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+1.....still like mooching about in there for some reason, then inevitably buying somewhere else.
My feedback thread is here.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57602/
I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 5 minutes in Maplins and that’s because the second you walk in someone asks you what you want, takes you straight to that product, then you can pay and go fail miserably at soldering for the rest of your afternoon.
ToysRus seem to be going the same way. My son got vouchers for Christmmas. As soon as the American arm filed for protection we made sure we spent them asap.
It's the change to online, probably along with normal comings and goings. Well managed companies adapt and survive, others fail. Happens all the time, but when it's a well known name you notice.
They came, they saw, they conquered and now they are off
Yet before they conquered, they will have forced many smaller independent toy shops through out the UK (I dare say in many locations around the world) to close down, as they could no longer compete - In many instances, independents could not get the supply of key products as Toys R Us had acquired a priority supply
Yes I feel sorry for 1000's who will now loose their jobs, but I feel more sorry for 100's of small independent toy stores, who've had to close down in recent years and in doing so had to personally make, on a one to one basis, their own redundancies - Each local closure will have happened 1 at a time, so no big national news headlines when this happens
I recall a small toy shop in my home town of Ashbourne and my daughters birthday, or Christmas, when she was much younger - I tried to support the local store and never enjoyed the shopping experience at Toys R Us when I had to visit them on the odd occasion, with my daughter - One Christmas she wanted a Lego kit - The ones that look like a summer holiday house with all the flower pots and small gubbins etc, so I went to my local store - Even though they sold Lego and retained a healthy stock profile, they could not obtain this box set as Toys R Us and Amazon had acquired the full allocation for the UK - So I had no choice but to buy from one of them - Alas our local store closed down a while ago and I dare say many many others have gone likewise - I bet Amazon welcome such news as their pursuit of domination continues
The likes of subbuteo and hornby trainsets etc sold in small toyshops werent an option .
Now Sports direct offers everything the kids would need so good bye Howards sports. How i longed for a liverpool kit but had to make do with replica bobby washables from a bargain basket it TJ hughes. Well at least i got to be a Tottenham,West Ham and a Leeds Utd player on the cheap.
As for a leather casey , I think the only people who had one were the school teachers. Loved the little toy shops but personally i have no fond memories of them just sad ones. Though i did watch a couple of mates get caught stealing from one. I had a mate who tried to walk out with an action man in a scout truck that was on display. Funny he just pushed it along the floor right out of the shop.
I quite like Maplins. They often did good deals on batteries. Even though half the pack of 100 batteries would leak and need to be thrown out, it was still cheaper overall.
The only thing I REALLY disliked about them was the ROLSON tools line they stock - screwdrivers made out of soft metal; multitools that even at £3.99 were overpriced, etc
Sad to see them go but it doesn't surprise me, last time they went in they didn't even have fuses - not an odd value either, one of the most common, which is why I'd run out.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Need some specialist electrical or electronic items - go to Amazon
Need some disco lights - go to Amazon
Cheaper than the high street. You can even have it today if you want. Without moving your arse off the sofa.
But surely all of the money leaves the UK economy that way? And we end up with deserted high streets and boarded up shops.
Should this be stopped? Or is it just market forces at play, laissez faire etc.
Can anyone really stop it?
Spot on.
Interestedly Trump wants to stop it. He hates Amazon as they dodge taxes, pay low wages and have destroyed shopping malls in the USA.
Mention it in the UK and people nod but go straight to Amazon. They are as much a marketplace as a retailer these days. Totally unethical company though.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Looks like we are spinning out of control towards a Wall.E world.
Amazon are Buy N Large