On 3 Aug 2023 at 16:56:09 BST, Andy Burns wrote:

> Likely into administration at least
>
> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>
> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat
> items without waiting for internet delivery ...

They certainly used to be - I'd go a few times a year for things like soda
crystals and gardening stuff. But since covid they seem to have been running
stock down, not even available click/collect. And the huge stores (in
Sheffield at least) didn't seem especially busy.

I'd suspect some form of asset stripping/pensions raid or the like.
--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 12:09:31 +1000, The Natural Philosopher
<tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 03/08/2023 21:03, Colin Bignell wrote:
>> On 03/08/2023 20:13, Scott wrote:
>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 19:51:40 +0100, Mark Carver
>>> <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 03/08/2023 17:06, Scott wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 16:56:09 +0100, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Likely into administration at least
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
>>>>>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly
>>>>>> off-beat
>>>>>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>>>>> I like them too. When I wanted electrical cable by the metre, they
>>>>> were about the only place that sold it.
>>>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains flex.
>>>> I'd
>>>> ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>>>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex !
>>>> I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't get
>>>> what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>>>
>>>> I'm a fan too of Wilkos. I've always regarded them as the 21st
>>>> Century's
>>>> version of Woolies.
>>>> Sad to see them go, though my local branch has had very bare shelves
>>>> since Covid.
>>>
>>> The guy I heard on the radio seemed fairly confident they can keep
>>> negotiating while in administration and that there are interested
>>> buyers out there.
>> It seems to be a cash flow problem. By going into administration, they
>> get a bit more time to sort out investors or a buyer.
>>
> I would say that they are not a business that has a market any more. The
> internet has destroyed most of the high street, and if the gummint had
> any sense they would start changing the shops into cheap accommodation

Can't see that working parking wise.

On 03/08/2023 22:37, Andy Burns wrote:
> Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>> Andy Burns wrote:
>>
>>> yorkshire trading company
>>
>> Nearest one is only about 150 miles away...
> The two I've used are in Notts and Lincs ...

I'm waaaay darn sarf...

As alan_m noted, there's also The Range. We used to go to one quite a
lot when we wanted to go to Lidl as it was next door. Then a Lidl opened
a lot closer, so The Range missed out.

--

Jeff

On 03/08/2023 20:11, SH wrote:
>
>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains flex.
>> I'd ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex
>> ! I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't
>> get what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>
>
> I once worked in a fish and chip shop.
>
> A customer came in and asked for two chips....
>
> I put exactly two single chips on a sheet of paper and asked if he
> wanted salt or vinegar on it.....
>
> I got a torrent of verbal abuse.....
>
> I couldn't see what the problem was, I had given him exactly what he
> had asked for.....

Did you last even a week working there ?

On 04/08/2023 03:09, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 21:03, Colin Bignell wrote:
>> On 03/08/2023 20:13, Scott wrote:
>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 19:51:40 +0100, Mark Carver
>>> <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 03/08/2023 17:06, Scott wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 16:56:09 +0100, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Likely into administration at least
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
>>>>>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat
>>>>>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>>>>> I like them too.  When I wanted electrical cable by the metre, they
>>>>> were about the only place that sold it.
>>>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains flex.
>>>> I'd
>>>> ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>>>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex !
>>>> I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't get
>>>> what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>>>
>>>> I'm a fan too of Wilkos. I've always regarded them as the 21st
>>>> Century's
>>>> version of Woolies.
>>>>   Sad to see them go, though my local branch has had very bare shelves
>>>> since Covid.
>>>
>>> The guy I heard on the radio seemed fairly confident they can keep
>>> negotiating while in administration and that there are interested
>>> buyers out there.
>>
>> It seems to be a cash flow problem. By going into administration, they
>> get a bit more time to sort out investors or a buyer.
>>
> I would say that they are not a business that has a market any more. The
> internet has destroyed most of the high street,

Their competitors, like Poundland and B&M, are still doing well.

and if the gummint had
> any sense they would start changing the shops into cheap accommodation
>

--
Colin Bignell

On 04/08/2023 09:15, Colin Bignell wrote:
> On 04/08/2023 03:09, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 03/08/2023 21:03, Colin Bignell wrote:
>>> On 03/08/2023 20:13, Scott wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 19:51:40 +0100, Mark Carver
>>>> <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 03/08/2023 17:06, Scott wrote:
>>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 16:56:09 +0100, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Likely into administration at least
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
>>>>>>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly
>>>>>>> off-beat
>>>>>>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>>>>>> I like them too.  When I wanted electrical cable by the metre, they
>>>>>> were about the only place that sold it.
>>>>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains
>>>>> flex. I'd
>>>>> ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>>>>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex !
>>>>> I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't get
>>>>> what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm a fan too of Wilkos. I've always regarded them as the 21st
>>>>> Century's
>>>>> version of Woolies.
>>>>>   Sad to see them go, though my local branch has had very bare shelves
>>>>> since Covid.
>>>>
>>>> The guy I heard on the radio seemed fairly confident they can keep
>>>> negotiating while in administration and that there are interested
>>>> buyers out there.
>>>
>>> It seems to be a cash flow problem. By going into administration,
>>> they get a bit more time to sort out investors or a buyer.
>>>
>> I would say that they are not a business that has a market any more.
>> The internet has destroyed most of the high street,
>
> Their competitors, like Poundland and B&M, are still doing well.
>
Are they?
I cant say I ever have any reason to go in any of them.

Shops that simply weren't/aren't worth visiting that used to be regular
haunts, back in the day...

Woolworths
W H Smiths.
John Lewis
Marks and Spencers.

I still go to Waterstones a bit though.
B & Q very rarely.

About the only two shops I tend to visit apart from supermarkets are
Homebase and Halfords. They are pricey, but next door to one another.
With very easy free parking.

I used the local builders merchants when I have a job on, but by and
large everything else is online.

It's way faster to get exactly what you want.

I don't mourn the crap end of the high street. Turn it into hipster
accommodation and cafés.

Amazon, Aliexpress and ebay are the new market towns...
I am faced with a possible 6 weeks of being unable to drive post
operation later this year. Thank Clapton the supermarkets will deliver.

--
“Ideas are inherently conservative. They yield not to the attack of
other ideas but to the massive onslaught of circumstance"

- John K Galbraith

On 04/08/2023 08:39, Mark Carver wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 20:11, SH wrote:
>>
>>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains flex.
>>> I'd ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex
>>> ! I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't
>>> get what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>>
>>
>> I once worked in a fish and chip shop.
>>
>> A customer came in and asked for two chips....
>>
>> I put exactly two single chips on a sheet of paper and asked if he
>> wanted salt or vinegar on it.....
>>
>> I got a torrent of verbal abuse.....
>>
>> I couldn't see what the problem was, I had given him exactly what he
>> had asked for.....
>
> Did you last even a week working there ?

was there for quite a while actually....

I also worked for a major supermarket retailer...

One day I was working on the frozen section.

A customer had been rummaging through the frozen turkeys..... she walked
up to me and said "Do these turkeys get any bigger than this?"

I said "I'm ever so awfully sorry, they don't get any bigger because
they are dead..."

She gave me a dirty eveil look!

Another time, I was opening the supermarket and a woman rushed in to the
tobacco counter.

She bought 20 Benson & Hedges....

She then proceeded to rip off the cellophane, opened the packet, pulled
out a cigarette, put it to her mouth, lit it and started smoking it in
the store.

I walked over and said:

Madam, I'm awfully sorry but we operate a no smoking policy in store for
reasons of hygiene and I must respectfully ask you to extinguish your
cigarette...

Whats the point of you selling %^&*ing cigarettes when I can't &^*%ing
smoke them?

I said we sell condoms in aisle 23. Does that mean its OK for you to use
condoms in store?

She to her credit did laugh!

A frequent ask was "wheres the cream?"

I'd respond is it Vaginal, suppository, sun, hand, paint or anusol you
want?

On 04 Aug 2023 at 00:44:39 BST, "alan_m" <junk@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

> On 03/08/2023 16:56, Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> Likely into administration at least
>>
>
> No surprise
>
> Around my way they used to be busy and then closed for many weeks for a
> store refurbishment. Customers then had to find other stores selling
> what they previously purchased in wilco. When the store re-opened much
> of the previous custom didn't return and it was very noticeable the
> store was nearly empty most of the time.

Perhaps they were unaware that it is possible to rebuild a store entirely
without closing to the public, and while continuing to trade. I observed this
in practice when Draeger's, a grocery store in Menlo Park (California), near
to where I lived, was redeveloped. The old store was a rectangular shack, and
the new store was simply built around it, on a larger footprint. Sections
inside were sometimes closed as work progressed (perhaps to switch from old to
new electrical power) but as a customer you wouldn't have noticed, for the
most part.

I also recall that their till staff were able to run your purchases past the
scanner about twice as fast as they seem to manage here, even while packing
your purchases into brown paper bags.

--
The reason you think government is the solution is because you think freedom is the problem. But the truth is that government ensures that the most evil, ruthless people end up in control, because the state is a single point of failure, and a high-value target of corruption.

Alan Lovejoy

Is this the same company we knew as Wilkinson's?
Brian

--

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"Andy Burns" <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote in message
news:kj210oFecr4U1@mid.individual.net...
> Likely into administration at least
>
> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>
> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but they
> often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat items
> without waiting for internet delivery ...

On 03/08/2023 16:56, Andy Burns wrote:
> Likely into administration at least
>
> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>
> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat
> items without waiting for internet delivery ...

I bought some string there once. To be honest, it wasn't very good
string, but it was seemingly the only string in town. I don't have much
left and this news has left me distraught. If only I'd kept my
grandmother's tin of short lengths of string.

--
Cheers
Clive

Ah but you were taking the piss, this is a problem of ambiguous tagging of
items.
Even Amazon say things like 1 off, then a length choice. If they had done
that then it would be obvious what you wanted.
Brian

--

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Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"SH" <i.love@spam.com> wrote in message news:uagu5t$slrg$1@dont-email.me...
>
>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains flex. I'd
>> ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the flex ! I
>> phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't get what
>> the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>
>
> I once worked in a fish and chip shop.
>
> A customer came in and asked for two chips....
>
> I put exactly two single chips on a sheet of paper and asked if he wanted
> salt or vinegar on it.....
>
> I got a torrent of verbal abuse.....
>
> I couldn't see what the problem was, I had given him exactly what he had
> asked for.....

I don't get quite why a company that used to be very well used, gets to this
stage. Maybe if all the customers who found it useful pooled their resources
we could buy it. Maybe it was the supply issue that was the underlying issue
here. If suppliers wanted them to by larger amounts to get a price break,
and they were unwilling to increase their shelf pricing, it would in effect
die due to lack of stock.
There is a for instance going on with a well known Korean company who makes
Roberts products, where they want bigger orders of one particular product to
carry on with a new batch, than can be afforded. The Charity which sells and
loans the product to blind people cannot afford the investment, and unless
they can secure funding, the model will die.
Its useful to the niche blind market because it has vhf and dab, a cd mp3
player, a cassette recorder and slots for ramsticks and sd cards making it
of use for all kinds of talking books and the like.
So unless they can raise the funds no more will be made and folk well have
to buy separate devices for each. The selling cost at the moment is over 200
quid, but if you bought these bits separately, I fear the cost would be
significantly greater.
Brian

--

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"RJH" <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote in message
news:uahmvm$149c4$1@dont-email.me...
> On 3 Aug 2023 at 16:56:09 BST, Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> Likely into administration at least
>>
>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>
>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat
>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>
> They certainly used to be - I'd go a few times a year for things like soda
> crystals and gardening stuff. But since covid they seem to have been
> running
> stock down, not even available click/collect. And the huge stores (in
> Sheffield at least) didn't seem especially busy.
>
> I'd suspect some form of asset stripping/pensions raid or the like.
> --
> Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 4 Aug 2023 09:04:33 GMT, Tim Streater <tim@streater.me.uk> wrote:

>On 04 Aug 2023 at 00:44:39 BST, "alan_m" <junk@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 03/08/2023 16:56, Andy Burns wrote:
>>
>>> Likely into administration at least
>>>
>>
>> No surprise
>>
>> Around my way they used to be busy and then closed for many weeks for a
>> store refurbishment. Customers then had to find other stores selling
>> what they previously purchased in wilco. When the store re-opened much
>> of the previous custom didn't return and it was very noticeable the
>> store was nearly empty most of the time.
>
>Perhaps they were unaware that it is possible to rebuild a store entirely
>without closing to the public, and while continuing to trade. I observed this
>in practice when Draeger's, a grocery store in Menlo Park (California), near
>to where I lived, was redeveloped. The old store was a rectangular shack, and
>the new store was simply built around it, on a larger footprint. Sections
>inside were sometimes closed as work progressed (perhaps to switch from old to
>new electrical power) but as a customer you wouldn't have noticed, for the
>most part.

Our M&S Foodhall is doing approximately this. They bought Argos next
door and moved there while they refurbish the existing shop so the two
can then be joined together.

On 04/08/2023 10:27, Brian Gaff wrote:
> Ah but you were taking the piss, this is a problem of ambiguous tagging of
> items.
> Even Amazon say things like 1 off, then a length choice. If they had done
> that then it would be obvious what you wanted.
> Brian
>

how is this taking the piss? I gave the customer *exactly* what he asked
for......

On 04/08/2023 10:22, Clive Arthur wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 16:56, Andy Burns wrote:
>> Likely into administration at least
>>
>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>
>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me, but
>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly off-beat
>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>
> I bought some string there once.  To be honest, it wasn't very good
> string,

Sounds like a load of old baby rope!!

but it was seemingly the only string in town.

So they were stringing you along

I don't have much
> left and this news has left me distraught.

If only I'd kept my
> grandmother's tin of short lengths of string.

to make string vests with?

On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:22:45 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:

> Is this the same company we knew as Wilkinson's?

Yes. Wikipedia has the full history.

Did you know that one of the original nine branches appears in the 1945
film "Brief Encounter"?

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:41:39 +0100, Scott wrote:

> Our M&S Foodhall is doing approximately this. They bought Argos next
> door and moved there while they refurbish the existing shop so the two
> can then be joined together.

Our local Homebase did the reverse. They moved all of the stock into one
half of the shop, built a wall, and rented out the vacated half to another
shop.

Well, it's been useless for years.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 04 Aug 2023 at 10:51:48 BST, "Bob Eager" <news0009@eager.cx> wrote:

> On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:22:45 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:
>
>> Is this the same company we knew as Wilkinson's?
>
> Yes. Wikipedia has the full history.
>
> Did you know that one of the original nine branches appears in the 1945
> film "Brief Encounter"?

But that all took place in a railway station buffet, didn't it? I've not seen
the film but heard it talked of often.

--
The truth of the matter is that we Scots have always been more divided amongst ourselves than pitted against the English. Scottish history before the Union of Parliaments is a gloomy, violent tale of murders, feuds, and tribal revenge. Only after the Act of Union did Highlanders and Lowlanders, Picts and Celts, begin to recognise one another as fellow citizens.

Tam Dalyell

On 04/08/2023 09:45, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 04/08/2023 09:15, Colin Bignell wrote:
>> On 04/08/2023 03:09, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 03/08/2023 21:03, Colin Bignell wrote:
>>>> On 03/08/2023 20:13, Scott wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 19:51:40 +0100, Mark Carver
>>>>> <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 03/08/2023 17:06, Scott wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 16:56:09 +0100, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Likely into administration at least
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It's funny, none of their shops are amazingly convenient for me,
>>>>>>>> but
>>>>>>>> they often turn out to be the one place you can buy slightly
>>>>>>>> off-beat
>>>>>>>> items without waiting for internet delivery ...
>>>>>>> I like them too.  When I wanted electrical cable by the metre, they
>>>>>>> were about the only place that sold it.
>>>>>> I ended up at Wilkos to buy a 5 metre length of 0.75mm^2 mains
>>>>>> flex. I'd
>>>>>> ordered 5 metres from CPC (as part of another order)
>>>>>> What turned up in the box were Qty 5 , one metre lengths of the
>>>>>> flex !
>>>>>> I phoned to complain, the bloke in customer services just didn't get
>>>>>> what the problem was, saying it was supplied per metre !
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm a fan too of Wilkos. I've always regarded them as the 21st
>>>>>> Century's
>>>>>> version of Woolies.
>>>>>>   Sad to see them go, though my local branch has had very bare
>>>>>> shelves
>>>>>> since Covid.
>>>>>
>>>>> The guy I heard on the radio seemed fairly confident they can keep
>>>>> negotiating while in administration and that there are interested
>>>>> buyers out there.
>>>>
>>>> It seems to be a cash flow problem. By going into administration,
>>>> they get a bit more time to sort out investors or a buyer.
>>>>
>>> I would say that they are not a business that has a market any more.
>>> The internet has destroyed most of the high street,
>>
>> Their competitors, like Poundland and B&M, are still doing well.
>>
> Are they?

According to the analysts being asked by the media why Wilko is failing.
They claim that failure to address the competition from them is what has
caused Wilko to run into trouble.

> I cant say I ever have any reason to go in any of them.

My late partner was very fond of Poundland and Wilko, but they have
never attracted me. She always liked the idea of getting a bargain,
while I always thought the quality was poor.

> Shops that simply weren't/aren't worth visiting that used to be regular
> haunts, back in the day...
>
> Woolworths

There is still one of those in Strasbourg, but the continental arm was a
separate business anyway.

> W H Smiths.
> John Lewis
> Marks and Spencers.

I sometimes visit M&S if looking for something specific. I got a nice
grey fleece and a long padded coat there last winter. However, I usually
buy from them online. I am a popular size for trousers, so they have
usually sold out if I go into the shop, and the shops have a limited
range of longer shirts for tall men.

> I still go to Waterstones a bit though.

There is nothing quite the same as browsing the shelves of a good book
store.

> B & Q very rarely.
>
> About the only two shops I tend to visit apart from supermarkets are
> Homebase and Halfords. They are pricey, but next door to one another.
> With very easy free parking.
>
> I used the local builders merchants when I have a job on, but by and
> large everything else is online.
>
> It's way faster to get exactly what you want.

Online does, however, need a credit or debit card and there are people
who can't easily get one of those.

>
> I don't mourn the crap end of the high street. Turn it into hipster
> accommodation and cafés.
>
> Amazon, Aliexpress and ebay are the new market towns...
> I am faced with a possible 6 weeks of being unable to drive post
> operation  later this year. Thank Clapton the supermarkets will deliver.

You have my sympathy. I had a similar problem after my heart operation,
but then I still had employees, who were willing to run errands for me
and to drive me about (during working hours).

--
Colin Bignell

Colin Bignell wrote:

> I sometimes visit M&S [...] I am a popular size for trousers,
> so they have usually sold out if I go into the shop
I'm an unpopular size for trousers, they've usually sold out of those too.

Bob Eager wrote:

> Homebase [...] it's been useless for years.
They do carry some HG products that B&Q don't, and Really Useful Boxes,
that's all I've bought there in ages.

In article <uaiguh$17ki0$1@dont-email.me>, Brian Gaff
<brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't get quite why a company that used to be very well used, gets to
> this stage. Maybe if all the customers who found it useful pooled their
> resources we could buy it. Maybe it was the supply issue that was the
> underlying issue here. If suppliers wanted them to by larger amounts to
> get a price break, and they were unwilling to increase their shelf
> pricing, it would in effect die due to lack of stock. There is a for
> instance going on with a well known Korean company who makes Roberts
> products, where they want bigger orders of one particular product to
> carry on with a new batch, than can be afforded. The Charity which sells
> and loans the product to blind people cannot afford the investment, and
> unless they can secure funding, the model will die. Its useful to the
> niche blind market because it has vhf and dab, a cd mp3 player, a
> cassette recorder and slots for ramsticks and sd cards making it of use
> for all kinds of talking books and the like. So unless they can raise the
> funds no more will be made and folk well have to buy separate devices for
> each. The selling cost at the moment is over 200 quid, but if you bought
> these bits separately, I fear the cost would be significantly greater.
> Brian

I suspect art of their problem is having too many shops full of stock.
That ties up a significant amount of capital. There was once a firm in
Guildford (Dennis) who made fire engines, but they had too much money in
spare parts for older products. They, too, went bust.

--
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On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 09:54:25 +0000, Tim Streater wrote:

> On 04 Aug 2023 at 10:51:48 BST, "Bob Eager" <news0009@eager.cx> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:22:45 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:
>>
>>> Is this the same company we knew as Wilkinson's?
>>
>> Yes. Wikipedia has the full history.
>>
>> Did you know that one of the original nine branches appears in the 1945
>> film "Brief Encounter"?
>
> But that all took place in a railway station buffet, didn't it? I've not
> seen the film but heard it talked of often.

A common misconception. They certainly first meet there. Then in a
shopping area, and in a cinama, and at a flat belonging to a friend.

I imagine the shopping area is where the scene I mentioned occurs.

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Bob Eager <news0009@eager.cx> wrote:
> On Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:41:39 +0100, Scott wrote:
>
> > Our M&S Foodhall is doing approximately this. They bought Argos next
> > door and moved there while they refurbish the existing shop so the two
> > can then be joined together.
>
> Our local Homebase did the reverse. They moved all of the stock into one
> half of the shop, built a wall, and rented out the vacated half to another
> shop.

Ours did that - the other half is now a Lidl. So the offer for DIY products
improved.

Theo

On Fri, 4 Aug 2023 10:45:40 +0100, SH <i.love@spam.com> wrote:

>On 04/08/2023 10:27, Brian Gaff wrote:
>> Ah but you were taking the piss, this is a problem of ambiguous tagging of
>> items.
>> Even Amazon say things like 1 off, then a length choice. If they had done
>> that then it would be obvious what you wanted.
>> Brian
>
>how is this taking the piss? I gave the customer *exactly* what he asked
>for......

The code for the toilet door :-)