Realistbear Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-news/2011/06/20/gloom-at-comet-and-dixons-as-profits-set-to-tumble-91466-28905498/ Gloom at Comet and Dixons as profits set to tumble What beats me is BestBuy. Just awful prices and I have read they are failing to get established in this country. Do a search for any given leccy tat and BB is usually at least 20% more than Currys or Comet. THat all said I am having to buy some kitchen shinola for my new house and have bought the hob from Comnet and the oven from Currys. Search on IDEALO (the best appliance comparison website) found them to be the cheapest of any online source in the UK. Maybe they are liquidating some shit to raise cash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Did they heavily expand during the boom years? A store on every retail park isn't good in a shrinking economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicestersq Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 They were once the star of the high street, but business has been tailing off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFlibble Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Shame really as I'll have nowhere to go to visually inspect my next TV purchase before purchase it online Fukc em, let them burn... The country has made a choice, the choice is to keep the housing market propped up, the nation enslaved and living expenses sky high. Hardly surprising nobody has any money left to spend on overpriced products in Comet. Don't worry, it will only get worse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Not as many comets on this bit of news as I would have expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Shame really as I'll have nowhere to go to visually inspect my next TV purchase before purchase it online Fukc em, let them burn... The country has made a choice, the choice is to keep the housing market propped up, the nation enslaved and living expenses sky high. Hardly surprising nobody has any money left to spend on overpriced products in Comet. Don't worry, it will only get worse... Yep. Comet and is b*stard retial twin, Dixons, are terrible. Don;t buy anything with them as they have a tendency to organise special production runs to get a strip down version of certain models. Just buy stuff from John Lewis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koala_bear Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Yep. Comet and is b*stard retial twin, Dixons, are terrible. Don;t buy anything with them as they have a tendency to organise special production runs to get a strip down version of certain models. Just buy stuff from John Lewis. +1 They have a different model number so you can't to (web) price comparision as easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The rent and rates are too high. This is what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflating Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 This is what happens when the credit runs dry and savers who were once spending can no longer spend. Nice work, Sir Merv, you clown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Last time I moved house I placed a big order with Comet. Nothing happened. After the max. number of days they quoted for delivery, I tried chasing them. Eventually I got through to a human. After a lot of checking it became evident that their ordering system was hopelessly broken. What they had didn't match what I had (saved from when I placed the order), and in any case they were sitting on it without doing anything. I cancelled the order, and placed one with Argos instead. It (the Argos order) arrived promptly the following morning. Particularly annoying because that order included that most urgent of mod-cons, the fridge-freezer. If they are closing, good riddance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depo Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Retail just cannot compete with low overhead online. Those days are gone and shops like Comet/Dixons will never be back on high street. Google product search has been my shopping mall for many years. I do not recall when was last time I bought anything on high street - appliances, car parts, health supplies, electronics, mobiles etc - all bought online. Why would I spend time sitting in traffic, burning petrol, looking/paying for parking when I can sit at home in slippers drinking cup of tea and have unlimited choice with delivery to my doors. Its just how world has evolved. I would have happened sooner or later anyway, recession just made it happen bit earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchbux Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Local store went a few weeks ago. Good riddance. We went in to look at 37" TVs. All they kept saying was 'well most people buy either 32 or 40'. We might as well have been asking for a 35.8" TV as far as they were concerned. Then there was - 'Your Sky send a signal in Blah Blah Hz' 'We don't have Sky' 'Well, when you get Sky' 'We're not getting Sky' 'Eh' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 TBH this is just a shift of the change face of retail. over the last decade as public confidence grew and they found the same product cheaper online the shop based companies was doomed. there are very few items you actually need to go in to a shop for, and Electrical is not one of them. OK some people want ot have a look at the product, but 99% of the details are all technical ie written down. all you need is a shop window really. as long as you place an order by 2pm with some of the online places 9/10 its at your door next day. but for Comet, they couldnt deliver a washing machine for 2 weeks?!? and if i wanted a saturday delivery it was an extra costs, i ordered it on line and at a cheaper price i had it next business day. add in high rents etc of actualyl having a shop then its another nail in the death of the high street coffin. Tescos are taking a massive chunk of the electrical market, as well, mainly due ot loss leaders, but its having an effect. maybe DSG strike a deal with Tescos and have their electrical departments branded Curry's, they then get rid of their shop presence and latch onto the buying power of tescos for cheaper stock. you then have an almost captive audience as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 My suspicion would be that the supermarkets have inflicted far more damage than online. Things like toasters, microwaves and kettles were a steady business less affected by the wider economy than giant TVs. It's alright saying good riddance to physical shops but, I can assure you customer service online will get worse and worse. There is little loyalty with online customers who are predominantly searching for the cheapest deal on every purchase. Why bother keeping them happy when the odds are getting lower and lower of them being a repeat customer all the time - (this applies to one off big ticket type spends not basket spending) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The rent and rates are too high. This is what happens. TBH it's more the cost of keeping the staff stood there all week - although this is, sort of, part of the same problem. Also, the low prices of imported goods is another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bear Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 My suspicion would be that the supermarkets have inflicted far more damage than online. Things like toasters, microwaves and kettles were a steady business less affected by the wider economy than giant TVs. It's alright saying good riddance to physical shops but, I can assure you customer service online will get worse and worse. There is little loyalty with online customers who are predominantly searching for the cheapest deal on every purchase. Why bother keeping them happy when the odds are getting lower and lower of them being a repeat customer all the time - (this applies to one off big ticket type spends not basket spending) But don't for get that 'customer service' in Dixons is non existent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraft Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I would blame the internet over high rents or whatever. Since I got a free Amazon prime account (free for students offer) I've been ordering nearly everything off it. Just looking at our order history: Washing machine parts lawn mower blades microwave GPS computer bits video games door locks makeup textbooks weed killer oil and air filters for the car toys set of pots and pans food bread maker computer cables fish oil, whey protein, vitamins With free shipping the prices just can't be matched. I can't remember the last time I bought something from an actual shop. When I do buy something at a shop it's Costco. And when I do go to a Comet type place it's to check out something in person before I order it from Amazon/Newegg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraft Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Oh and the best thing about online shops is you get actual reviews from users (some times thousands of them), as apposed to the no doubt highly informed opines of a spotty face salesman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wait & See Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) It just show you how poor the public actually are, without a line of credit. I've often wondered how many people can actually spend a grand on a new TV and BluRay player out of a months salary. Not many it seems. The answer here, if Merv wants to continue down his road to ruin with IR's at under 1%, is wage inflation. So everyone needs 10%+ pay rises to offset Merv's delusion. Edited June 20, 2011 by Wait & See Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 TBH it's more the cost of keeping the staff stood there all week - although this is, sort of, part of the same problem. Also, the low prices of imported goods is another. We've seen shops opening for longer and longer and even 24hrs at the supermarkets, is anyone out there in the world of retail thinking "this isn't working and we need to consolidate our opening hours (and staff costs) to when it makes us the money"? Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraft Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Big super markets are open 24/7 anyway for re-stocking and cleaning, so all it takes is one check out person, and the times I have been in at 4 am they are usually doing double duty stocking shelves and I have to wait for them to check me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Big super markets are open 24/7 anyway for re-stocking and cleaning, so all it takes is one check out person, and the times I have been in at 4 am they are usually doing double duty stocking shelves and I have to wait for them to check me out. Yeh they might as well open because they are restocking anyway. and even waiting for a till isn't a problem due to self service. Quite often pop into Beckton Tesco at 3am in the morning! However the other sector defying gravity at the moment is fast food. There must me nearly 20 outlets in a few square miles of me, and almost all look empty when I go past. The only exception being a pizza place round the corner. I can only assume they are a front for bringing in relatives from abroad, because I just can't see how they pay. And I've not had a "takeaway" in nearly two years, but thats down to more of "keep fit thing", rather than austerity. I can see a lot of fast food outlets being empty in a few years time, to add the inventory of empty commercial property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraft Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I don't understand the fast food thing either. It's is 100x worse in the US. Seriously all of these fast food franchises are within 3 miles of my house. mcdonalds burger king wendys arbys freddys frozen custard (and burgers) five guys sonic hardies cheeburger cheeburger taco tico taco johns taco bueno taco bell qudoba steak n shake starbucks chipotle kfc popeys churchs chicken chic filet sheriden frozen custard cold stone creamery pizza hut papa johns papa murphies dominos cicis pizza baskin robbins dunkin donuts dairy queen quiznos subway sbarro jimmy johns little caesars long john silvers jamba juice gambinos pizza planet sub schlotzsky's godfathers pizza jersey mike's subways When you add the chain sit down restaurants like Oilve Garden the list doubles. You drive down the street and they are just lined up next to each other. I have no idea how they all stay in business, most of them are empty except for the lunch/dinner rush. Judging from drive-through traffic McDonalds is by far the most popular, they are almost always busy. I can't explain why. What's crazy is there are only 4 variations of what these places offer: Hamburgers/sandwiches Pizza Mexican Chicken From the looks of things those 4 foods account for half of the US economy. Really bizarre to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraft Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 If anyone wants to make a killing, move to the US and start a fast food franchise corporation. You could call it "Haggis John's" and serve fish and chips, deep fried pizza, deep fried mars bars, irn-bru and stuff like that. Make all the servers wear kilts. After the public gets over the initial contempt of the unfamiliar you will make a bundle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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