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Thread: Superfi Called In Administrators

  1. #21
    Join Date: Jun 2015

    Location: London/Durham

    Posts: 6,869
    I'm Lawrence.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rigger67 View Post
    That's a bit harsh, mate.
    I did 25 years in retail and have seen first-hand how the overall business has changed, been through three redundancies and enjoyed massive successes in smaller, independent traders.

    I think in this case, what they've experienced is what's happening in book shops right now : they go in-store to browse and make their choices before ordering and buying online afterwards.
    It's a phenomenon known as "showrooming", with people often taking photos of the things they want to buy while still in-store, in front of the staff asking them not to in some cases.

    The exact thing started happening in the wet-suit industry a decade or so ago and many surf shops now charge people to try on in an effort to combat it.


    I've got nothing against online as we live in a market economy and I buy online myself all the time, but this practise is despicable and only serves to show how utterly ignorant large swathes of the general public are if they can't see anything wrong in it.

    But that was the first lesson I learnt in retail, of course ..
    There is an issue here but it's not fair to blame the consumer. I've got a hefty mortgage to pay, bills, childcare costs, commute etc before I can treat the family to nice things and the odd holiday, and I owe it to them to spend as little as possible when I buy things. If it was just to subsidise the shop rent and staff pay in return for customer service and a bit of decency on my part, the difference wouldn't be so great and I could afford to do it. However the price difference is so big due to ridiculous high street business rates compared to out of town warehouses, and the fact that online retailers can build a business model around transferring profits to low tax jurisdictions via inter company loans. The first problem is in the hands of our government. The second requires international co-operation. Sadly there are too many fingers in too many pies to get the latter issue sorted, and similarly, to a lesser extent, the former. If they did, we could get our high streets thriving again.

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  2. #22
    Join Date: Jun 2014

    Location: Chorley Lancs

    Posts: 14,590
    I'm Steve.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lawrence001 View Post
    Have Currys started offering a 5 year guarantee yet? I think they compete on price alone when I've checked the prices online but it's the guarantee that always swung it. Plus the fact I've bought things new there which turned out to be open box and used, and everyone knows about the extended guarantee/breakage insurance scam.

    Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

    4K TVs at Richer Sounds come with 6 year guarantee, though even if their guarantees didn't match Currys, I'd still buy from them as I'm prepared to pay a little more when dealing with people I like/trust. And no, I have no affiliation with Richer Sounds. I just think good customer relations should be rewarded.
    I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in

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  3. #23
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,778
    I'm Martin.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rigger67 View Post
    That's a bit harsh, mate.
    ..
    You're right it is a bit. And I've never worked in retail sales either before or after the internet. Even so there must be strategies you can develop that will put them off buying on line. We used to tell scare stories to put the punters off going to the (much cheaper) competition. Not outright lies of course but you plant the idea in their heads and let it take form on its own. I mean you can't show any mercy in sales.
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  4. #24
    Join Date: Dec 2008

    Location: East Riding of Yorkshire these days

    Posts: 4,779
    I'm Shaun.

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    LOL, I remember once trying to be sold an extended three year warranty that wasn't really what it appeared to be due to the fact that you already had one year statutory rights. You still only got three years cover not four. This apparent extended warranty was almost as expensive as the item.

  5. #25
    Join Date: Dec 2008

    Location: East Riding of Yorkshire these days

    Posts: 4,779
    I'm Shaun.

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    There's a very easy way to get folk to buy from you. Give them what they want. Offer them a discount to buy your items. I know of someone here on this forum who does just that. He doesn't have to but he does. If you don't satisfy the customer then you have to be prepared for them to walk.

  6. #26
    Join Date: Oct 2018

    Location: Forest of Dean

    Posts: 643
    I'm Gary.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Haselsh1 View Post
    There's a very easy way to get folk to buy from you. Give them what they want. Offer them a discount to buy your items. I know of someone here on this forum who does just that. He doesn't have to but he does. If you don't satisfy the customer then you have to be prepared for them to walk.
    It's surprising how many companies, not just retail, that seem perfectly happy to let customers walk, I can recall several occasions when I have told a salesperson their product is cheaper elsewhere, only to be told to go and buy it elsewhere, I'm more than happy to do so.

    There are also people who seem to like to pay as much as possible for everything they buy as they don't want to appear to be cheapskates, I know somebody who bought a brand new car from a main dealer further away than another main dealer because the closer one was offering a discount, their logic being that the cheaper car "must have something wrong with it"
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  7. #27
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: North Down /Northern Ireland/ UK

    Posts: 19,484
    I'm Neil.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rigger67 View Post
    That's a bit harsh, mate.
    I did 25 years in retail and have seen first-hand how the overall business has changed, been through three redundancies and enjoyed massive successes in smaller, independent traders.

    I think in this case, what they've experienced is what's happening in book shops right now : they go in-store to browse and make their choices before ordering and buying online afterwards.
    It's a phenomenon known as "showrooming", with people often taking photos of the things they want to buy while still in-store, in front of the staff asking them not to in some cases.

    The exact thing started happening in the wet-suit industry a decade or so ago and many surf shops now charge people to try on in an effort to combat it.


    I've got nothing against online as we live in a market economy and I buy online myself all the time, but this practise is despicable and only serves to show how utterly ignorant large swathes of the general public are if they can't see anything wrong in it.

    But that was the first lesson I learnt in retail, of course ..
    Agreed.

    This is true, I have seen it many times. One idiot once on a busy Saturday, tried to do this, he demanded I demo a Toshiba TV, I told him no. He said I am entitled you are selling for Toshiba, what if I buy it elsewhere. I said no, I sell for my employer. I refused despite his arrogance, and incresingly rude words. By that point I had my other sales colleagues behind me and and this scum left along with his mates, they slow clapped there departure.

    I have no respect for those who use others, waste their time and go elsewhere and buy the same thing for a bit less. A workman is worth his wage and it is dishonourable to do this. Of course I speak of good people who work hard, lazy, arrogant shop owners and staff don't deserve to survive.
    Regards Neil

  8. #28
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: west mids, UK

    Posts: 3,268
    I'm Phil.

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    been using the superfi store in brum for many years . always very friendly staff there . one chap was extremely highly trained in music and i am surprised he was there . he was very helpful . sad to see them go

    there are still a number of hi fi shops there in brum , one will be at bristol show , one not more than a mile from superfi has a turnover of many thousands and a shop front and been successful for many years . wonder what they did that superfi did not do ?
    ou might slip, you might slide, you might
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  9. #29
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Balsall Common

    Posts: 123
    I'm David.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Minstrel SE View Post
    Ive bought a couple of things from the Stockport store. Wandered up from Richer sounds and had a look in

    If Murrays hi fi had still been going, I wouldnt have really needed any other shop. A sofa, a guy in jeans and a few well chosen items makes the perfect shop for me but he didnt last long...maybe a year.

    This again raises questions about buying habits, the economy and the future of hi fi retail.
    Well I’ve managed two years now, so maybe I’m doing something right...
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  10. #30
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Balsall Common

    Posts: 123
    I'm David.

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    The problem is, when a retailer fills his store with products that are available in virtually every other hifi store, and also everywhere on the internet, you’re already up against it. Chasing the discount sales against online companies - including ones much bigger than yourself, is a dangerous game. Go in big, do it properly, or don’t do it at all. Trying to get a bit of someone else’s pie is just a half hearted lunge, so to speak.
    avid hifi | audiomica | amphion | anthem | audioquest | ascendo | bel canto | bluesound | caas audio | eggleston works | exposure | hegel | isoacoustics | innuos | kef audio | larsen | lumin | merason | moonriver | nagaoka | ophidian | primare | perlisten | paradigm | svs | spectral furniture | silent angel

    www.thelittleaudio.company 0753 888 1969 / 0121 638 0721

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