008 23:38

Is Tchibo in trouble?

Oh noooooo they are my favourite shop!!

frogs · 29/12/2008 23:39

Tchibo is still in our local shopping centre.

But they're a German company who've been going for years, so I imagine in hard times they might retreat a bit. They are a household name in Gm, mainly for coffee, but have never quite worked out their niche here imo. Not that cheap, either, compared with eg. Lidl.

paddingtonbear1 · 29/12/2008 23:57

adams were top of my list...

apart from that,
JJB sports
BHS
Laura Ashley
Blockbusters
Body shop
Ethel Austin
maybe Comet/Currys.

Gap has gone downhill recently too - used to buy loads in there but hardly anything now.

kickassangel · 30/12/2008 00:07

borders is american & still doing well in US, so may go in the UK but not die altogether. starbucks is struggling a lot in most countries.
laura ashley has had a lot of problems on & off over the years - took a lot to survive after attempting to break the US market.

i'm thinking stores that survived the 90s will probably do OK, eg bhs.

surprisingly, underwear sales often increase during recession, just like skirt lenghts go up. if you can't afford nights out, you stay home & make your own entertainment ...

a lot of the leisure industry could suffer, e.g. center parks type things.

MaHumbug · 30/12/2008 00:12

Oh - I seem to be mistaken.... Tchibo went without much fuss in our high street and when I mentioned it to my colleagues they said Tchibo had pulled all of their stores from the UK. Sorry! (Come back Tchibo!)

Oh and The Body Shop have relocated from our high street to inside the shopping centre but isn't in a prominent place anymore so I reckon they've found it hard to pull in a profit this year locally.

ThornyRose · 30/12/2008 00:13

I think there could be a boom in uk holidays with traditional english seaside resorts doing well as people cut back on foreign holidays, esp. if you consider the green issue as well.

blithedance · 30/12/2008 00:13

Be surprised if Gap went, it's American too. More likely that they scale back in the UK.

I think it will either be luxury shops like Whittard or tired old chains that are not competetive in their market any more. But it depends a lot on their current financial position as to how they can weather a recession.

I do wonder who shops at Laura Ashley any more, they seem to have a perma-sale of odd, over-priced clothes.

ninedragons · 30/12/2008 01:18

I'd be surprised if Monsoon didn't beef up its bridal business and let that tide it over. Two grand wedding dresses for the middle classes have been one of the most ridiculous, unsustainable trends of the past five to ten years and must be one of the very first things to go in an economic downturn. I predict every single wedding you go to this summer will feature a radiant bride in a Monsoon dress.

M&S are expanding into China, so they might be looking for stability that way. The shop in Shanghai is like the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, but it seems to be mostly expats who have been going commando since their last pair of pants wore out.

Unbelievably, C&A are still operating in China but I think this year could finally finish them off. Their flagship store is vast, full of fugly synthetic clothes and completely empty of customers. They're like one of those poos that won't go away no matter how many times you flush.

goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh · 30/12/2008 01:21

"They're like one of those poos that won't go away no matter how many times you flush. "

Surely a contender for quote of the week

Clicked on this thread to read the latest posts before heading off to bed - not sure my dreams will be quite so sweet now after reading that

LittleChristmasCracker · 30/12/2008 01:31

please everyone go and buy something from Laura Ashley, they are my favourite home furnishings shop and I'd be lost without out them...

Their clothing is pants though!

FleurDelacour · 30/12/2008 03:11

I agree with LCC re Laura Ashley. Lovely home furnishings but I wish they'd sort out their clothes. I haven't bought any clothes there for nearly fifteen years . The styles are the same boring stuff you see everywhere and the fabrics are not special anymore. Here in Singapore Gap and Body Shop seem to be doing well. Laura Ashley is very expensive (think double UK prices) and I rarely see a customer in there.

SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 30/12/2008 03:59

My mum heard Debenhams(sp?) is in trouble? She is making sure that we all go and spend our vouchers this week.

I think Currys and a few more travel companies.

Fastfood chains are doing well. Funny you would think that eating out would be the first thing people cut back on?

TWINSETinapeartree · 30/12/2008 04:29

ASOS is booming , the MD was interviewed on R4 and he said they are almost credit crunch immune as many of their customers are not affected by things like falling house prices, rising utility bills etc. There is a section of society that will always buy an outfit for Saturday night.

Superdrug seemes to have been in the past for ages as does Past Times if they are still going.

TWINSETinapeartree · 30/12/2008 04:30

Agree about the body shop, I think it has had its day really.

TWINSETinapeartree · 30/12/2008 04:31

Has Ethel Austin not already gone.

TWINSETinapeartree · 30/12/2008 04:33

I cant believe Debenhams are in trouble, they had some dark days in the past but I think they have marked out their territory for eveningwear and designer names. THey succeeded in doing this where M and S failed IMO,

ninedragons · 30/12/2008 07:37

Laura Ashley need to get a grip. We have a factory outlet near us that sells things like smashed mirrors for 30 quid, and shirts with full-length rips down the back. Anything nice is the full price. They need to work out the difference between factory second and skip fodder.

SoupDragon · 30/12/2008 09:11

Tie Rack

SoupDragon · 30/12/2008 09:14

BHS will go before Debenhams. Can't convince myself that Debenhams will go.

dilemma456 · 30/12/2008 09:18

Message withdrawn

PuppyDrunky · 30/12/2008 09:19

High end will be ok in a recession as richer customers won't be affected. The more middle of the road, budget shops are the ones to worry about - I'm hoping DFS so we can stop those atrocious adverts...