The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)

Vermilion wrote:

Moggy wrote:The HMV store in Bristol recently halved in size and I wouldn’t say it looked very busy whenever I walk past it. I occasionally use it, but only when I have forgotten to buy somebody a birthday present and have to pick up a DVD quickly before a family member discovers just how unorganised I am. I would imagine lots of older people going there for gifts for the grandkids, but that is a diminishing market. Streaming and downloading will eventually kill off HMV.

HMV stores do seem to vary quite wildly in how busy they are, some can be pretty quiet (Hereford & Bath are examples of this), while others seem to always be very busy (Brighton & Southampton come to mind).

No matter how much people use streaming/downloads though, i firmly believe that there will always be a market for a physical product (especially when you consider that Avengers: Infinity War sold over 300,000 physical copies alone in just three days of being released).

But uhh... HMV Southampton is closed.

https://www.hmv.com/store-finder/hmv-southampton

They're on life support and imo it'll be switched off soon.

Wrathy wrote:But uhh... HMV Southampton is closed.

https://www.hmv.com/store-finder/hmv-southampton

They're on life support and imo it'll be switched off soon.

Oh ffs.

I don't think HMV are long for this world. The demand for physical media isn't big enough these days to sustain an outdated business model like HMV, one where stores are found at high cost, prominent positions within our high streets.

This thread is gooseberry fool, we should have kept the other one.

Gemini73 wrote:I don't think HMV are long for this world..

I just did a bit investigating, and although the Southampton store has closed, they're actually opening new stores in Derby and Boston.

If things were that bad, would they really be opening new outlets?

They also returned to Winchester a couple of years after closing up.

Vermilion wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:I don't think HMV are long for this world..

I just did a bit investigating, and although the Southampton store has closed, they're actually opening new stores in Derby and Boston.

If things were that bad, would they really be opening new outlets?

They also returned to Winchester a couple of years after closing up.

Bizarre as it may sound, a well established retailer like HMV opening new stores isn't always a sure fire sign of a business doing well. It's not uncommon for a retailer to open new stores then suddenly collapse altogether. As long as there is some modicum of demand then sure they can hang on for a time, but realistically in today's environment? I wouldn't bet on any kind of long term future.

Hate shopping. strawberry floating dispose it. I get anything I can online. strawberry float being around people. banana splits.

I quite enjoy shopping in town centres but I rarely end up buying anything. I tried clothes and stuff on and then shop online for them with discounts.

Gemini73 wrote:

Vermilion wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:I don't think HMV are long for this world..

I just did a bit investigating, and although the Southampton store has closed, they're actually opening new stores in Derby and Boston.

If things were that bad, would they really be opening new outlets?

They also returned to Winchester a couple of years after closing up.

Bizarre as it may sound, a well established retailer like HMV opening new stores isn't always a sure fire sign of a business doing well. It's not uncommon for a retailer to open new stores then suddenly collapse altogether. As long as there is some modicum of demand then sure they can hang on for a time, but realistically in today's environment? I wouldn't bet on any kind of long term future.

Indeed, retailers right up until their deaths are still trying to find new markets, new store opportunities where they can make money. Plenty of recent retailers that have disappeared were still opening new stores or even spending money on store revamps in the weeks prior to the final nail in their coffin. Toys r us for example was trying to move some of its stores away from the large retails units and to smaller stores. This appeared to be a success as their new smaller stores were turning decent profits whilst a lot of their larger units were becoming heavy loss makers due to their large running costs. However it all came too late for them. If they had acted earlier they may still be operating in the uk.

It will also surprise many that a lot of companies still really don’t do their homework as to which stores are actually profitable and continue to run loss making stores.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen plans to close 17 stores to stay afloat

Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) says it has earmarked 17 restaurants for closure after running up millions of pounds of losses.

The chain, owned by South Africa's Famous Brands, has filed for a Company Voluntary Arrangement - an insolvency process that allows struggling firms to close unprofitable stores.

It warned 250 jobs were at risk under the plan, which still needs approval.

GBK operates about 80 restaurants in the UK and employs 2,000 people.

Earlier this month, Famous Brands said GBK had booked a £47m loss amid tough trading conditions.

Managing director Derrian Nadauld said the chain faced a "challenging casual dining" market and its rental payments were too high.

"We are having to take tough but necessary actions to reduce our fixed cost base and restore long-term profitability," he said.

"This [CVA] will provide greater security for our staff, suppliers, landlords and customers."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45962981

GBK started the whole fancy burger thing but they've been out done by a whole bunch of places that have come along since. Places like Byron, Honest Burger, Meat liquor, etc have cut the market down. Also GBK is over-priced, the food isn't that great and the service can be terrible. So I'm not really surprised they're going out of business.

Return_of_the_STAR wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:

Vermilion wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:I don't think HMV are long for this world..

I just did a bit investigating, and although the Southampton store has closed, they're actually opening new stores in Derby and Boston.

If things were that bad, would they really be opening new outlets?

They also returned to Winchester a couple of years after closing up.

Bizarre as it may sound, a well established retailer like HMV opening new stores isn't always a sure fire sign of a business doing well. It's not uncommon for a retailer to open new stores then suddenly collapse altogether. As long as there is some modicum of demand then sure they can hang on for a time, but realistically in today's environment? I wouldn't bet on any kind of long term future.

Indeed, retailers right up until their deaths are still trying to find new markets, new store opportunities where they can make money. Plenty of recent retailers that have disappeared were still opening new stores or even spending money on store revamps in the weeks prior to the final nail in their coffin. Toys r us for example was trying to move some of its stores away from the large retails units and to smaller stores. This appeared to be a success as their new smaller stores were turning decent profits whilst a lot of their larger units were becoming heavy loss makers due to their large running costs. However it all came too late for them. If they had acted earlier they may still be operating in the uk.

It will also surprise many that a lot of companies still really don’t do their homework as to which stores are actually profitable and continue to run loss making stores.

In fact that's pretty much how HMV strawberry floated it the first time, if I'm remembering right. They bought out a number of competitors, tried to take over all their stores and left themselves spread far too thinly.

I do think there's a place for niche media stores in today's shopping centre; FOPP for example is a store I'd like to see survive the retail apocalypse(independent of, well, it's Master's Voice) because they deal in a lot of areas that its parent doesn't really bother with - classic movies, science fiction, a hefty vinyl section and more niche musical genres. I believe there are only eight-ish left in the UK though, with two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh so a lot of people outside of Scotland might not know the chain.

lex-man wrote:GBK started the whole fancy burger thing but they've been out done by a whole bunch of places that have come along since. Places like Byron, Honest Burger, Meat liquor, etc have cut the market down. Also GBK is over-priced, the food isn't that great and the service can be terrible. So I'm not really surprised they're going out of business.

Yeah, there's loads of independent fancy burger places serving up better food for less money.

Corazon de Leon wrote:I do think there's a place for niche media stores in today's shopping centre; FOPP for example is a store I'd like to see survive the retail apocalypse(independent of, well, it's Master's Voice) because they deal in a lot of areas that its parent doesn't really bother with - classic movies, science fiction, a hefty vinyl section and more niche musical genres. I believe there are only eight-ish left in the UK though, with two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh so a lot of people outside of Scotland might not know the chain.

There's a FOPP in Bristol, it's out of the main shopping area though so I have no idea how well it is doing.

Corazon de Leon wrote:FOPP for example is a store I'd like to see survive the retail apocalypse(independent of, well, it's Master's Voice) because they deal in a lot of areas that its parent doesn't really bother with - classic movies, science fiction, a hefty vinyl section and more niche musical genres. I believe there are only eight-ish left in the UK though, with two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh so a lot of people outside of Scotland might not know the chain.

Used to see outlets of Fopp quite often, the only stores i come across now though are the ones in Bristol and Oxford.

Moggy wrote:There's a FOPP in Bristol, it's out of the main shopping area though so I have no idea how well it is doing.

Last time i was in Bristol, i bought my discs in HMV rather than Fopp because while the prices were the same, at HMV i get pure points.

I've never even heard of FOPP.

Went by Debenhams in Belfast and they have their Christmas decorations up already. strawberry floating hell.

Squinty wrote:Went by Debenhams in Belfast and they have their Christmas decorations up already. strawberry floating hell.

Pffft, Oxford St were busy putting theirs up weeks ago.

We've an independent burger bar in Cheltenham called Real Burger. Not particularly cheap and I've only been a few times, but damn they cook up some tasty burgers and their chips are out of this world.

Vermilion wrote:

Squinty wrote:Went by Debenhams in Belfast and they have their Christmas decorations up already. strawberry floating hell.

Pffft, Oxford St were busy putting theirs up weeks ago.

Oxford Street is officially the worst place in the UK right now, to me.