Midland chandlers - Store closures?

[pete23]

I heard earlier they are closing all three of there shops.

Any know when?? 

 

Edited to add:

All three remaining stores closing as of 20th March, with the brand moving to an online only business model. 

Edited February 17 by DHutch
Added closing date.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Where did you hear this? Who from? Where did they find it out? Nothing from Midland Swindlers themselves. 

Roadworks are due to make Preston Brook slightly harder to get to by road for a month. Has the towpath telegraph morphed that in to all the branches closing for good? 

[GLYN FORSTER]

Heard from the staff at Willington they are closing all stores and going online only so all being made redundant which is very sad.

 

Been dealing with Midland chandlers as far back as I remember before Alistair Thomas who owned Marine Mart bought them out.

 

Although you’ll still be able to order online nothing beats actually going to the shop and getting what you want there and then, also the very knowledgeable staff always on hand to advise and help so they will be sorely missed.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Sad news, especially for the staff, who are excellent. Being able to drop by on boat is also very useful when you are away from a delivery address. Especially for urgent, or big and awkward items. Picked up a new mattress from Willington a few months back. The staff were very helpful and wheeled it down to the boat moored outside. 

[Tonka]

Where are boaters going to be able to look at a new hob etc

[Momac]

I expect most people buy products online these days ..

 

[pearley]

12 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Where are boaters going to be able to look at a new hob etc

 

Just now, Momac said:

I expect most people buy products online these days ..

 

I imagine many boaters went to Midland Chandlers to look at the stuff they wanted then, having decided, went home and ordered cheaper online.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, pearley said:

 

I imagine many boaters went to Midland Chandlers to look at the stuff they wanted then, having decided, went home and ordered cheaper online.

...and are now complaining about them closing the shops?

 

See also local shops, pubs, restaurants, town centres... 😞 

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, GLYN FORSTER said:

Heard from the staff at Willington they are closing all stores and going online only so all being made redundant which is very sad.

 

Been dealing with Midland chandlers as far back as I remember before Alistair Thomas who owned Marine Mart bought them out.

 

Although you’ll still be able to order online nothing beats actually going to the shop and getting what you want there and then, also the very knowledgeable staff always on hand to advise and help so they will be sorely missed.

 

Sad news. I'm sure it will affect their sales. I can't be the only one who goes in for something specific and picks up other items as I wander around looking for the item I went in to get.

[IanD]

1 minute ago, cuthound said:

 

Sad news. I'm sure it will affect their sales. I can't be the only one who goes in for something specific and picks up other items as I wander around looking for the item I went in to get.

Probably not, but there aren't enough yous to keep them open... :-( 

[MtB]

17 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Sad news. I'm sure it will affect their sales. I can't be the only one who goes in for something specific and picks up other items as I wander around looking for the item I went in to get.

 

On the other hand I would imagine their stores suffer quite a high rate of shoplifting, if they are all laid out like the Braunston shop. Going 100% on line will cut out all that. 

 

 

[jonathanA]

sadly its the way of things... 

 

The danger is that once you start online its very tempting just to order direct from China if you can wait a couple of weeks and can take the risk on accept the poor quality... 

[Tonka]

Surprised they didn't move euro car parts into the shops and have both

[Peanut]

Axminster Tools has gone the same way. You could go in and peruse an excellent range of tools, get advice, and come away with what you needed and more. They had five or so stores, all gone, only available online, or down in Exeter now.

 

In The High Street, there are coffee shops, fast food outlets, the occasional pub, phone shops, and many charity shops. Insurance companies build cathedrals to consumerism, with the same look and feel, the same chain of retail outlets, and sky-high rents, which you pay for.

[IanD]

5 minutes ago, Peanut said:

Axminster Tools has gone the same way. You could go in and peruse an excellent range of tools, get advice, and come away with what you needed and more. They had five or so stores, all gone, only available online, or down in Exeter now.

 

In The High Street, there are coffee shops, fast food outlets, the occasional pub, phone shops, and many charity shops. Insurance companies build cathedrals to consumerism, with the same look and feel, the same chain of retail outlets, and sky-high rents, which you pay for.

The key with all those things still on the High Street -- and also barbers and nail bars, if they're not fronts for money laundering -- it that they're things that you can't do online (food, drink, personal services).

 

Anyone else trying to sell stuff there that you can buy online -- usually more cheaply, and with more choice, and have in your hands next day without having to go and drive to the shop and park (or go on the bus/train if you're lucky enough to have public transport) -- is fighting a losing battle, and there's really not a lot they can do to resist the unstoppable online flood of cheap goods.

 

They can try and make their shop more attractive for browsers and provide the best service in the world, but they're really just putting off the inevitable because most people nowadays would still rather buy online... 😞 

[Tony Brooks]

Buying poorly described items online, in some cases paying the return postage, and taking them to a post office seems to cost as much or more than if you bought locally. When you add P&P and dodgy delivery practices with the hassle they cause, buying locally is a lot simpler and you can see exactly what you are getting. The problem is that the online only setups have been allowed to "hide" the true cost in the P&P charges and play fast and loose with the tax and business rates systems in the UK. So now they have strangled local retailers.

[Wafi]

3 minutes ago, IanD said:

The key with all those things still on the High Street -- and also barbers and nail bars, if they're not fronts for money laundering -- it that they're things that you can't do online (food, drink, personal services).

The other thing that's done for the High Street is that it's often not a convenient/easy place to visit; they evolved in a time when most people walked or used public transport, but now people want to travel by car. The big shops (supermarkets, DIY stores, clothing shops) in my nearby town have all moved to retail parks on the outskirts. Parking for free directly outside, and then shopping in a spacious, purpose-built "warehouse" store is more convenient and more pleasant than paying to park the car 5-10 mins away and then navigating a network of streets with hands full of shopping bags, squeezing down the aisles of shops crammed into 100-year-old buildings. Much as I like the idea of buying meat from a butcher, veg from a grocer etc, pushing my trolley round a supermarket is so much quicker and more convenient...

 

[alan_fincher]

MC will need to vastly improve the detail and pictures for items displayed on their web site, in particular dimensional information.

 

For many items the detail is currently insufficient to be fully confident that what you purchase will in fact meet your needs.

EDIT:  So more or less exactly what Tony has said, I think.

Edited February 13 by alan_fincher

[billh]

8 minutes ago, IanD said:

The key with all those things still on the High Street -- and also barbers and nail bars, if they're not fronts for money laundering -- it that they're things that you can't do online (food, drink, personal services).

 

Genuine question: what are the indicators that a shop is being used for money laundering? I would much prefer not to give them my custom but I do have to visit eg barbers shop , numerous  of which have recently opened  around here.

[IanD]

Just now, Tony Brooks said:

Buying poorly described items online, in some cases paying the return postage, and taking them to a post office seems to cost as much or more than if you bought locally. When you add P&P and dodgy delivery practices with the hassle they cause, buying locally is a lot simpler and you can see exactly what you are getting. The problem is that the online only setups have been allowed to "hide" the true cost in the P&P charges and play fast and loose with the tax and business rates systems in the UK. So now they have strangled local retailers.

The obvious solution is -- don't buy poorly described items online, buy from reputable suppliers who provide good information... 😉 

 

Of course if you have to return stuff it can sometimes be a PITA, though often there's no return postage to pay -- so buy from suppliers who offer this, and look carefully at the charges.

 

And then there's the Evri problem... 😞 

 

But the fact remains that -- especially if you choose carefully -- buying online offers a massive choice and is quick and easy and convenient and cheap, all of which more than make up for the occasional hassles for most people. Fewer and fewer people prefer buying locally any more, which is why shops (like Midland Chandlers) are closing.

[Mike Tee]

It would be interesting to know what proportion of their present sales are via the Internet- that could well be the reason for the decision. Business rates and maintenance, staff costs etc all add up multiplied by the number of stores, but don't expect the saving will be passed on!

[IanD]

6 minutes ago, billh said:

Genuine question: what are the indicators that a shop is being used for money laundering? I would much prefer not to give them my custom but I do have to visit eg barbers shop , numerous  of which have recently opened  around here.

Shops (like barbers...) which are new and flashily fitted out but hardly ever seem to have any customers in them might be a clue -- especially when there are several close together, you have to ask where all the people needing a haircut have suddenly come from when there only used to be one "traditional" barber/hairdresser in the neighbourhood...

Edited February 13 by IanD

[Wafi]

2 minutes ago, billh said:

Genuine question: what are the indicators that a shop is being used for money laundering? I would much prefer not to give them my custom but I do have to visit eg barbers shop , numerous  of which have recently opened  around here.

Modern slavery is the other one - apparently an issue with some nail bars.

 

I found a barbers that's run by a young guy who's very obviously into cutting hair, running/growing a business and applying his own distinctive branding; the people working there seem like a bunch of 20-something mates. Seems unlikely someone would go to that effort to disguise a money laundering business, and it always feels good to support young entrepreneurs.

[Alan de Enfield]

13 minutes ago, IanD said:

Of course if you have to return stuff it can sometimes be a PITA, though often there's no return postage to pay -- so buy from suppliers who offer this, and look carefully at the charges.

 

And then there's the Evri problem... 😞 

 

 

I decided to replace my petrol engine that powers my Scuba 4500psi "breathing air" compressor with an electric motor.

I purchased one on Amazon from a German company and it arrived within 3 days delivered by EVRI.

 

I wired it up and fitted it to the compressor and it ran for 30 seconds and then the motor produced a cloud of nasty smoke.

 

Emailed the German supplier who apologised profusely for the inconvenience and asked for pictures of how I had wired it.

Next day the suplier confirmed that my wiring was correct and they would supply an FOC replacement - which arrived 3 days later, again by EVRI.

 

You cannot ask for better service than that - as I said the nice lady, "it is how problems are resolved to the customers satisfaction that defines a 'good company'"

 

I have used EVRI on every possible occasion for both sales of things and purchases, they are the best courier.

Being 'out in the wilds' the other couriers (Yodel and DPD in particular) tend to say "you dont exist", "we cannot find you" and leave the parcel at the nearest Post Office, send a message and tell me to go and collect it myself 

 

Edited February 13 by Alan de Enfield

[alan_fincher]

4 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

It would be interesting to know what proportion of their present sales are via the Internet- that could well be the reason for the decision. Business rates and maintenance, staff costs etc all add up multiplied by the number of stores, but don't expect the saving will be passed on!

 

I would also suggest that most of the MC retail outlets are in warehouses very much larger than actually required.  They have far more unued floor space and overly wide ailses when compared to the space used for the displayed goods.

 

Think of any other chandlery you use?  Does Uxbridge, for example need anything like the space, and yet you can regularly buy items there that you will not find in Midland Chandlers.

No doubt a more appropriately sized premesis could have saved MC some ongoing costs.