Arcadia Group

[Motor City Cobra]

Topshop and PLT/Boohoo are different kind of businesses though, PLT and Booboo copy the Topshop items, make 500 of them for £2 each and sell them for £30, stuff is designed and uploaded onto the site within weeks. Whereas Topshop have brick and mortar stores, will need to produce 20000 of the items and even though they are not exactly long lasting its not the wear once and throw away items that PLT/Boohoo produce.

Removing £1.2 billion 15 years ago was a shocking decision and he would have renoved a lot more since but if Topshop followed those online brands then theyd have gone out of business a lot quicker. Sure PLT tried the brick and mortar path and had to close as they just couldnt make it work.

Topshop name will be bought by somebody who just keeps the site and sells the cheap sweatshop made dresses that everyone was kicking off about last year but then totally forgot about it and carried on buying them.

Same bsusiness they sell clotheS for a certain demographic, they let boohoo/PLT take away market share year after year and done nothing about it. That’s just a fact.

Another fact is paying a divy to his wife (fake owner) has now come back and certainly not helped as that investment in the digital platform, brand perception and multiple other areas may have give them further longevity.

and for your comments on PLT/boohoo they are certainly not throw away, the Kamani brothers are the geniuses green thought he was 15 year ago.

 

[hertsmackem]

There isn’t really much wrong with those chains.

Apart from being snobby one produced high end furnishings at a high price and the other is very practical for anyone with pets.

It’s not practical for everyone to use local small traders for everything and the alternative is everything goes online.

laura Ashley was also in administration recently it remains to be seen if the new owners can get a song out of the brand

Same bsusiness they sell clotheS for a certain demographic, they let boohoo/PLT take away market share year after year and done nothing about it. That’s just a fact.

Another fact is paying a divy to his wife (fake owner) has now come back and certainly not helped as that investment in the digital platform, brand perception and multiple other areas may have give them further longevity.

and for your comments on PLT/boohoo they are certainly not throw away, the Kamani brothers are the geniuses green thought he was 15 year ago.

there is a lot more than meets the eye to the Kamani Brothers success, they found many shall we say loopholes and exploited them very well.

 

[TheWanderer]

Wouldn’t be so sure about Leeds mate. Like a ghost town.

Pre COVID too?
Been a while but always had it down as one of these ‘destination’ shopping cities

 

[spitfire]

He was very impressive when in front of parliament.

Many years ago a mate of mine worked for the OFT. At the time Ashley was battling with Whelan over pricing in their shops etc, at the same time when they were looking into price fixing of football shirts. Anyway he used to have attend court when Ashley was there and he said he used to run rings round the lawyers too.

 

[MonkeyLove]

Many years ago a mate of mine worked for the OFT. At the time Ashley was battling with Whelan over pricing in their shops etc, at the same time when they were looking into price fixing of football shirts. Anyway he used to have attend court when Ashley was there and he said he used to run rings round the lawyers too.

He is obviously a savvy individual. No matter how much of a prick you are willing to be you still need to be quite intelligent and strategic to become a self made billionaire

 

[spitfire]

He is obviously a savvy individual. No matter how much of a prick you are willing to be you still need to be quite intelligent and strategic to become a self made billionaire

He said it used to be great entertainment watching him.

Another stunt he used to pull, and you need to remember SD weren't as big as they are now back in those days, was with price matching with JJB (I think that was Whelans firm at the time). Whelan would offer to price match on his products, so was selling premium Adidas and Nike stuff etc. Ashley didn't stock a lot of those products at the time. What he would do is source a smallish batch of a certain product - say a certain line of Adidas trainers and then put them out at a much lower price than Whelans stock which Whelan would have to match on price. Of course the batch Ashely sourced were like big size 14's and 15's etc which took a long time to shift off the shelves as they are not popular sizes, which he no doubt got at a big discount on anyway. Meanwhile Whelan was having to sell considerable stock of all the popular sizes from his stores at the same price as Ashleys so hence he was making very little on them.

Or something like that anyway

He's a proper dodger

 

[FoldingStars]

Same bsusiness they sell clotheS for a certain demographic, they let boohoo/PLT take away market share year after year and done nothing about it. That’s just a fact.

Another fact is paying a divy to his wife (fake owner) has now come back and certainly not helped as that investment in the digital platform, brand perception and multiple other areas may have give them further longevity.

and for your comments on PLT/boohoo they are certainly not throw away, the Kamani brothers are the geniuses green thought he was 15 year ago.

Think you have misunderstood with the throw away comment, PLT/Boohoo/Misguided is known as throwaway fashion as girls (and sometimes guys) buy the item in the knowledge they will wear it once and throw it away or at least to the back of the cupboard and never worn again, hence why we have so many people saying they are forever getting deliveries from these companies, a dress from them costs £25 whereas Topshop is £50, Topshop clothes are made to be worn more than once, the throwaway fashion brands are designed for one wear and nothing more.

They are in the same business but they are a different price point and a different quality, its like saying a Topman and The North Face are the same business as they both sell jackets, but people know one offers a much higher quality garment hence the price difference. Sadly people don't care where the item comes from now as they will wear it once and then its gone.

With regards to the dividend, its was a terrible move, but unless they invested the money into making sweatshop dresses and copying High street brands they wouldn't have been able to compete with PLT/Boohoo/Missguided. That market was a great one to get into as with the raise of IG and the like girls are wanting a different outfit for each picture, much easier doing it with cheap brands over Topshop prices. They may have been able to reduce the price point of a dress but then would quality have been the same and the overheads would still be the same meaning less profit or a loss. Bricks and mortar doesnt work for cheap fashion unless you are Primark and they are an anomaly really as they are going against everything that is going good in cheap fashion, ie online sales.

 

[zinedine]

Shitty little shops will be all that’s left.

Remove the word shitty from that sentence and I think you're right.
I remember when Sunderland was covered in small shops like the red radio shop, the many clothes shops like West one, caslaws, hodgsons, the various record and sports shops and the toy shops like Joseph's and Berg's.
Now we have the big chains that you find in any shopping centre which for me are crap compared to what we had. If any good comes from the likes of Amazon destroying the high street it will hopefully be the return of the independent.

 

[MonkeyLove]

He said it used to be great entertainment watching him.

Another stunt he used to pull, and you need to remember SD weren't as big as they are now back in those days, was with price matching with JJB (I think that was Whelans firm at the time). Whelan would offer to price match on his products, so was selling premium Adidas and Nike stuff etc. Ashley didn't stock a lot of those products at the time. What he would do is source a smallish batch of a certain product - say a certain line of Adidas trainers and then put them out at a much lower price than Whelans stock which Whelan would have to match on price. Of course the batch Ashely sourced were like big size 14's and 15's etc which took a long time to shift off the shelves as they are not popular sizes, which he no doubt got at a big discount on anyway. Meanwhile Whelan was having to sell considerable stock of all the popular sizes from his stores at the same price as Ashleys so hence he was making very little on them.

Or something like that anyway

He's a proper dodger

Top class shithousery

 

[Select coaches]

Remove the word shitty from that sentence and I think you're right.
I remember when Sunderland was covered in small shops like the red radio shop, the many clothes shops like West one, caslaws, hodgsons, the various record and sports shops and the toy shops like Joseph's and Berg's.
Now we have the big chains that you find in any shopping centre which for me are crap compared to what we had. If any good comes from the likes of Amazon destroying the high street it will hopefully be the return of the independent.

It would be nice but I’m afraid those days have gone. Working from my dining room table I can’t believe the number of vans going past delivering. At least everyone is working from home now so I’m not the house with the car on the drive that they pick out for the whole street’s deliveries like before.

 

[Pop]

Pre COVID too?
Been a while but always had it down as one of these ‘destination’ shopping cities

Pre COVID leeds was always heaving on a weekend. Trinity and the like made the city centre a lot busier.

 

[Keawyeds]

Or parking

True, but if you live in the city and everything is within walking distance, you don't need a car as much.
I lived in Manchester City Centre for years and didn't need to drive.

 

[42]

So sad.

Getting new tenants for the stores, considering the size of most Debenhams (like the one in the town), is going to be a major challenge.

I think as far as Sunderland goes, possible relocation for M&S. The council have been buying up all the HSW units as part of the Riverside redevelopment. So might have been getting kicked out at some point anyway.
There was some talk of them moving to the crowtree site after the next development fell through., but if the Debenhams unit becomes available it's probably a better option.

 

[vinegar hill]

Well people shouldn’t complain.
All the modern day lazy fuckers sitting on their arses and running their lives from their phones has got it all fucked.

 

[Osklen]

Same bsusiness they sell clotheS for a certain demographic, they let boohoo/PLT take away market share year after year and done nothing about it. That’s just a fact.

Another fact is paying a divy to his wife (fake owner) has now come back and certainly not helped as that investment in the digital platform, brand perception and multiple other areas may have give them further longevity.

and for your comments on PLT/boohoo they are certainly not throw away, the Kamani brothers are the geniuses green thought he was 15 year ago.

Genius or tyrant.

Lockdown breaches, exploitation, and modern slavery in fast-fashion giant Boohoo’s supply chain in Leicester

Workers reports reveal serious breaches of UK lockdown measures, failure to protect workers from COVID-19 and furlough fraud. Whilst many brands’ profits have taken a hit during the COVID-19 crisis, a surge in online shopping during the lockdown has boosted Boohoo shares by 22%. Earlier this...

cleanclothes.org

 

[Shandy drinker]

Sorry Marra, not sure what you mean...think I’m reading it wrong.

Oops
Should of said primark
Every struggling firm seems to blame a lack of website presence or performance
Primark doesn't have a website yet still manages to thrive pulling people into city centres

 

[Osklen]

True, but if you live in the city and everything is within walking distance, you don't need a car as much.
I lived in Manchester City Centre for years and didn't need to drive.

Issue is how do you attract people to live in the city centre? Why live in an apartment and not a house. Works in Manchester I suspect and other major cities but a struggle for somewhere like Sunderland. Chicken and egg situation people won’t live in city centre until city centre is vice versa and business won’t locate in city centre until more people live and work in the centre.

 

[Keawyeds]

Issue is how do you attract people to live in the city centre? Why live in an apartment and not a house. Works in Manchester I suspect and other major cities but a struggle for somewhere like Sunderland. Chicken and egg situation people won’t live in city centre until city centre is vice versa and business won’t locate in city centre until more people live and work in the centre.

It's all part of the demographic transition model.
You want to make it appealing to people to want to live there too.

As you say it depends where the work is too. Or it depends on how good transport networks are.

I believe they're trying to create an urban village in the centre of Bolton after a few massive shops closed they've been left with a lot of massive empty units.
Make it something where maybe young people moving out of home might like to live etc and you might be onto something.
20 - 30 somethings - pre-kids etc. Might do it?

 

[Osklen]

It's all part of the demographic transition model.
You want to make it appealing to people to want to live there too.

As you say it depends where the work is too. Or it depends on how good transport networks are.

I believe they're trying to create an urban village in the centre of Bolton after a few massive shops closed they've been left with a lot of massive empty units.
Make it something where maybe young people moving out of home might like to live etc and you might be onto something.
20 - 30 somethings - pre-kids etc. Might do it?

Totally agree and in fairness the council are talking about building 1000 new homes in walking distance of the city centre. Hopefully that begins to create the transition toward city centre living and gets more people using it. The other thing they can do is to limit edge of city residential development - difficulty with Sunderland is that it probably needs more wealthy individuals to live in the city.

Also been saying for a while that City centres need to change and shrink in size to provide a better offer over a smaller area to create more concentrated footfall, with the residual retail converting to more housing or entertainment venues.

 

[Zimba]

I think as far as Sunderland goes, possible relocation for M&S. The council have been buying up all the HSW units as part of the Riverside redevelopment. So might have been getting kicked out at some point anyway.
There was some talk of them moving to the crowtree site after the next development fell through., but if the Debenhams unit becomes available it's probably a better option.

Not a chance will M&S take Debenhams it's way too big. If they were to go anywhere it would either be Hylton Retail Park or a new build somewhere like Darlington, Durham, Silverlink (South Shields), Teesside Park (Stockton) and Bishop Auckland. Be surprised if they even have a clothes range if they did move.