TGJones

Adey

As bad as Smiths (Jones) is Boots on the High Street. It is depressing going in there. If there were another pharmacy on the High Street they would be gone. Super Drug seems to be a slightly different market somehow.

I think it is the push to avoid any customer interaction that is the worst bit about it - soul-less self-checkouts that have those annoying computer voices asking me if I have a Boots Reward card before taking my money, saying a computerised "Thank You" (which I hear as "We can't be arsed to provide any sort of customer service if we can help it"), before leaving and felling elated again as I go out of the door. Putting people on the tills seems like it is actively avoided unless absolutely essential.

Shocking customer service. (My daughter doesn't mind it thought....)

Dominic

Sporky said:

As I recall the property owners would rather have them empty than let them at lower rates, as the value of the portfolio is based on the achievable lease rates.

That an empty unit is generating zero income isn't included in the calculations they use. 

Hmmm...............we have quite a few empty shop units ;I think the huge burden of empty Commercial rates prejudices the expenses on the P and L compared to the Balance sheet ( which is historic vale ) and any form of Commercial valuation will only be severely affected by vacancy where an A rated covenant has vacated a very substantial unit .

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

EricTheWeary said:

Just seen an ad for TG Jones. Looked a lot like WH Smith but with a bit of Toys R Us up a corner. I was reminiscing a couple of days ago about poor customer service and how Toys R Us were awful, so I look forward to revisiting that experience. 
If they couldn't make a profit out of WH Smith stores I'm struggling to understand what the business model is for something near identical. However, as my local Smiths is still empty next to a still empty former Wilko it would be nice to see something there. 

Sorry to hear you didn't "even" get a TGJones.  Empty shopfronts make town centres depressing.

The Wilko is tucked away, it's pretty big (was a Safeway many years ago) but it's not that noticeable. Unfortunately WH Smith had a prime location.Lot of charity shops, our MP has a storefront place, council has one, couple of coffee shops... you actually start to realise there aren't that many places you can buy anything that isn't for charity or a coffee (we have a massive Greggs). If I wanted a newspaper or a pair of underpants or some scones it would have to be ASDA.
Our former Woolworths has an odd little hodge podge of things in it now but has the claim to fame of being where a young Robert Plant worked part time. 

Philly_Q

Philly_Q said:

Having said that, I've just looked on the TGJones website and they're selling WHSmith 2026 diaries (at much higher prices than last year), so I don't know if that's an acquisition of existing stock or if they'll continue to sell WHSmith products.

So I went to the Post Office today - which is upstairs at TGJones - and since I was there I thought I might as well see if they had any WHSmith 2026 diaries.  They did indeed, so I found the same one I always buy - £10 this year - and took it up to the till - the same old till that was there before - and it only charged me £5!  Why are they selling 2026 diaries at half price?

BillDL

Philly_Q said:

So I went to the Post Office today - which is upstairs at TGJones - and since I was there I thought I might as well see if they had any WHSmith 2026 diaries.  They did indeed, so I found the same one I always buy - £10 this year - and took it up to the till - the same old till that was there before - and it only charged me £5!  Why are they selling 2026 diaries at half price?

Have you checked that it doesn't just go up to the end of June 2026?

Philly_Q

BillDL said:

Philly_Q said:

So I went to the Post Office today - which is upstairs at TGJones - and since I was there I thought I might as well see if they had any WHSmith 2026 diaries.  They did indeed, so I found the same one I always buy - £10 this year - and took it up to the till - the same old till that was there before - and it only charged me £5!  Why are they selling 2026 diaries at half price?

Have you checked that it doesn't just go up to the end of June 2026?

It actually goes to 1 January 2027.

thecolourbox

Dominic said:

Sporky said:

As I recall the property owners would rather have them empty than let them at lower rates, as the value of the portfolio is based on the achievable lease rates.

That an empty unit is generating zero income isn't included in the calculations they use. 

Hmmm...............we have quite a few empty shop units ;I think the huge burden of empty Commercial rates prejudices the expenses on the P and L compared to the Balance sheet ( which is historic vale ) and any form of Commercial valuation will only be severely affected by vacancy where an A rated covenant has vacated a very substantial unit .

It also depends if the Smiths/Jones lease has actually been surrendered or disclaimed. If it's still in their name, the landlord can just ignore it for a while and the rates won't be their problem. 

Then of course you can have vacant rates for a while, then if you still can't let it properly, do some kind of community/charity let thing temporarily where they are responsible for repairs and rates, so again the rates aren't your problem for a while. Kick the can further down the road

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:
 Why are they selling 2026 diaries at half price?

The way things are going, nobody is going to need a whole one...

Nitefly

TG Jones? Don't they make pickups for Gretsch guitars? 

Philly_Q

darthed1981 said:

Philly_Q said:
 Why are they selling 2026 diaries at half price?

The way things are going, nobody is going to need a whole one...

That would have me worried, except there's no way anyone at a tinpot organisation like TGJones knows something we don't...

Scotty55

Adey said:

As bad as Smiths (Jones) is Boots on the High Street. It is depressing going in there. If there were another pharmacy on the High Street they would be gone. Super Drug seems to be a slightly different market somehow.

Always annoys me that SuperDrug doesn't do prescription medication. Total American misnomer.

Philly_Q

And now the owners of TG Jones have announced they're closing up to 150 stores.  Anyone surprised?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/06/dozens-of-former-wh-smith-stores-face-closure-putting-thousands-of-jobs-at-risk

DuploLicks

Sporky said:

Presumably it was bought in order to load it with debt and declare it bankrupt, as is the standard approach of private equity. 

Nostradamus called it a few months ago. Have you got the lottery numbers for tomorrow?

HAL9000

Adey said:

As bad as Smiths (Jones) is Boots on the High Street. It is depressing going in there. If there were another pharmacy on the High Street they would be gone. Super Drug seems to be a slightly different market somehow.

I think it is the push to avoid any customer interaction that is the worst bit about it - soul-less self-checkouts that have those annoying computer voices asking me if I have a Boots Reward card before taking my money, saying a computerised "Thank You" (which I hear as "We can't be arsed to provide any sort of customer service if we can help it"), before leaving and felling elated again as I go out of the door. Putting people on the tills seems like it is actively avoided unless absolutely essential.

Shocking customer service. (My daughter doesn't mind it thought....)

Slightly OT but a particular sunscreen…

Amazon - about a fiver
SuperDrug - £6
Boots - £18.99

Dominic

Why did it actually change it's name when the old name was so well known ?

ICBM

Dominic said:

Why did it actually change its name when the old name was so well known ?

Because the company was losing money, was broken up and the buyers of the profitable part - the concession shops in railway stations etc - kept the name.

Anyone investing in the high street shops was either a fool or an asset-stripper… you guess! And that’s even without picking possibly the worst brand name ever.

The real losers are the employees, but you could at least say they’ve had a few months of wages that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

exocet

ICBM said:

Dominic said:

Why did it actually change its name when the old name was so well known ?

Because the company was losing money, was broken up and the buyers of the profitable part - the concession shops in railway stations etc - kept the name.

Anyone investing in the high street shops was either a fool or an asset-stripper… you guess! And that’s even without picking possibly the worst brand name ever.

The real losers are the employees, but you could at least say they’ve had a few months of wages that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

WHSmiths split away and sold their High Street operations  themselves. So WH Smiths branches in transport Hub locations are all that remain of the original company. Modella Capital bought the High Street operations...as you say, assets to be stripped..

Philly_Q

On a selfish note, I'm hoping my local branch doesn't close, as it also houses the Post Office.

Sporky

HAL9000 said:

Slightly OT but a particular sunscreen…

Amazon - about a fiver
SuperDrug - £6
Boots - £18.99

The Amazon will likely be fake. Go to Super drug. 

GoFish

Philly_Q said:

And now the owners of TG Jones have announced they're closing up to 150 stores.  Anyone surprised?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/06/dozens-of-former-wh-smith-stores-face-closure-putting-thousands-of-jobs-at-risk

So that explains the "half year" diary then. Thy weren't planning to be in business any longer. Sneaky.