Another retail casualty : Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:17 pm  

Comet in admin. It's been in a mess for a while.

Re: Another retail casualty : Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:26 pm  

Dally wrote:

Comet in admin. It's been in a mess for a while.

Another massive blow for Hull and the surrounding area. Thats Comet, Seven Seas and Kimberley Clark all closing in Hull (and Barton) and McCains cutting around half of their workforce too.

Of course the government will tell you all's well up here and they are creating jobs........my

Re: Another retail casualty : Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:31 pm  

I'm not surprised tbh, last time I bought anything from there was at least 3 years ago. Haven't been back because they weren't cheap, had poor service, poor stock, poor range and were too bothered about trying to pressure us into buying an additional warranty instead of actually helping us.

Re: Another retail casualty : Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:26 pm  

Him wrote:

I'm not surprised tbh, last time I bought anything from there was at least 3 years ago. Haven't been back because they weren't cheap, had poor service, poor stock, poor range and were too bothered about trying to pressure us into buying an additional warranty instead of actually helping us.

I've always found them OK but, yes, they have struggled these last few years and stock at times has been sparse. They only seemed not to be cheap against the internet based sellers. Problem is that when all the shops go bust no one will be able to go and look at the goods and get advice. To me its better to pay an extra couple of quid for that, especially for specialist items eg for hobbies, etc. People will end up regretting not patronising shops.

Re: Another retail casualty : Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:14 pm  

Hull White Star wrote:

Another massive blow for Hull and the surrounding area. Thats Comet, Seven Seas and Kimberley Clark all closing in Hull (and Barton) and McCains cutting around half of their workforce too.

Of course the government will tell you all's well up here and they are creating jobs........my

Comet haven't failed because of the Government? Why do they cop the blame for everything?

Comet stores were jaded, throw backs to the 1990s. The one in Warrington was a depressing place, really dark and dreary. It's product range was very limited, for example it's games and PC sections were appalling. Stock wasn't properly displayed, items weren't replenished, so you'd go to the games section and there would be three boxes in the top 10 section and a random selection of 2 year old games scattered about at random. The white appliances were all stored at the back of the shop in military rows and I doubt many people got that far. You also got the impression the staff were trying to chase you out of the store as well. I remember the last time I was in there we were looking at getting an mp3 player for one of the kids and the assistant came over and asked, "Can I help you?" to which I replied, "No thanks, we're just looking for now" and the response was, "Well, can you stop touching if you're not buying".

It's no wonder they've struggled to be honest.

Re: Another retail casualty : Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:13 am  

I doubt there'll be many who remember the original Comet business model. They had a large shed on Clough Road in Hull, where they stocked everything in their original shipping cartons. They could undercut other retailers because a quirk in consumer law allowed them to act as wholesalers and avoid consumer legislation. I bought my first HiFi from there and can remember paying around £800-ish in 1978 for a top-range Pioneer system of separates (I re-sold them on eBay a few years ago for not much less than that). That loophole was soon closed and it was abput that time that Comet embarked on its expansion programme. Because of their discounting, they still had problems sourcing from some manufacturers, even though Retail Price Maintenance had been abolished, so they offered grey imports

There's no doubt that along with other aggressive retailers in different markets, they hastened the closure of many independents and although I feel sympathy for the staff, I reckon the owners of Fanthorpe's in Hepworth Arcade will be laughing their tits off.

Re: Another retail casualty : Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:14 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Comet haven't failed because of the Government? Why do they cop the blame for everything?

I never said they did fail because of the government. I'm saying the government will bury their head in the sand and pretend its not happening or its a one off here in Hull. Thats just not the case. In the space of just 4 weeks, 3 major companies in Hull and surrounding areas have announced they are closing and moving their businessess elsewhere, in the case of Kimberley Clark its to the far East. Do you think the government should actually step in here and be finding out why, or should they do as they are doing now which is bugger all? All Mr Cameron would say on Wednesdays pmq's was the JobCentre + will be there for the redundant employees. I'm sure those made redundant will be jumping for joy at that news.

Re: Another retail casualty : Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:17 am  

Hull White Star wrote:

Another massive blow for Hull and the surrounding area. Thats Comet, Seven Seas and Kimberley Clark all closing in Hull (and Barton) and McCains cutting around half of their workforce too.

Of course the government will tell you all's well up here and they are creating jobs........my

nothing to do with a feckless overspending Labour government leaving a massive deficit and inflated benefitts culture eh?

Comet is closing because it's staff were, on the whole, useless and customer service was poor, Kimberley Clark are going because people in EUROPE do not buy Huggies, Seven Seas is moving to a more modern and progressive workforce, I did some work there 15 years ago and the people were dinosaurs who wouldn't change.

But it's all Camerons fault, honest.

Re: Another retail casualty : Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:21 am  

Standee wrote:

nothing to do with a feckless overspending Labour government leaving a massive deficit and inflated benefitts culture eh?...

Are you really still trying to peddle that little myth? Really?

Standee wrote:

... But it's all Camerons fault, honest...

I look forward to hearing your explanation of a culture of what appears to be poor management, and a lack of coherent planning and investment in the private sector.

Re: Another retail casualty : Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:57 am  

Standee wrote:

nothing to do with a feckless overspending Labour government leaving a massive deficit and inflated benefitts culture eh?

Were you still in school shorts or don't you remember the instigator?