The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)

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Vermilion
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Vermilion » Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:40 pm

Sandy wrote:
Vermilion wrote:
Sandy wrote:Coffee is dirt


It sure is, the stuff is so horrid i'd rather have a cup of hot mud.


You're a monster.


:nod:

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Moggy
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Moggy » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:07 pm

Sandy wrote:
Vermilion wrote:
Sandy wrote:Coffee is dirt


It sure is, the stuff is so horrid i'd rather have a cup of hot mud.


You're a monster.


But he's not wrong.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by KK » Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:34 pm

I'd love to know the type of person that has a cup of PG Tips delivered from McDonald's via Uber Eats.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by KK » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:07 am

BBC News wrote:John Lewis has confirmed that staff will not receive a bonus for the first time since 1953 after it was hit by lockdown store closures.

The retailer - which also owns Waitrose - posted a huge £635m pre-tax loss for the six months to 25 July after higher costs offset a 1% rise in sales.

Its chairwoman told staff on Thursday the announcement "will come as a blow".

Even before Covid-19 hit, the chain had warned it might not pay the usual staff bonus as competition ate into profits.

The group's first-half loss was £635m once exceptional items were taken into account, including a £470m write-down in the value of its stores.

Excluding those one-off costs, the group's loss in those six months stood at £55m.

The last time that the chain, which operates as a partnership, decided not to pay a bonus to its staff was in the aftermath of World War Two.

Chairwoman Dame Sharon White said: "We came through then to be even stronger and we will do so again."

She added: "I know this will come as a blow to partners who have worked so hard this year. The decision in no way detracts from the commitment and dedication that you have shown."

The payment of bonuses will only resume once annual profits rise to above £150m and debt falls, she said.

The retailer said store closures during lockdown and customers buying less profitable items, such as toilet paper or laptops, had hit trade.

It estimated that in its first half, John Lewis shops saw a £200m drop in sales, while the wider group saw additional coronavirus-related costs total about £50m.

But in a statement, it said that its Waitrose supermarkets had seen "a return to the weekly shop", with like-for-like sales up 10% year-on-year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54187674

Fact: there's more profit on a bog roll than a budget laptop.

(I may have made that up)

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Lex-Man
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Lex-Man » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:09 am

When I worked at Weatherspoons our most profitable item was Pepsi we made more money selling a pint of that than a bottle of Champagne.

That said I would say that John Lewis has lost money selling me Laptops in all likelyhood.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Lotus » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:13 am

Things really seem to have gone tits-up at John Lewis since that new chairwoman took over. Always thought they were one of the more stable companies.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Lex-Man » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:18 am

They've been doing quite badly for a while now it's actually a testament to how well run they actually are that they aren't circling the drain at the moment like Debenhams or House of Fraiser.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Jenuall » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:22 am

Said it before in here but John Lewis' mistake was going back on their plan ~10 years ago to stop expansion. They originally stated that they were going to stop investing in setting up new, large stores as they were costly and the numbers didn't add up - large footprint retail was already showing the signs of losing its place in the market.

But in the last ten years they have opened big expensive stores in places like Cheltenham, Exeter, Chelmsford, Leeds, Oxford, York and Birmingham - as well as I think two additional stores in London. Most of these just do not make the money to justify their place.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Lagamorph » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:44 am

The profit margin on laptops is generally wafer thin.
Back when I worked at PC World the margin on even higher end laptops was under £30 at times, and probably less than a tenner on some budget ones. Same thing on TVs.
That's why they push accessories like bags, cables, mice and Insurances so much, because that's where the Profit margin is.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by That's not a growth » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:45 am

I think part of the problem is large stores are currently part of their brand image, and it doesn't feel like they've done much too try to transition away from this perception - so just stuck with it rather than change course.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by KK » Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:07 pm

The quality of the store experience and customer service is what separates them from everyone else. Online, they’re just another retailer. And that’s a dangerous place for them to be.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Garth » Sat Oct 03, 2020 11:51 pm

Cineworld to shut all their cinemas until next year (Sunday Times):
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Godzilla » Sun Oct 04, 2020 8:49 am

Truly terrible news if Cineworld closes until next year. I don't know if they would ever open again. As it'll be march until cold and flu season is over and still no idea as to when the UK government will get control of the virus.

Night clubs, cinemas, comedy clubs, theatres, going to be a very different world when this is all over.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Vermilion » Sun Oct 04, 2020 3:57 pm

Yep, no fun allowed.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Carlos » Sun Oct 04, 2020 5:39 pm

Lagamorph wrote:The profit margin on laptops is generally wafer thin.
Back when I worked at PC World the margin on even higher end laptops was under £30 at times, and probably less than a tenner on some budget ones. Same thing on TVs.
That's why they push accessories like bags, cables, mice and Insurances so much, because that's where the Profit margin is.


I worked 4 years on the Home Technology dept at John Lewis from 2005-2009 and the furniture department on the same floor as us made a lot more profit despite our department having the highest gross figures in the store. If you buy a laptop from JLP you might also invest in a new desk and an office chair to go with it.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by KK » Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:43 pm

One of Britain’s biggest pub operators is preparing to close dozens of venues and cut hundreds of jobs following a slump in trade exacerbated by the government’s 10pm hospitality industry curfew.

Sky News has learnt that Greene King on Wednesday started a consultation with 800 employees about a redundancy process.

Sources close to the company, which has an estate of almost 1,700 managed pubs and 1,000 tenanted venues across Britain, said it would seek to redeploy affected staff wherever possible despite the continuing COVID-19 crisis.

In total, 79 of Greene King's pubs and restaurants will close, with roughly one-third of the closures expected to be permanent.

The redundancies represent a small fraction of Greene King's 38,000-strong workforce but underline the anxiety of employers as the government's furlough scheme nears its end.

In a recent statement, Nick Mackenzie, Greene King's chief executive, said: "The industry is still dealing with the crippling aftereffects of the nationwide lockdown and the cumulative effect of the new restrictions, combined with the singling out of pubs, mean the measures announced by the chancellor don't go far enough, especially for drink-led city centre pubs.

"With Public Health England figures showing only 5% of all outbreaks are linked to hospitality, it feels like pubs are being unfairly targeted when there is little evidence that they enable the spread of Covid-19."

A spokeswoman for Greene King said: "The continued tightening of the trading restrictions for pubs, which may last another six months, along with the changes to government support was always going to make it a challenge to reopen some of our pubs.

"Therefore, we have made the difficult decision not to reopen 79 sites, including the 11 Loch Fyne restaurants we announced last week.

"Around one-third will be closed permanently and we hope to be able to reopen the others in the future.

"We are working hard with our teams to try and find them a role in another of our pubs wherever possible.
"We urgently need the Government to step in and provide tailored support to help the sector get through to the spring and prevent further pub closures and job losses."

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Godzilla » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:23 pm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54477265

Peacocks owner on brink putting 24,000 jobs at risk



Edinburgh Woollen Mill, owner of the Peacocks and Jaeger clothing brands, says it plans to appoint administrators in an attempt to save the business.

The move puts 24,000 jobs at risk amid what the company described as "brutal" trading conditions.

"Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult," said Edinburgh Woollen Mill chief executive Steve Simpson.

The stores will continue to trade as a review of the business is carried out.

The businesses attract older shoppers who are likely to be keeping away from the High Street to protect their health, says Catherine Shuttleworth, an independent retail expert.

She said it was a "devastating blow" to small towns and tourist areas where they are based and that buyers for the businesses as a whole could be hard to come by.

"You might get piecemeal buyers, but I don't hold out much hope," she said.

The company says it has had "a number of expressions of interest for various parts of the group" which it will consider.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM), which is owned by billionaire businessman Philip Day, has 1,100 stores for its brands, which also include Bonmarché and Austin Reed.

Bonmarché is not part of the administration.

Mr Day has a £1.14bn fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

He bought Bonmarché out of administration in February. The deal ruffled some feathers, since Mr Day was its previous owner and landlords and suppliers were expected to forgive some of its debts.


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Vermilion
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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Vermilion » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:40 pm

Well that blows, Peacocks is the main clothing retailer here in town and i use them for things like underwear and belts.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by imbusydoctorwho » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:49 pm

Popped into Peacocks today and the staff said they only found out this morning when the closing down posters arrived in the post, very sad news for all those affected.
Really does make you wonder if this will be a first of many retailers going into administration, especially if they have poor Christmas trading.

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PostRe: The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)
by Lex-Man » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:51 pm

Carlos wrote:
Lagamorph wrote:The profit margin on laptops is generally wafer thin.
Back when I worked at PC World the margin on even higher end laptops was under £30 at times, and probably less than a tenner on some budget ones. Same thing on TVs.
That's why they push accessories like bags, cables, mice and Insurances so much, because that's where the Profit margin is.


I worked 4 years on the Home Technology dept at John Lewis from 2005-2009 and the furniture department on the same floor as us made a lot more profit despite our department having the highest gross figures in the store. If you buy a laptop from JLP you might also invest in a new desk and an office chair to go with it.


I would have thought the margins are John Lewis would be better margins than PC World.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.

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