Deloitte, the administrators of collapsing Comet, are in a bit of a tiz over vouchers. First they said they wouldn't accept them, which kind of brings into question exactly what vouchers represent. Now they will accept personal ones but not corporate ones. The 'company' ones we are told are discounted, meaning the company buying them didn't pay full face value.
I'm not sure I can discern what that has got to do with anything, it was a commercial decision of a trading company. And it is at odds with their first idea that they should discount your vouchers completely! Also, I'm guessing that Deloitte will sell the stock off cheaply to get in what money they can quickly. No, I think what Deloitte are trying to say is that they have already had the money for the vouchers, if we renege on that deal we can sell the goods elsewhere we would otherwise have had to give to voucher holders. Which I think falls within the definition of theft.
If I have a voucher, relevant to a company stilling trading, under whatever conditions, in what way is it not an intention to permanently deprive, if I am denied the ability to trade the vouchers? So what are vouchers and why should we buy them? In short, they are a con and nobody should buy them.
And they have expiry dates. If you are a senior executive with a large retail company, please answer me this question; why do vouchers have use by dates? The cash I used to pay for them didn't have an expiry date. Again, I don't understand how anyone can sell you something which becomes worthless at a certain point.
Is this OK, for instance? Instead of buying vouchers, I actually buy a television. I take it home and put it in the spare room. But you know what, I don't use it for 12 months. Am I crazy or what? It doesn't matter though, I am entitled to do with it what I want. But, does the shop have the right to take it back after a year? Because that is what they effectively do, if I have the same value in vouchers and don't use them.
All I can say is don't buy vouchers, ever. But, if you do have Comet vouchers here is something to appraise Deloitte of; unless the terms of the contract are made clear at the point of sale, the Unfair Consumer Contract Act 1999 may well come into play. If you didn't know there was an expiry date, or if there was, when it expires, then the contract is voided. Deloitte should give you your money back - not goods to the value of, -your money.
See, usually when you go to a till in a shop and say 'can I have a £20 gift card' they ring it up, you pay and then you get the card/voucher, on which the terms are printed. Too late! The law requires you to be informed ahead of the sale.
On a related note, it is nice to see Dixons making a noise about their employing as many Comet staff as they can. Very generous of them. Except, with Christmas coming they wanted extra staff anyway and were going to employ pretty much anyone who showed a reasonable intention of turning up for work on at least most days. Now they can grab some people who are already working in an almost identical environment.
It doesn't change the fact that it is good for worried Comet staff, but it is self interest on Dixons' part and they could have been a little more honest about it and still got the kudos. Just a thought.
Showing posts with label Comet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comet. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Comet
It looks as if the day dawns for Comet. The company is very likely to enter administration very soon. This is unsurprising. The company is clearly in trouble so what manufacturer is going to sell their products to Comet and hope they don't collapse before the bill is paid. They are demanding payment up front.
But for customers too, why buy from a company that might not be there tomorrow? Such are the problems facing a company in such dire straits and it helps accelerate the end.
So, is Comet a viable company? If you have the readies to buy it and keep it going, could you lead it back to profits, even greatness? Well, the first question to ask is, what niche does it fill? And the answer is none. What does it do that is unique? Nothing. Over the years the electrical retailer as been vanishing. Shops that sell TV's to vacuums, fridges to toasters, stereo's and light bulbs are just not viable, there were too many.
To address this trend Comet did nothing. To be fair, Curry's didn't do much either, but they had a broader skill set if you like, with the PC World brand. Even their choice of colour scheme was wrong, orange for goodness sake. The one near me is next to a Halfords and I kinda subconsciously link the two.
Is there anything they could do? Well, the only way they could change in reality is if they went for an ultra cheap approach. If there is any way they could form partnerships and deals with suppliers to produce very much cheaper kit, washing machines, fridges and Hoovers then maybe, just maybe. The problem would be, the squeeze would have to be on production costs and margins, the quality still has to be there to some degree. Otherwise the death knell would be a new Ratner reputation and crippling warranty claims.
Comet it seems will go and rivals will hope it frees up some market for them. A little more help for Curry's but who would replace shopping at Comet for Argos?
But for customers too, why buy from a company that might not be there tomorrow? Such are the problems facing a company in such dire straits and it helps accelerate the end.
So, is Comet a viable company? If you have the readies to buy it and keep it going, could you lead it back to profits, even greatness? Well, the first question to ask is, what niche does it fill? And the answer is none. What does it do that is unique? Nothing. Over the years the electrical retailer as been vanishing. Shops that sell TV's to vacuums, fridges to toasters, stereo's and light bulbs are just not viable, there were too many.
To address this trend Comet did nothing. To be fair, Curry's didn't do much either, but they had a broader skill set if you like, with the PC World brand. Even their choice of colour scheme was wrong, orange for goodness sake. The one near me is next to a Halfords and I kinda subconsciously link the two.
Is there anything they could do? Well, the only way they could change in reality is if they went for an ultra cheap approach. If there is any way they could form partnerships and deals with suppliers to produce very much cheaper kit, washing machines, fridges and Hoovers then maybe, just maybe. The problem would be, the squeeze would have to be on production costs and margins, the quality still has to be there to some degree. Otherwise the death knell would be a new Ratner reputation and crippling warranty claims.
Comet it seems will go and rivals will hope it frees up some market for them. A little more help for Curry's but who would replace shopping at Comet for Argos?
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Bargain Hunt
Comet has been sold for £2, which gives some indication of the mess it is in. The new owners say there is no plan to close stores and the company will carry on trading as is for the next few months. I'm not sure I can see a future for Comet though. The sort of changes needed should have happened long ago and no short term strategy would seem to offer salvation.
I saw only asset strippers as being interested and we shall have to see if that is the way it turns out. As I have said before, the time is right for an established player to take advantage of these weaknesses to secure market share, though with the lead feet they have shown to date, I doubt they will. The sector needs some radical rethinking of the way they do business and the service they can offer. It needs different relationships with suppliers, involved more with product development and a structural change to incentivise staff, localised.
Argos put out job ads for strategic staff who can 'think outside the box' and 'bring new ideas' to the company. They then ask for experience of large retail and a MBA, to maximise the chances of recruiting someone who fits into the current box and doesn't have an iota of initiative. The problems in companies starts with the way they recruit and I don't think anyone realises this yet.
I saw only asset strippers as being interested and we shall have to see if that is the way it turns out. As I have said before, the time is right for an established player to take advantage of these weaknesses to secure market share, though with the lead feet they have shown to date, I doubt they will. The sector needs some radical rethinking of the way they do business and the service they can offer. It needs different relationships with suppliers, involved more with product development and a structural change to incentivise staff, localised.
Argos put out job ads for strategic staff who can 'think outside the box' and 'bring new ideas' to the company. They then ask for experience of large retail and a MBA, to maximise the chances of recruiting someone who fits into the current box and doesn't have an iota of initiative. The problems in companies starts with the way they recruit and I don't think anyone realises this yet.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Best Buy Ever
Best Buy is to close all its UK stores, probably by Christmas. The inevitability of this was writ large soon after they opened. Brash, unexciting and with a style that is tasteless and cheap the company moved into a crowded sector, with no USP.
The bosses are saying, 'it's OK though, we are making lots of money elsewhere', but if I were a shareholder I would be asking the people who issue such smug assertions, 'why?' Why think you can sail into the UK and be successful just because you arrive? What was missing that you provided? The idea was so hopeless they either didn't bother to check with anyone here first, or if they did it must have been someone of the calibre of Tony Blair, who just told them what they wanted to hear.
Mugged over for a lot of pounds sterling Best Buy are retreating with their tail between their legs. Comet are probably breathing a sigh of relief. I wouldn't. Comet is the British version of Best Buy, Shabby, aiming at the wrong sector, no 'stand out' offering and out of date thinking.
Bloody funny to see the PC World/Curry's ads launch majoring on customer service and then alongside a Tesco ad saying they employ specialists in their electrical department. I was nearly on the floor laughing. Tesco; pretending to be anything other than a multiple seller. Had they restyled and separated their electrical's, making it a store within a store, then perhaps the specialist staff bit might have worked.
Why does the assistant smell fishy? Not because he does dodgy deals but because he has just come from the fish counter because electrical's were short of staff. Now, did you want me to fillet that toaster? I see Tesco these days as an aggressive, soulless warehouse leading the way with the new supermarket disease of loads of supervisors running around, ordering staff about and getting in the way of customers (whilst ignoring real issues under their nose).
So, in an upside down world, PC World don't see themselves as a specialist and Tesco do. Watch out too, for the soon to appear Christmas panic. I predict that a number of struggling retailers will soon go into overdrive trying to attract custom with ever crazier offers. If you have a good offering, stay clam, maintain your resolve and things will be OK. They may not be stupendous, but steely nerves will see you through. It is not so much what you buy and what you sell, as your philosophy. You get it right, because you think right.
The bosses are saying, 'it's OK though, we are making lots of money elsewhere', but if I were a shareholder I would be asking the people who issue such smug assertions, 'why?' Why think you can sail into the UK and be successful just because you arrive? What was missing that you provided? The idea was so hopeless they either didn't bother to check with anyone here first, or if they did it must have been someone of the calibre of Tony Blair, who just told them what they wanted to hear.
Mugged over for a lot of pounds sterling Best Buy are retreating with their tail between their legs. Comet are probably breathing a sigh of relief. I wouldn't. Comet is the British version of Best Buy, Shabby, aiming at the wrong sector, no 'stand out' offering and out of date thinking.
Bloody funny to see the PC World/Curry's ads launch majoring on customer service and then alongside a Tesco ad saying they employ specialists in their electrical department. I was nearly on the floor laughing. Tesco; pretending to be anything other than a multiple seller. Had they restyled and separated their electrical's, making it a store within a store, then perhaps the specialist staff bit might have worked.
Why does the assistant smell fishy? Not because he does dodgy deals but because he has just come from the fish counter because electrical's were short of staff. Now, did you want me to fillet that toaster? I see Tesco these days as an aggressive, soulless warehouse leading the way with the new supermarket disease of loads of supervisors running around, ordering staff about and getting in the way of customers (whilst ignoring real issues under their nose).
So, in an upside down world, PC World don't see themselves as a specialist and Tesco do. Watch out too, for the soon to appear Christmas panic. I predict that a number of struggling retailers will soon go into overdrive trying to attract custom with ever crazier offers. If you have a good offering, stay clam, maintain your resolve and things will be OK. They may not be stupendous, but steely nerves will see you through. It is not so much what you buy and what you sell, as your philosophy. You get it right, because you think right.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Argos It
Well, as I predicted the decline of Argos gets ever more evident. Profits down 94% (Guardian) is saying something and quite loudly, though it seems Management can't hear it. The Argos business lost its MD in June and she hasn't been replaced yet. Why? And a review of how they do business concluded that they were doing the right things.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it(?) they are also looking into other areas, a TV channel and insurance sales, books, anything it seems. What the hell is Argos about and where is the leadership? In a booming economy retail life is like little skirmishes in war. Generally the army (business) is kept in good order and lower level officers fight little battles here and there. The army moves in the direction the General sets, but not with any panic.
A recession is a full scale battle, when the deployment of forces and the use of different aspects of the army needs to be played well. The General needs to be visibly active and calm, issuing clear commands. What of the above applies to Argos? Head Office recruit buyers who have no experience, which given a glance at the catalogue comes as no surprise. If it is an attempt to break the cycle and bring in fresh thinking it is to be applauded, though HRG don't seem to show that kind of initiative.
If you had to think of what Argos currently resembles most, I think it would be Woolworths. They are selling way too much in too many areas, relying on the bottom end of the market and without a clear strategy. I predict that the share price will start to suffer soon.
My other two favourites are probably reaching decision time too; Best Buy and Comet. Which one will go first, because go they will. There is over capacity in the electronics retail sector and both offer no clear advantage for customers. They are only worth the (knock down) value of their stock. Curry's/PC World stand to gain, but given that their profile continues to address the bottom end of the market and with no bold statements from the leadership, may not do half as well as they could.
This is fairly apparent , but the fact that the share price resolutely fails to move upwards, suggest the market is concerned about the lack of endeavour too. My bet is that the share price will move up, as the sector clears out the dead wood, but surely the objective should be to strike early and seize the day?
Despite this, or perhaps because of it(?) they are also looking into other areas, a TV channel and insurance sales, books, anything it seems. What the hell is Argos about and where is the leadership? In a booming economy retail life is like little skirmishes in war. Generally the army (business) is kept in good order and lower level officers fight little battles here and there. The army moves in the direction the General sets, but not with any panic.
A recession is a full scale battle, when the deployment of forces and the use of different aspects of the army needs to be played well. The General needs to be visibly active and calm, issuing clear commands. What of the above applies to Argos? Head Office recruit buyers who have no experience, which given a glance at the catalogue comes as no surprise. If it is an attempt to break the cycle and bring in fresh thinking it is to be applauded, though HRG don't seem to show that kind of initiative.
If you had to think of what Argos currently resembles most, I think it would be Woolworths. They are selling way too much in too many areas, relying on the bottom end of the market and without a clear strategy. I predict that the share price will start to suffer soon.
My other two favourites are probably reaching decision time too; Best Buy and Comet. Which one will go first, because go they will. There is over capacity in the electronics retail sector and both offer no clear advantage for customers. They are only worth the (knock down) value of their stock. Curry's/PC World stand to gain, but given that their profile continues to address the bottom end of the market and with no bold statements from the leadership, may not do half as well as they could.
This is fairly apparent , but the fact that the share price resolutely fails to move upwards, suggest the market is concerned about the lack of endeavour too. My bet is that the share price will move up, as the sector clears out the dead wood, but surely the objective should be to strike early and seize the day?
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