Frank8 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Wilko own brand curtain track is OK. I use it! Quite often the tat in Wilko is cheaper than the same tat in Poundland. I think bleach for example was 58p in Wilko, £1 in Poundworld +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John The Pessimist Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I was asked to quote for business in Wilkinsons. They weren't prepared to compromise on quality. They would rather reduce the pack size instead of cheapening the ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflating Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 And you can buy stamps, and top-up your mobile (yes even Asda Mobile) there I get my coffee there - £1 a jar of Red Mountain or their own very good brand, although I hit the other discount chains for bags of Douwe Egberts coffee for filter machines (£1 a 150g bag) That's why Wilkinson is jammed with people most times I'm there, and yes plenty of staff to help, so they are doing a lot of things right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmf Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I can only speak as I find I have never had a problem with a purchase from them (that I can remember anyway) although once bought a water cartridge that didn't fit and they took it back without quibble despite me having opened the pack The parcel tape seems fine btw. They sell lots of brands too - everything from Yale safes to boxes of Ty-phoo 100s tea for £1.15 Anyone who can afford a Dualit toaster isn't going to be attracted to discount shopping - until the day they realise they could have afforded other little luxuries if they had saved where they could If ever there was a signal of an impending debt crisis, the sale of £100 toasters was it. Mine was £14 and is still going strong. I've spent the other £86 on better bread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank8 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 If ever there was a signal of an impending debt crisis, the sale of £100 toasters was it. Mine was £14 and is still going strong. I've spent the other £86 on better bread. Mine was £4 and something. Cookworks from Sainsburys and I've had it for several years now. I've also got a Cookworks kettle which I've had for several years. Mind you, the first Cookworks kettle failed within the year so I got my money back. The second likewise but the third has been fine ever since. When my daughter's £20 job failed within 2 years I bought her a Cookworks and that is also going well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I was asked to quote for business in Wilkinsons. They weren't prepared to compromise on quality. They would rather reduce the pack size instead of cheapening the ingredients. Every time I've picked up and looked at some of their own brand tools I've thought here's a company that doesn't compromise on quality. They could, of course, reached their headline price point by taking a margin hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflating Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 If ever there was a signal of an impending debt crisis, the sale of £100 toasters was it. Mine was £14 and is still going strong. I've spent the other £86 on better bread. Having used a Dualit toaster quite a few times at a friend's I can say they are very, very nice. However they are not that nice that I'd spend what he did, and my own toaster is a secondhand one from a local charity's stall (PAT tested) - it cost me £2.50 and is made by Tesco in a brushed steel finish. My spare is made by Crown and cost £5 new, absolutely fine also http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dualit-Slice-Toaster-Stainless-20245/dp/B00008BQZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323292336&sr=8-1 Which reminds me - I have to buy a small electric slow cooker to take to Poland when I return - you can't buy cheap ones there at all, in fact I hardly saw any. The local charity shop regularly sell top notch ones for about seven notes, because seems the majority of people in this town now just stuff their face with processed junk and ready meals and then hurry out back to work so that they can pay the rent or mortgage for the over-priced shitehole they are forced to call a home and costs (according to BBC Look East) 11x local salary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Never heard of Dualit toaster - a toaster is a toaster right? Have I made all the Kirstie Allsop followers gasp with horror now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 More on Wilkinsons. I've bought stationary, paints, draught excluders, DIY bits, tools, kitchenware, garden tools, bike tyres/tools, glues, etc. Great shop, and few parasites on them to make them put up their prices and be run poorly. Plenty of staff around to help look for things, and queues are kept down. Running a shop isn't rocket science; they are doing something right. These are their main problems: Mostly leasehold locations in High St locations where footfall is in decline and what footfall there is left is mostly of a low income demographic ( outside the M25 anyway) Expensive distribution model that involves running artics that do 8mpg round full of kitchen rolls and sponge scourers that add up to very little retail value. Added to this awkward to access stores where tipping wagons by tail-lift is time-consuming - some may even have loading time restrictions. Effectively they'll be left, on the High St, with other non-food discounters and value fashion chains, fighting over whatever amount of income the state decides to hand out to the jobless and pensioners, using a distribution model that can never be as cost-effective as the supermarkets. At the moment the biggest thing they've got going for them is they're handy for non-car owners and the supermarkets haven't really penetrated the diy/hardware market as well as they should have - evidenced by the surprisingly large number of independent hardware shops still surviving on customers whose preferred buying method is asking at a counter for 'one of those things, you know, the thing for the thing' (imagine charades style arm gesticulations at the same time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 stuff their face with processed junk and ready meals and then hurry out back to work so that they can pay the rent or mortgage for the over-priced shitehole That's about right. Theres a new "higher end" frozen food (chain) shop opening that sells frozen meals like Icelands, but for middle class people. It's not farmfoods either, I can't remember the name of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 That's about right. Theres a new "higher end" frozen food (chain) shop opening that sells frozen meals like Icelands, but for middle class people. It's not farmfoods either, I can't remember the name of it... Doh it's called "COOK". http://www.cookfood.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) That's about right. Theres a new "higher end" frozen food (chain) shop opening that sells frozen meals like Icelands, but for middle class people. It's not farmfoods either, I can't remember the name of it... Cook - I would guess Expanded very rapidly - mostly within the M25 unsurprisingly - think it will struggle out in the provinces TBH. Never sure why people think things that work in London can just be rolled out across the UK willy nilly. Edit to add: think it's very unlikely anyone would mix it up with Farmfoods Edited December 7, 2011 by Soon Not a Chain Retailer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflating Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 At the moment the biggest thing they've got going for them is they're handy for non-car owners and the supermarkets haven't really penetrated the diy/hardware market as well as they should have - evidenced by the surprisingly large number of independent hardware shops still surviving on customers whose preferred buying method is asking at a counter for 'one of those things, you know, the thing for the thing' (imagine charades style arm gesticulations at the same time). That's about right. Theres a new "higher end" frozen food (chain) shop opening that sells frozen meals like Icelands, but for middle class people. It's not farmfoods either, I can't remember the name of it... I know what you're referring to - we have one up the road, their target market is middle class dinner party consumers, the Chelsea tractor brigade. I think it's a franchise, they seem to be doing OK, I think the kitchens are in Kent. Nice staff in the local one, they often see me browse but I don't buy, I just go in to check the prices and meal ideas The Dualit toasters are pretty good, they are better than most ordinary toasters, but I still wouldn't pay more than £20 for one myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spare Change Please Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 A market leading UK retailer will be downsizing their workforce by 10% in the new year whilst cutting benefits for those that remain. 2012 wont be pretty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inflating Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 A market leading UK retailer will be downsizing their workforce by 10% in the new year whilst cutting benefits for those that remain. 2012 wont be pretty Is that the shop that rhymes with flurries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmf Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Never heard of Dualit toaster - a toaster is a toaster right? Have I made all the Kirstie Allsop followers gasp with horror now? Not if you construct your entire soul and sense of worth from consumer goods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmf Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 A market leading UK retailer will be downsizing their workforce by 10% in the new year whilst cutting benefits for those that remain. 2012 wont be pretty Are they really a market leader? Aren't they just a shop that everyone hates and that is nailed on to die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmf Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Having used a Dualit toaster quite a few times at a friend's I can say they are very, very nice. However they are not that nice that I'd spend what he did, and my own toaster is a secondhand one from a local charity's stall (PAT tested) - it cost me £2.50 and is made by Tesco in a brushed steel finish. My spare is made by Crown and cost £5 new, absolutely fine also http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dualit-Slice-Toaster-Stainless-20245/dp/B00008BQZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323292336&sr=8-1 Which reminds me - I have to buy a small electric slow cooker to take to Poland when I return - you can't buy cheap ones there at all, in fact I hardly saw any. The local charity shop regularly sell top notch ones for about seven notes, because seems the majority of people in this town now just stuff their face with processed junk and ready meals and then hurry out back to work so that they can pay the rent or mortgage for the over-priced shitehole they are forced to call a home and costs (according to BBC Look East) 11x local salary Toaster redundancy for £7.50. Sir I salute you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spare Change Please Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Are they really a market leader? Aren't they just a shop that everyone hates and that is nailed on to die? Its not them, Will be in the press shortly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionTerror Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 A market leading UK retailer will be downsizing their workforce by 10% in the new year whilst cutting benefits for those that remain. 2012 wont be pretty What benefits would that be? I bet the store staff aren't on much more than minimum wage anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 A market leading UK retailer will be downsizing their workforce by 10% in the new year whilst cutting benefits for those that remain. 2012 wont be pretty Don't think it's Tesco - there's a new store in Fareham (wow I had to go and see the beast), or Morrisons (2 new ones planned in the area). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redgenieuk Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Wilkinson doing very well today - not quite as busy yesterday but today ... well every checkout was open and had a queue Not surprising because a lot of the stuff is frankly priced to attract, just a small example - parcel tape which most of us use this time of year - @80p in there, same size of roll almost everywhere else @£1.50+ Shopping street and mall today packed Parcel tape should be about 30p a roll if you use a bit of it. But good value for retail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmf Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Its not them, Will be in the press shortly... Tease. Each xmas we have a game to guess which retailers will go bust in January when retail rents are due. Could be a bumper year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionTerror Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Debenhams? I'm constantly surprised to see shops such as the Edinburgh Woollen Mill or Robert Dyas managing to stay open...Whenever I walk past my local ones, there seems bugger all people in them.. Edited December 7, 2011 by Dave Beans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man o' the year Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Tease. Each xmas we have a game to guess which retailers will go bust in January when retail rents are due. Could be a bumper year. Everything is early this year ! My link Seriously how does a toy maker go bust in December? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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