Maplins bankrupt sale

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
mercalia
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Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by mercalia »

I was in my local maplins in streatham seems like now the Alkaline own brand batterys eg AA, are all 70% off - I suppose they have so many of them
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by [XAP]Bob »

And probably still 40% more than Amazon...
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Brucey
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Brucey »

A combination of internet-based competition and (presumably) poor management has killed that business.

A few months ago I visited my local store and fund that they have revamped it so that it was full of disco mirror balls and such like. Of the kind of stuff I wanted to buy there was little sign, and what there was seemed to be very expensive.

For example I wanted some LEDs on a flexible strip a little while ago, and discovered that I could buy a length of strip 5m long (far more than I actually needed) on t'interweb or something similar in Maplins (with a deal more difficulty, because their paper catalogue no longer existed and their website was not very good) a very short length (0.5m I think, which wasn't quite enough). I reckoned it might be worth paying x5 or x10 for being able to source it locally and see it before I bought it. But the cost differential was actually closer to x100 per LED. I baulked at that.

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Psamathe
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Psamathe »

Brucey wrote:A combination of internet-based competition and (presumably) poor management has killed that business.
.....

Though they did have online shopping, delivery, etc. so I'd just say the poor management (product, price, failing to fully develop the internet side, etc.).

Ian
Brucey
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Brucey »

it reminds me a bit of businesses like Kodak. It wasn't that they didn't try and embrace digital photography, it is just that they tried to embrace it as if it were more like wet film photography than it actually was, and they had a large vested interest in their old business model, like a millstone around their necks.

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Psamathe
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Psamathe »

Brucey wrote:it reminds me a bit of businesses like Kodak. It wasn't that they didn't try and embrace digital photography, it is just that they tried to embrace it as if it were more like wet film photography than it actually was, and they had a large vested interest in their old business model, like a millstone around their necks.

cheers

Also for me a significant factor is that I don't buy than many e.g. overpriced disco mirror balls. So I can't even be bothered to look at their sell-off sales. The few cables (e.g. network cables) I have purchased from them were rather overpriced (but wanted immediately) and were complete rubbish. So I completely gave up on them and I guess I was not alone and I see the failure being management not recognising what was happening or failing to respond (hence my putting the blame of management).

Ian
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Mick F
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Mick F »

Woolworths, British Home Stores, Focus Do it All, and now Homebase.

Maplins has gone the same way and they won't be the last.
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Si
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Si »

It were all drones last time i went.

And they had none of the lecky bits that i wanted.
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TrevA
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by TrevA »

Mick F wrote:Woolworths, British Home Stores, Focus Do it All, and now Homebase.

Maplins has gone the same way and they won't be the last.


Has Homebase gone bust? Not heard about that one.

Toys R Us no more, and CarpetRight in trouble too.
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Psamathe
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Psamathe »

TrevA wrote:.....
Has Homebase gone bust? Not heard about that one.
....

My understanding (last I've seen) is that they are doing disastrously but mainly because Bunnings/Wesfarmers (by their own admission) have made a complete mess since purchasing the chain. Not sure if it's bad enough to go bust but likely they will be closing a fair number of stores. But I think more botched management than the challenges facing retailers in the UK.

Ian
Brucey
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Brucey »

regarding challenges to retail, the modern way is for folks to be on contracts which don't stipulate fixed hours per se (i.e. in order to climb the greasy pole you have to basically exploit yourself...). Since they are at home so infrequently and unable to escape from work they do their shipping online and have it delivered to their workplace.

One of my chums works in a group of buildings that is shared between several hundred people who work for several different businesses. Amazon sends two trucks a day to those offices, containing all the personal purchases of the staff. Basically that is about two tonnes of stuff a day which is no longer sold by the local retail trade.

It is also about two tonnes a day of expensive landfill, a few years down the line, too.... :shock:

cheers
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mercalia
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by mercalia »

I would not like to he the person who has to deliver it up and down the offices all 2 tonnes of it :?
Suffolker
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by Suffolker »

Brucey wrote:regarding challenges to retail, the modern way is for folks to be on contracts which don't stipulate fixed hours per se (i.e. in order to climb the greasy pole you have to basically exploit yourself...). Since they are at home so infrequently and unable to escape from work they do their shipping online and have it delivered to their workplace.

One of my chums works in a group of buildings that is shared between several hundred people who work for several different businesses. Amazon sends two trucks a day to those offices, containing all the personal purchases of the staff. Basically that is about two tonnes of stuff a day which is no longer sold by the local retail trade.

It is also about two tonnes a day of expensive landfill, a few years down the line, too.... :shock:

cheers

I saw somewhere the other day that a big organisation ( forget which, but I think it was in London) has been so overwhelmed by staff internet purchase deliveries to their building, that the dozens of vans now deliver to a collection point in the suburbs, and one or two vans only then redeliver the accumulation to the HQ/staff.
busb
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Re: Maplins bankrupt sale

Post by busb »

I get told off for buying off amazon. I personally feel it's up to governments to effectively tax companies! I did visit my very local-to-where-I-work branch of Maplins & bought a motion sensor & LED lamp for my Philips Hue system - only 20% off though! They will be missed!
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