Businesses in financial trouble

[fiza]

Another business going into administration?

 

https://news.sky.com/story/maplin-in-48-hour-race-to-secure-rescue-deal-with-jaeger-owner-11268634

[bald_pig]

You mean overcharging for all your stocked products isn't a great business model? I'd never have guessed!

[Disease]

Maplin have been going downhill ever since they stopped being an electronics hobbyist store. Now they just sell over priced tatt.

[Oaktech]

I'm not suprised. They got too big, too fast, at the wrong time and failed to adapt (mainly their pricing) to predominantly online competitors. It'll be a shame if the go because it's handy being able to pop out on a sunday at 2pm for a pack of resistors and some solder, but I'll cope.

[andyturpie]

I remember the days when it was Tandys. I bought two hifi turntables and a two channel realistic mixer as a teen and I thought I was Grandmaster Flash lol. Hope they can survive this though.

[ShellfishClive]

I've only ever had to buy one thing from Maplin which was a female to female audio connector. It cost me around £12 but I needed it there and then, turns out you could get the same for like £2 elsewhere. It's their own fault, lower your prices and you will get more custom.

[sted]

I remember the days when it was Tandys. I bought two hifi turntables and a two channel realistic mixer as a teen and I thought I was Grandmaster Flash lol. Hope they can survive this though.

 

i thought tandy morphed into carphone warehouse?

[andyturpie]

i thought tandy morphed into carphone warehouse?

 

Possibly as a business, however all the Tandy premises I knew of ended up as a Maplins?

[sparkeh]

I used to love our old style Maplins. It was tiny, cramped, jammed to the rafters with just about every electronic component you could think of and staffed by very knowledgeable people who could help with just about anything. Then they moved to a massive store in a nearby retail park and became like any other electronic store staffed by people who couldn't help with anything more complicated than finding something on a shelf.

[Simcfc73]

10 years time all that will be left will be an Amazon collection locker on each street corner with white van drivers desperately trying to get there on time to earn minimum wage.

[synaesthesia]

Good, they can do one. Feel for the staff, but all the Maplins stores round here appear to be staffed by PC World rejects, so you can guess the quality they are. They're only just better than Apple Geniuses.

Expensive rubbish and I've only ever felt the need to wander in when I need something *now*. And even then, I've often walked out in disgust muttering about Amazon Prime and waiting until tomorrow.

[difinity]

Maplin's demise has been rumbling on for a while now.

Free next day delivery from RS is my first choice then CPC followed by Farnell.

[RLR]

I went into Maplin's once to get a HDMI cable. The only one they did was a "Special gold plated master of hdmi cables" (not quite that but had a special name). They wanted £15 for it when I know you can get the same online for £1.

[Fazza]

The prices of goods isnt the real problem. I purchased something from Maplin at the weekend that I wanted there and then and couldnt wait for an online delivery.

 

The issue is the part cost me £6.99 and that's all I purchased as that's all I needed. That's their problem. You dont go to Maplin in the same way you go to a Supermarket for example. Whenever I go out to get a loaf of bread, some butter and some cheese from a Supermarket I tend to come back with all sorts of things I didnt go out for as Jaffa Cakes might be half-price and then I see the Strawberrys and grab a punnet of them too and before you know it you've got a whole shopping basket full of things you didnt go out to get.

 

With Maplin, when you get to get a specific adapter for £6.99 you dont go "ooh, half-price co-ax cable, I'll grab some of that" and that's their main issue, you go and get what you need and not much more - even if that gold-plated HDMI cable has been reduced to £4.99 if you dont need it (unlike food items at a Supermarket) you dont buy it!

[synaesthesia]

If the prices were lower you may be tempted. I know I would have been tempted to go raid the little odds and sods/components parts (ala Tandy) if they were the price they should be.

[spacebar]

Sky seem to think they are pretty much bust. "on the brink".

 

staffed by PC World rejects, so you can guess the quality they are.

 

I'm a PC world reject. They want salesman, not technical people.

 

There is a store 15 minutes from me, I have never been there, because the Tesco is closer. I try to avoid these sort of stores, because you have staff trying to annoy you and offer "advice" which most of the time is wrong or trying to get you to burn more money.

 

Toys R Us is also in the same position, and if both go bust, it will result in 6000 job losses according to Sky.

Edited February 27, 2018 by spacebar

[MatthewL]

Looks like they are the latest big name to go into administration.

[36Degrees]

Toys R Us is also in the same position, and if both go bust, it will result in 6000 job losses according to Sky.

 

Maplin collapses as rescue talks fail - BBC News

 

Toys R Us UK goes into administration - BBC News

[Andrew_C]

a pack of resistors

They would only have 7 resistors in stock.

 

I hear they are having trouble selling it off. Only got 4 out of 5 stores in stock.

 

I gave up on them years ago.

[Dos_Box]

Toy's R Us has gone under - Toys R Us UK goes into administration - BBC News

[newpersn]

Looks like they are the latest big name to go into administration.

 

Already been said...

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-chat/193648-maplin-possibly-financial-trouble.html

[Dos_Box]

As others have said, I think Maplins problem was that they stopped doing what they did well and (probably someone bright idea) to tried to attract regular high-street customers.

The 'old' Maplins were never on the high street or shopping parks.

It's a bit like an analogy I heard recently where an 'educated' son of a guy who founded a relatively successful metal working company takes it over and then changes the focus from bending metal to making designer furniture with the inevitable results.

If you have a successful model, don't change it. Branch out, perhaps, but never lose what made you a success in the first place.

[jthompson]

I used to get excited at the prospect of going into a Maplins. I still do, but then immediately remember all of the radio-controlled toys, USB-powered novelties and rope-lighting that was on display when I last went it to buy a multimeter.

[Oaktech]

Things are not looking great for Prezzo either...

 

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/prezzo-is-set-to-close-up-to-100-of-its-restaurants-1-8396930

[Arthur]

Things are not looking great for Prezzo either...

Chimichanga too (which is owned by the same parent company).

 

Prezzo to close 100 restaurants putting hundreds of jobs at risk

 

The Italian-themed restaurant chain, which is owned by TPG Capital, is preparing to launch a Company Voluntary Arrangement, according to Sky News.

 

Also reportedly in the arrangement in the plan to close the Tex-Mex chain Chimichanga, also owned by the company.

 

The plan is set to be unveiled in the next few days.

 

Lots of redundancies at Greggs as well...

 

Greggs to cut hundreds of jobs as sausage roll and doughnut production taken over by robots

 

GREGGS is sacking "several hundred" staff members in a shift to using robots to produce their doughnuts and sausage rolls.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Arthur