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Maplins in Administration...

Paul

Staff member
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
11,544
Location
South Wales
Alias
Toibs
oops....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43223175

One of the UK's biggest electronics retailers has collapsed into administration after talks with potential buyers failed to secure a sale.

Maplin, which has more than 200 stores and 2,500 staff, will continue to trade through the process.

The business "worked hard" to try to keep the business afloat, chief executive Graham Harris said.

But Maplin could not raise the necessary capital, he added.
 
The nub of this is uk real estate prices

In the UK commercial rents either go up or stay the same. For a tenant they never go down .in the USA they have turnover adjusted rents that fluctuate as business fluctuates.

There will be more and more of these. The madness is that whoever takes the stores on today will get a lower rent than the firm that went bust.

So new businesses can thrive like card factory .whereas the established ones like Clinton's Cards went bust.

It is one of the most idiotic and damaging aspects of the UK economy .
 
I've always been amazed that Maplin has lasted as long as it has. Every time I've been in there it's because I've needed something right now, because I've not planned something properly or I've been too lazy or simply forgotten to buy it from Amazon (have got Prime, free next day - even same day in some cases - delivery).

Whenever I've gone in there it's always been practically deserted, and the stuff for sale is almost always at least 25% more expensive than the likes of eBay (new items), Amazon, etc.

Shame about Toys R Us too. I fondly remember their "Walking in the Air" adverts from when I was a wee lad...
 
The REAL issue is the way people buy things.

How many people actually go to an out of town shopping centre to buy things anymore?

The vast majority of consumers either buy from the internet, or they buy from supermarkets who have increased their range away from just the traditional food and cleaning items, and now sell books, DVDs, toys, phones, clothes etc. etc.. Much more convenient.

I can't remember the last time I bought a book from a 'traditional' bookstore, it's much more likely I'll get it from Amazon if there's a particular title I want. If I'm browsing it'll be from a supermarket or even an airport WHSmith, the same goes for toys. Maplin rarely has exactly what I want/need so I tend to go down the internet route.

The same thing happened with Blockbusters, when our viewing habits changed with the advent of so many channels to choose from, streaming services, there was no need for the hassle of going and picking up a DVD then having to go back and return it the following day once you'd watched it.

It's a sign of the times, whether for better or worse, it's only going to continue. Evolve or die.

What it does do is give us an opportunity to pick up cheap storage units, and potentially stock if/when they do go bust. That's what happened in the US when RadioShack bit the dust.
 
Maplin have been there for me when I needed random stuff, such as solder, flux etc. for projects. In fact just the other day I was in there getting a timing crystal, to which he stated last one sold in 2009... I did think to myself, wonder how they get on... now we know.

Shame, but that is the free market.
 
The nub of this is uk real estate prices

In the UK commercial rents either go up or stay the same. For a tenant they never go down .in the USA they have turnover adjusted rents that fluctuate as business fluctuates.

There will be more and more of these. The madness is that whoever takes the stores on today will get a lower rent than the firm that went bust.

Couldn't agree more! My commercial rent has just gone up and sales have gone down. Madness. Landlords need to be realistic. House of Fraser are apparently re-negotiating all their rents on all their sores. Slightly easier for them being the size they are.

Shame about Maplin.
 
Yeah it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out increase in rent equals no more shop which in turn equals no more rent.

Fûckwhittery knows no bounds, and its rife.
 
I used to rely on the half price AA battery deals for my batteries but I was super shocked when I needed a kettle lead on holiday and it was £15.
 
I used to rely on the half price AA battery deals for my batteries but I was super shocked when I needed a kettle lead on holiday and it was £15.

Normally the caravan came with a kettle that whistled if you put it on the hob :cuckoo:
 
Don’t you have to also turn the hob on to make it whistle :cuckoo::cuckoo:
 
Yer bloody landlords, oh wait my one is awesome decreased my rent, always helps when times are tuff,
 
Maplin, toys r us, both classic examples of not moving with the times, they had expensive stores, rates, shop staff - they couldn't compete with on-line mail order sellers who can now often deliver next day. Personally I can't wait until all retailers are on-line and we can see the likes of Trafford, Meadowhall and Bluewater et. al. all demolished. I ***** hate going shopping to those places.
 
Last time I went into Maplin I was told that the online store and the high street shops had split into two different companies. I had used click and collect and they were having issues communicating orders from the internet through to shops.

Will be interesting to see if both online and physical shops go.
 
Every time i go into Maplin they either don't have any idea what it is that i need and i have to wait for the 'technical' guy comes off the phone or they don't have what i need.
The tools in there look like they've been made by a guy that's never used a tool before too. Multi purpose tools that will do a bad job, but they do every job...

It used to be quite good back in the day, but i feel it's more of a gadget shop these days. Hence why i stopped going.
 
these two companies are classic examples of execution failure. they could easily have survived if they balanced to more online trade, both of them have the ****test website ever. compare to John Lewis or agros... Maplin completely missed the resurgence of electronics and Pi stuff which is just unacceptable - will be missed because only because of the convenience. Just watch out though, you see amazon in the US starting to turn up the pricing on things like delivery and prime not giving you as much as it used to (amazon music for example).

Neil.
 
these two companies are classic examples of execution failure. they could easily have survived if they balanced to more online trade, both of them have the ****test website ever. compare to John Lewis or agros... Maplin completely missed the resurgence of electronics and Pi stuff which is just unacceptable - will be missed because only because of the convenience. Just watch out though, you see amazon in the US starting to turn up the pricing on things like delivery and prime not giving you as much as it used to (amazon music for example).

Neil.

Yes maplin going is a sad day. Did they used to be Tandy before? But as you say they missed the boat big time with teensy, arduino, raspberry pi, BBC micro bit, hell even the Nintendo switch has 'program your own robot' kits now. They could have been giants in this new 'computer science' resurgence. I'd blame the top's lack of knowledge, ignorance and complacency. bet most of em didn't even know what an ardunio is.....

I'm alttile annoyed though that my prediction for WH Smith's to go next was wrong!! Guess their overpriced **** in train stations and airports is keeping them ticking along. Little chef or game next?
 
Agree usual cycle, big firms will increase prices and reduce quality and services, which will make entrepreneurs start up, when they get bigger, larger entities will squeeze them price wise or buy them out, and so the cycle starts again.
 
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