Goodbye Woolies good riddance MFI
Keith Parkins | 27.11.2008 16:34
The collapse of Woolworths and MFI are the beginning of the retail meltdown as we slide into recession.
The collapse of Woolworths and MFI is being depicted as the first retail victims of the credit crunch. This is not true. Two dying retail chains, the credit crunch has merely delivered the final death blow.
Woolies lost its way years ago. Clothes: Matalan, Primark, Peacocks, George range in Asda. Household and gardening: Wilkinsons. Books and CDs: Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. What was left?
My local Woolies is a dirty grubby place with ignorant shop assistants. In the local retail pecking order it ranks below the pound shops and charity shops.
If anyone buys Woolies, it will be to asset strip their property portfolio and that will be worth less than half of what it was a year ago and any fire sale will drop the value still further.
MFI has been the but of jokes for years because of the crap it sells. Stuff ordered doesn't arrive on time, and when it does arrive, half is missing. When you open it up, the assembly instructions appear to have been written in Martian for the sense they make.
Customers who have ordered using credit cards are protected by the Consumer Credit Act (1974).
What is hitting all retailers hard, especially small independent retailers, is the extortionate rents being charged by greedy property developers. Greedy property developers who refuse to face up to reality and drop their rents and seem to prefer instead to see empty retail units than charge a realistic rent. For most small retailers it is a mugs game, serfdom to the banks and property developers.
One of the worst is St Modwen. Not known for nothing known as the The Developer from Hell, they specialise in destroying town centres, driving out small retailers. Hatfield town centre consists of boarded-up shops, Farnborough one huge demolition site. Bognor Regis, Walthamstow, Queens Market are all earmarked for the same treatment.
http://www.friendsofqueensmarket.org.uk/
http://www.fighttheheight.co.uk/
St Modwen claim to have large numbers of retailers poised to move into Farnborough. We had a glimpse of these retailers in the summer when they erected hoardings next to the now bankrupt Woolworths, fake shops with fake names.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396016.html?c=on
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397548.html
Nearby Camberley has built a brand new shopping centre. All this has done is move around the existing retailers, and emptied the main square. In Farnborough retailers are pulling out. Woolworths is yet another to add to the list. The best St Modwen has managed to bring in is a shop selling cheap tat for Christmas.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413437.html
If retailers were people, St Modwen would be accused of ethnic cleansing. St Modwen may go the same way as its victims.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411503.html
The next retail chains to collapse will be Computer World (incl Dixons and Curry's) and W H Smith.
Why buy from PC World, Dixons or Curry's when you can buy cheaper off the net? If you want some advice and support, not the blind leading the blind, buy from an independent like Campus Computers (aka Moh Computers) on Surrey University Campus in Guildford.
http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/gu-dir.htm#computers
W H Smith, like Woolies, has lost its way. It is not a proper bookshop. If you want books you are better off going to a good independent bookshop or a chain like Waterstone's or Borders. For CDs and DVDs, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons. For paper and envelopes there is Partners. And for newspapers and magazines you can pick these up at the corner shop or the supermarket.
Websites
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/
reference and background
David Clifford, Farnborough Town Centre rising from the dust, 20 November 2008
http://cllrclifford.blogspot.com/2008/11/farnborough-town-centre-rising-from.html
Tom Geoghegan, What is the point of Woolworths?, BBC news on-line, 26 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7741199.stm
Administrators review MFI orders, BBC News on-line, 27 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7752356.stm
Keith Parkins, Curitiba – Designing a sustainable city, April 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/curitiba.htm
Keith Parkins, Transition towns, Indymedia UK, 9 October 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/410292.html?c=on
Keith Parkins, St Modwen financial meltdown, Indymedia UK, 24 October 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411503.html
Keith Parkins, St Modwen claim Farnborough redevelopment complete by Christmas, Indymedia UK, 24 November 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413437.html
Ian Pollock, What will the administrators do?, BBC news on-line, 27 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7752065.stm
Woolies lost its way years ago. Clothes: Matalan, Primark, Peacocks, George range in Asda. Household and gardening: Wilkinsons. Books and CDs: Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. What was left?
My local Woolies is a dirty grubby place with ignorant shop assistants. In the local retail pecking order it ranks below the pound shops and charity shops.
If anyone buys Woolies, it will be to asset strip their property portfolio and that will be worth less than half of what it was a year ago and any fire sale will drop the value still further.
MFI has been the but of jokes for years because of the crap it sells. Stuff ordered doesn't arrive on time, and when it does arrive, half is missing. When you open it up, the assembly instructions appear to have been written in Martian for the sense they make.
Customers who have ordered using credit cards are protected by the Consumer Credit Act (1974).
What is hitting all retailers hard, especially small independent retailers, is the extortionate rents being charged by greedy property developers. Greedy property developers who refuse to face up to reality and drop their rents and seem to prefer instead to see empty retail units than charge a realistic rent. For most small retailers it is a mugs game, serfdom to the banks and property developers.
One of the worst is St Modwen. Not known for nothing known as the The Developer from Hell, they specialise in destroying town centres, driving out small retailers. Hatfield town centre consists of boarded-up shops, Farnborough one huge demolition site. Bognor Regis, Walthamstow, Queens Market are all earmarked for the same treatment.
http://www.friendsofqueensmarket.org.uk/ http://www.fighttheheight.co.uk/ St Modwen claim to have large numbers of retailers poised to move into Farnborough. We had a glimpse of these retailers in the summer when they erected hoardings next to the now bankrupt Woolworths, fake shops with fake names.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396016.html?c=on http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397548.html Nearby Camberley has built a brand new shopping centre. All this has done is move around the existing retailers, and emptied the main square. In Farnborough retailers are pulling out. Woolworths is yet another to add to the list. The best St Modwen has managed to bring in is a shop selling cheap tat for Christmas.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413437.html If retailers were people, St Modwen would be accused of ethnic cleansing. St Modwen may go the same way as its victims.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411503.html The next retail chains to collapse will be Computer World (incl Dixons and Curry's) and W H Smith.
Why buy from PC World, Dixons or Curry's when you can buy cheaper off the net? If you want some advice and support, not the blind leading the blind, buy from an independent like Campus Computers (aka Moh Computers) on Surrey University Campus in Guildford.
http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/gu-dir.htm#computers W H Smith, like Woolies, has lost its way. It is not a proper bookshop. If you want books you are better off going to a good independent bookshop or a chain like Waterstone's or Borders. For CDs and DVDs, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons. For paper and envelopes there is Partners. And for newspapers and magazines you can pick these up at the corner shop or the supermarket.
Websites
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/ http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/ reference and background
David Clifford, Farnborough Town Centre rising from the dust, 20 November 2008
http://cllrclifford.blogspot.com/2008/11/farnborough-town-centre-rising-from.html Tom Geoghegan, What is the point of Woolworths?, BBC news on-line, 26 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7741199.stm Administrators review MFI orders, BBC News on-line, 27 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7752356.stm Keith Parkins, Curitiba – Designing a sustainable city, April 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/curitiba.htm Keith Parkins, Transition towns, Indymedia UK, 9 October 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/410292.html?c=on Keith Parkins, St Modwen financial meltdown, Indymedia UK, 24 October 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411503.html Keith Parkins, St Modwen claim Farnborough redevelopment complete by Christmas, Indymedia UK, 24 November 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413437.html Ian Pollock, What will the administrators do?, BBC news on-line, 27 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7752065.stm
Keith Parkins
Homepage:
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/
Comments
Hide the following 13 comments
St Modwen rent increases
27.11.2008 17:16
Massive rent increases
As feared (and predicted by FoQM) St Modwen are endeavouring to force through 100% rent increases. As if this was not bad enough, the rapacious developers plan to introduce an additional service charge.
No one is surprised.
St Modwen are driven by one thing and one thing only: Greed!
Keith
Arcade site hoardings become that little bit more honest
27.11.2008 17:18
St Modwen the Degeneration experts!
Keith
a bit more thought please
27.11.2008 17:35
you may not like the attitude of the people at your local woolies but it doesn't mean that they deserve to become unemployed because of a crisis of capital that they never caused.
so please, get a grip on the real issues, yeah?
lolwob
"a dirty grubby place with ignorant shop assistants"
27.11.2008 17:43
Ruby
deserve to lose their jobs
27.11.2008 18:34
Keith
End of an era!
27.11.2008 18:46
FC
another chain falls
27.11.2008 19:22
Alex
Already happened?
28.11.2008 12:16
Could be wrong, but I thought I'd heard they already flogged off their property portfolio and were now operating on some sort of leaseback deal.
Anyone have accurate info. on this? There is a reason for asking, but I'm not putting it on here.
Stroppyoldgit
property
28.11.2008 14:17
gizajob
property
28.11.2008 14:18
gizajob
leaseback
28.11.2008 14:47
And who says it won't be missed? WHERE WILL WE GET OUR PICK N MIX NOW ????!!?
ch
Brown pledges Woolworths support
28.11.2008 18:24
Not to worry, Gordan Brown pledges to help into work all those who lost their jobs at Woolies.
Translating this bit of newspeak into plain English what this means is that you will be harassed off the unemployment register, your benefits will be arbitrarily stopped. To massage the unemployment figures you will be sent on a bogus training course run by CDG, A4E or Working Links where you will be bullied and subjected to degrading treatment.
Keith
Asset stripping
29.11.2008 14:24
Many years ago a shopping centre was built in Lincoln on the site of an old Woolworths.
A couple of years ago a prime High Street site would have been snapped up, but not now. Even before the credit crunch began to bite, many major retailers were looking to dispose of up to a third of their property portfolio simply to remain in business.
All that Woolies has left to dispose of is the worthless tat on its shelves. If this is sold off at knock down prices, it will hit other purveyors of worthless tat who in turn may go under and be forced to liquidate their worthless tat. The Doomsday scenario is the entire High Street collapsing as a pack of dominoes.
Keith