John Lewis in trouble

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a1970man said:
As a rule of thumb business that we don't need are struggling and the businesses we do need are making profits.

So Toys R Us, Maplins, Pubs, House of Fraser, M&S, BHS, Debehams and the rest, realise that we don't really need their goods and prices.

Aldi, Lidl, Sports Direct and the supermarkets are profitable as we do need to eat and buy the basics.

When you go to the Bridges you have to walk through Debenhams and it's like a ghost town, racks of £50 polo shirts and ladies shoes "discounted" to £150. As you walk around most shops are quiet until you hit Primark and it's heaving.

People just dont have the spare cash for luxury items these days and the businesses that don't react to that will be gone quite soon.

Last month I went to the town to buy a certain pair of trainers for one of the kids, after visits to 6 sports shops I found that they didn't have them and 2 even denied they were made in that size. I walked back to the car and bought them online and had them delivered the next day for £10 less than the advertised price and it took about 2 minutes to sort. Guess what I'll do next time.
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Still think there is a place for the more 'luxurious' places you mention, well Hof & M&S anyways from my perspective.

Your last post is their main issue summed up, last week tried a pair of shoes on for £120 in the shop, went and bought them online for £74.99 with free delivery to my door, any brick and mortar shop can't compete with that.
 
a1970man said:
As a rule of thumb business that we don't need are struggling and the businesses we do need are making profits.

So Toys R Us, Maplins, Pubs, House of Fraser, M&S, BHS, Debehams and the rest, realise that we don't really need their goods and prices.

Aldi, Lidl, Sports Direct and the supermarkets are profitable as we do need to eat and buy the basics.

When you go to the Bridges you have to walk through Debenhams and it's like a ghost town, racks of £50 polo shirts and ladies shoes "discounted" to £150. As you walk around most shops are quiet until you hit Primark and it's heaving.

People just dont have the spare cash for luxury items these days and the businesses that don't react to that will be gone quite soon.

Last month I went to the town to buy a certain pair of trainers for one of the kids, after visits to 6 sports shops I found that they didn't have them and 2 even denied they were made in that size. I walked back to the car and bought them online and had them delivered the next day for £10 less than the advertised price and it took about 2 minutes to sort. Guess what I'll do next time.
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Does the town have 6 sports shops?
 
Kevsgreat said:
High street stores don't really have a level playing field against online retailers. Look at how much tax Amazon bothers paying. They're trading under a different set of rules. Unless that's levelled out there's no chance they can compete.
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Horrible sweat shop. Tax the arses out of them.

87 Others said:
Still think there is a place for the more 'luxurious' places you mention, well Hof & M&S anyways from my perspective.

Your last post is their main issue summed up, last week tried a pair of shoes on for £120 in the shop, went and bought them online for £74.99 with free delivery to my door, any brick and mortar shop can't compete with that.
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Could be a problem if physical shops disappear. Won't be able to try them on.

Online suppliers are parasitic.
 
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Profits down 99%. So still made a profit then!

Might be heading the wrong way but they’ll be here a good while yet surely
 
Harry Angstrom said:
Lets ditch what we have done since we started. I wouldn't price match with internet mind.
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It’s interesting as there was a report by JD Sports on the BBC the other day where they’ve gone the opposite way, profits up and bucking this trend.

They said they’ve worked hard on their mix and believe there is still huge value in customers seeing / touching / trying physical product.

And this from Morissons: Morrisons sales soar as revival continues Morrisons sales soar as revival continues

I think it’s the retailers themselves to blame for the poor performance and not lack of consumer spend, market share, BREXIT, shift to online.

Poorly located, shite brand placement, poor online ability, no incentives such as free parking / extended opening etc.

JAZZMANB said:
Get emails saying we've price matched an item
You open it and nowt is there ?!
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Someone price matching wouldn’t make me think, I must buy that from them. That probably goes for most of us.
 
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Goat Eyes said:
It’s interesting as there was a report by JD Sports on the BBC the other day where they’ve gone the opposite way, profits up and bucking this trend.

They said they’ve worked hard on their mix and believe there is still huge value in customers seeing / touching / trying physical product.

And this from Morissons: Morrisons sales soar as revival continues Morrisons sales soar as revival continues

I think it’s the retailers themselves to blame for the poor performance and not lack of consumer spend, market share, BREXIT, shift to online.

Poorly located, shite brand placement, poor online ability, no incentives such as free parking / extended opening etc.
Click to expand...

JD sports know their market like the stores are absolutely full of stuff for teenagers

The customers who will whinge to their parents about not having the branded gear
 
As said, it's nearly impossible for retail outlets to compete with online these days, and it's not going to get any easier. I bought a watch from Amazon about 2 years ago and 6 months ago it failed, out of warranty. I called them up and they refunded me the entire transaction, within a couple of hours of my call, with no quibbles, and before they'd even received it back from me (presumably just so they could put it in the bin). No retail outlet, even those with the best customer service standards (like John Lewis) can compete with that.

Like many others I don't feel comfortable lining Amazon's pockets due to their tax avoidance. But if they're cheaper than elsewhere (which is usually the case), and they back it up with that kind of customer service, it's very difficult to make a stand.

It's not like retail (in most sectors) can actually offer any useful product advice any more, that you can't get a more reliably online.

Outside of the big supermarket chains, fashion, and one or two other sectors, it's hard to see how traditional retail has much of a future at all, anywhere.
 
The past makes way for the future.

I've hated all department stores since I was a kid. I don't see the point of them.

Small ranges
High prices
Horrible places that you feel trapped in

Said for years that the "highstreet" is on borrowed time as a place to buy mainstream goods. Its not necessarily a bad thing - except for the people who's jobs will be lost, of course.
 
CraigyLee said:
JD sports know their market like the stores are absolutely full of stuff for teenagers that will whinge to their parents about not having the branded gear
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Exactly, but it’s those shoppers who are “all buying online” apparently.

Going into a toy department / shop now for instance, it just isn’t a magical experience. Whether it was because I was a kid I don’t know but going into Joplings / Joseph’s was a great experience. It got you interested in stuff that you never knew existed.

My point being, why would you bother to go.

If you were buying a pushchair for instance, wouldn’t it be great to go to the shop and test it out on some terrain before going a grand in?

Computers, get the kids in to try before they buy so they can choose the console and games that suit them
and load them with accessories.

Surely this goes for most purchases.
 
a1970man said:
As a rule of thumb business that we don't need are struggling and the businesses we do need are making profits.

So Toys R Us, Maplins, Pubs, House of Fraser, M&S, BHS, Debehams and the rest, realise that we don't really need their goods and prices.

Aldi, Lidl, Sports Direct and the supermarkets are profitable as we do need to eat and buy the basics.

When you go to the Bridges you have to walk through Debenhams and it's like a ghost town, racks of £50 polo shirts and ladies shoes "discounted" to £150. As you walk around most shops are quiet until you hit Primark and it's heaving.

People just dont have the spare cash for luxury items these days and the businesses that don't react to that will be gone quite soon.

Last month I went to the town to buy a certain pair of trainers for one of the kids, after visits to 6 sports shops I found that they didn't have them and 2 even denied they were made in that size. I walked back to the car and bought them online and had them delivered the next day for £10 less than the advertised price and it took about 2 minutes to sort. Guess what I'll do next time.
Click to expand...

There is still a great demand for high end goods. The issue Debenhams and co have is; their stores are full of mid priced stuff that people won’t pay for. For example, why pay £45 for a JC polo from Debenhams, when for another £15 you can get a big brand?
 
a1970man said:
Last month I went to the town to buy a certain pair of trainers for one of the kids, after visits to 6 sports shops I found that they didn't have them and 2 even denied they were made in that size. I walked back to the car and bought them online and had them delivered the next day for £10 less than the advertised price and it took about 2 minutes to sort. Guess what I'll do next time.
Click to expand...
Same can be said for a few items as people can look shop but not buy such as TVs for example. They go into the shop, have a gander and ignore most of sales patter and then go home and source items online cheaper, sometimes from the same company if they haven't already got a price in mins. I did this with some 5 aside trainers at Sports Direct as I wanted to know how they fit. They were 'originally' £99 in store, reduced to £50 but I got them on the Sports Direct website for £25 and bought a few pairs for future use at that price.
 
Hank Scorpio said:
There is still a great demand for high end goods. The issue Debenhams and co have is; their stores are full of mid priced stuff that people won’t pay for. For example, why pay £45 for a JC polo from Debenhams, when for another £15 you can get a big brand?
Click to expand...
Debenhams sell Fred Perry for £60.

The Great Soprendo said:
As said, it's nearly impossible for retail outlets to compete with online these days, and it's not going to get any easier. I bought a watch from Amazon about 2 years ago and 6 months ago it failed, out of warranty. I called them up and they refunded me the entire transaction, within a couple of hours of my call, with no quibbles, and before they'd even received it back from me (presumably just so they could put it in the bin). No retail outlet, even those with the best customer service standards (like John Lewis) can compete with that.

Like many others I don't feel comfortable lining Amazon's pockets due to their tax avoidance. But if they're cheaper than elsewhere (which is usually the case), and they back it up with that kind of customer service, it's very difficult to make a stand.

It's not like retail (in most sectors) can actually offer any useful product advice any more, that you can't get a more reliably online.

Outside of the big supermarket chains, fashion, and one or two other sectors, it's hard to see how traditional retail has much of a future at all, anywhere.
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Illustrates how profitable they are. Primarily because they starve us as taxpayers.
 
Goat Eyes said:
It’s interesting as there was a report by JD Sports on the BBC the other day where they’ve gone the opposite way, profits up and bucking this trend.

They said they’ve worked hard on their mix and believe there is still huge value in customers seeing / touching / trying physical product.

And this from Morissons: Morrisons sales soar as revival continues Morrisons sales soar as revival continues

I think it’s the retailers themselves to blame for the poor performance and not lack of consumer spend, market share, BREXIT, shift to online.

Poorly located, shite brand placement, poor online ability, no incentives such as free parking / extended opening etc.


Someone price matching wouldn’t make me think, I must buy that from them. That probably goes for most of us.
Click to expand...
John Lewis never sold rubbish and would never be knowingly undersold. It was always my go to for big ticket items. Quality with the knowledge that it was priced accordingly.

It would be a shame if they went but I'm not that much of a shopper so my life would not change that much:lol:
 
The Great Soprendo said:
As said, it's nearly impossible for retail outlets to compete with online these days, and it's not going to get any easier. I bought a watch from Amazon about 2 years ago and 6 months ago it failed, out of warranty. I called them up and they refunded me the entire transaction, within a couple of hours of my call, with no quibbles, and before they'd even received it back from me (presumably just so they could put it in the bin). No retail outlet, even those with the best customer service standards (like John Lewis) can compete with that.

Like many others I don't feel comfortable lining Amazon's pockets due to their tax avoidance. But if they're cheaper than elsewhere (which is usually the case), and they back it up with that kind of customer service, it's very difficult to make a stand.

It's not like retail (in most sectors) can actually offer any useful product advice any more, that you can't get a more reliably online.

Outside of the big supermarket chains, fashion, and one or two other sectors, it's hard to see how traditional retail has much of a future at all, anywhere.
Click to expand...
I bitched on about some very superficial scratches (you had to twist it in light to even see them!) on an SSD I bought recently for £45. I asked if it was brand new given the scratches though it could have been caused by moving in plastic packaging. They were offering to replace straight away but I declined as I needed it but thanked them anyway and then I suddenly got offered a £15 partial refund!

Same goes for another item as after 3 weeks I had issues (probably self inflicted) but fixed it but I told them it was knackered and got a refund without question.

They don't give a fuck if you have a 'genuine' cause for concern. They sell billions in revenue, make billions in profit then so fuck if they refund £x amount of millions a year for trivial matters. It will keep the buyers coming back along with the cheap pricing in many cases, market domination is guaranteed!
 
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