How do you feel about Mothercare closing down???

[Monz1]

Interestingviews from mums. I think Mothercare is slightly overpriced tbh...

tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/17868

Surprised it's lasted this long! Awful overpriced place.

That Myleene Klass overpriced tat was dreadful. It gave the impression that they really had no idea what was good and what wasn't. It put me off every time I went into the shop, thinking 'they are still thinking that is a good idea?'.

I gave up on them when every time I went to buy something basic like a pack of plain vests they were out of stock. Erm...

(It's not 'closing down' by the way. Still struggling on, just closing more stores. BBC yesterday.)

Better spend my gift card quick!

I am sad that yet more people will lose their jobs.

But Mothercare is a soulless shop and their customer service is shocking.

The clothes are overpriced and they don't sell anything you can't get online.

Not bothered. It's gone hugely downhill over the years. Very expensive for the quality of clothes they sell. Almost all DDs clothes lost their colour after a couple of washes so we didn't buy there any more.

Customer service is dreadful, which puts me off buying anything. I had to wait in a q of 6 people yesterday. One person was at the tills three were randomly wandering around the shop. They are useful in that they sell things like citric acid for the steriliser which I can't get elsewhere but it's not exactly going to keep them solvent at the rate I buy it!

It amazes me that a store struggling like this does not actively seek out customer feedback, I hope their bosses are looking at MN. It would be a shame to see an institution of our high street disappear but I agree with everyone one else - their children's clothes are expensive and often not very nice.

The quality isn't always great and the designs can be ugly and not very contemporary (although I think the likes of Gap and Next have gone down hill too in the last couple of years). I do occasionally pick up some nice bits in there though and do visit my local (very small) store whenever I'm in town.

Their offers are usually rubbish too - get £10 off if you spend £150 ????!!!! They have a new baby club which is useless, the vouchers are virtually worthless and there are no special perks for club members just loads of spam emails. They don't have toilets, baby changing or breastfeeding rooms in any of the stores anywhere near me.

And don't get me started on the hideous range of maternity tat they offer, I liked Blooming Marvellous it had just had a lovely makeover when Mothercare bought them out and got rid.

However the sheets and blankets we bought there 4 years ago for DC1 are still going strong with DC2 and look like they'll last through DC3 too while cheaper things we bought are already misshaped and worn out.

Sort yourselves out Mothercare.

I'm indifferent to the possiblity of them closing down. I shopped with them for the occasional 2-4-1 deals on vests/sleepsuits but was never a big customer. I prefer H&M or supermarket clothes for DD.

I am sad that there will be people losing their jobs though.

i think they've been placing themselves in a difficult position
the clothes are nowhere near as cheap as the supermarkets for everyday nurserywear, yet not nice enough to warrant splashing out on them as i would with the odd item in JL, Boden etc

It's sad because it'll leave a gap in the high st and people will lose their jobs. It is a dreadful shop though, I find it incredibly frustrating every time I go in. No staff in sight and have to wait at the tills for ages to pay.

For clothes, I like the quality a lot, found it value for money, & often they were the only place we could find a particular sort of item. DC now older or only need hand-me-downs, but bet I'll be wanting something soon that only they sold in a high street shop (don't like buying clothes online).

It's frustrating to lose another actual shop. Sometimes online doesn't help - you need to go and actually look at the range of products available.

I'm surprised that they've lasted this long TBH.

I remember venturing into on of their big retail park shops when I was pregnant with my first child 13 years ago and being unimpressed then and, on the rare occasion I've been in one since, I've remained unimpressed.

Unremarkable products, expensive, not brilliant quality, poor service in the shop etc.

Much preferred other shops like Boots (who have the great Advantage Card scheme)

Their customer service literally made me cry. I was a hormonal new mother but still.
I feel sorry for people losing their jobs and agree there is space in the market for a decent RL store selling baby and child stuff which is neither a supermarket nor premium. It's just that Mothercare is so spectacularly shit at pulling it off. Thread after thread on MN attests to this.

The article said it was mostly ELC shops rather than Mothercare which would close. I used to like ELC, was sad when DD was too old for their stuff - but therein perhaps lies their problem, they really do only cater for small children.

I used to like Mothercare too, but I suppose I'm going back a few years. Our branch was good for car seat fitting. It's a big out-of-town one with easy parking, which was another plus.

I bought most of my baby stuff for DC1 in Mothercare. Travel system, clothing, changing stuff, everything.

I couldn't afford mothercare with DC2 so went to Ikea instead!

I feel sad for the amazing women who work there against the odds, and despite the horrible corporate customer service they actually have to rail against to get you sorted. They are heroes.

However the shop itself I tend to find as I said, corporate and money-fixated, the children's clothes are £££ and often horrible, uncomfortable and ugly. The toys are blah, nasty plastic unnecessary and prices seem 'rounded up'.

The reason I like it is that sometimes they have brilliant clearance stuff so I go in and look at the sale bin, and buy bits for prams and so on (half price bug covers etc) which is great fun.

If you look at the website though the offers are generally meaningless and useless, the customer service is one of those 'here is a list of two thousand questions so you don't have to ring us up, because, well, you can't and we don't want to talk to you about your individual problem' ones. Which for me is an automatic black mark.

I would be ultra careful spending serious money there. however if it is closing there are likely to be bargains

IN short I think they are out to trick new mothers and fathers into spending dosh on things they do not need.

That's unfair. You get a sense of the corproate ethos with most shops nowadays and I don't like Mothercare's. Not at all.

I found Mothercare was good for basics - vests, sheets, that sort of thing. But I suppose that nowadays I could get all that from Tescos.

Who else sells Potette liners, though? Or has a range of 20 potties from which to choose?

I wouldn't buy clothes from them, ever. But for baby basics I found they had the best range.

There's not much else in the way of baby/children's shops in my town so I'll miss it. Will be sure to put some money aside to raid the closing down sale for birthdays/Christmas.

Sparklingbrook Fri 13-Apr-12 10:12:41

I was going to write exactly the same!

The stores look like they've been closing down for a while now.

They can be useful, but I think they need to scale back a bit. The stores are too big and soulless.

I think I'm on my own here, but I really hope our Mothercare doesnt close. I am not in the UK, and the supermarkets here don't sell clothes (although we do stock up in Sainsbury's and Tesco when we go back to England) so I rely on Mothercare a lot. I love their summer cotton dresses, PJs, etc and they have been a godsend in seeing us through our Peppa Pig/ Ben and Holly/ Charlie and Lola / princess phases. I do not think they are over priced, (certainly where we are, they are cheap!) although I do buy the majority of items in the sale.

The customer service has always been excellent too, both in store and online. I had a problem with an order I got sent to my Mum in the UK and they dealt with her brilliantly.

ELC - we are about at the end of their age range now but I still buy the odd thing for 2yo DD2. I wouldnt miss it though as we have enough Happyland to stock our own shop, and most other things, I could get similar at the local toy shop.

Jean Bodel, i get the potette liners in Boots!

I was last pregnant 13 years ago and hated them.
Their maternity clothes were horrendous and there wasn't too much choice then.
I still shudder at the linen maternity shorts