Page 1 of Empire Direct goes into administration

Another real shame.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7838656.stm

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life."
-Terry Pratchett.

There goes my 5 year warranty on the telly!


What I`m listening to...

Isnt the extended warranty supplied by another company like Domestic and General? Might be ok in that case.

I had better collect a suit that been sat and paid for in Moss bros since before Christmas, As they may be next, you never know !

Shame, I used them off & on for years.

I feel for the people who will lose out. But Empire was one of the reasons the trade is in such a mess. They drive the price down so low that small people like myself can not compeat. The trouble is that the price gets driven so low that they and their like make no money either. I remember when one of the owners of someone like Empire wrote an open letter to a trade mag complaining that margins were to low and they wern`t making any money and this could not go on. The founder of Sevenoaks wrote an open letter back telling him the solution was quite simple. Put your prices up so you make some money rather than being the one driving the price down.



WELCOME TO KINKY CLUB.

I have a theory that it wasn`t small margins that drove Empire Direct out of business.
There is evidence to suggest that a lack of confidence is making people go back to high-street suppliers, even though their prices are higher.
John Lewis, for example, recorded very high sales in December, the largest proportion of which was attributed to their electrical dept.
So it would appear that the public`s fear of internet suppliers going to the wall is actually causing it to happen.
I must admit, I`m probably going to go to a high-street outlet for the first time in years, when I upgrade my telly.
It`ll be JL or a Sony outlet, rather than my usual internet sources.
The extra £100 (or whatever) will be offset by confidence that they aren`t going to disappear, possibly taking my extended guarantee with them.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th January 2009, 16:06

It is the small margins that is doing for people. JL may have sold a lot of electrical good. but I bet it did not make them much money. What you have to remember is that while he is buying a £1000 tv that they make £80 on she will be buying the new sofa, furniture, rugs and the like that they have a massive mark up on.



WELCOME TO KINKY CLUB.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th January 2009, 16:16

Yeah, Doc, of course the small margin has something to do with it.
But they`ve existed on those same small margins for years.
Those small margins are (were) evidently fine for them provided enough people buy them
But, as I said, I reckon `fear` is driving people back to the big players instead.
How else do you explain JL electrical department having a record December?

This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th January 2009, 16:21

Margins have not stopped going down it is the constant erosion of them. Everyone is making a smaller margin than this time last year. I am sure if I looked back I would find a post with me saying the same things.



WELCOME TO KINKY CLUB.