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Post by SILENCED on Dec 3, 2020 18:24:54 GMT
I think it's closed down already? It was a great store once but I haven't been in there for years. Yes, It was announced Croydon Debenhams would close immediately and not reopen during the first pandemic ... I actually liked it, was my favourite store when I went shopping in the town centre, which was not very often, preferring Purley Way where I could easily parks without exorbitant costs. A Next Outlet store has opened on the site of the former Croydon Debenhams. I wish them luck with this venture, although not sure what it is as there is already a big Next in Croydom
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Post by LondonNorthern on Dec 3, 2020 18:44:53 GMT
It's clear the pandemic sped up Debenhams decline but I don't think anyone for certain could say when it's demise would of come and if a deal with Mike Ashley who was the most interested buyer after JD Sports late arrival and someone renowned for turning around ailing shops wouldn't of happened. His attention has suddenly been turned elsewhere due to the tasty option of potentially acquiring Arcadia and JD Sports shareholders had misgivings over taking over a business they had no experience in. For me, if there wasn't a pandemic, Debenhams would of been eventually been brought by Ashley and really should of sold it to him before at the £150m he offered - why they thought they would get £300m for a ailing business is what people and staff should be asking for as the potential to save a chunk of jobs was always there. if you recall Mike Ashley tried to buy Debenhams not long after he acquired HoF, but it was rejected and he declared he was not interested in the business anymore. JD pulled out because of the collapse of Arcadia, not because they had no confidence in Debenhams as a business. The problem with Debenhams is that they have too many concession brands and not enough in house owned brands, which ultimately left them vulnerable to other high street closures. I think Ashley will end up buying some parts of Arcadia like Topshop, Topman and Burton that will be better fits for expanding HoF, potentially into some of the empty Debenhams stores. Picking off Arcadia would make sense for Frasers Group as they pick and choose what they want and tailor it to better suit them. USC would in my opinion be an excellent fit with Burton as a partner brand rather than Dorothy Perkins. In my opinion Debenhams would have gone eventually, it’s just the pandemic sped up the process. Do I think they were wrong to turn down the offer from Sports Direct at the previous administration, yes, but then hindsight is 2020 and they couldn’t have predicted the effects of the pandemic. I feel like this is a valuable lesson about being careful and that you may not know what could be seen in the foreseeable future.
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Post by thekbq14 on Dec 3, 2020 21:08:15 GMT
Yes, It was announced Croydon Debenhams would close immediately and not reopen during the first pandemic ... I actually liked it, was my favourite store when I went shopping in the town centre, which was not very often, preferring Purley Way where I could easily parks without exorbitant costs. A Next Outlet store has opened on the site of the former Croydon Debenhams. I wish them luck with this venture, although not sure what it is as there is already a big Next in Croydom There's even a Next Home on Purley Way too so guess there's a lot of Next choices for people in Croydon to pick. I tried looking myself and I'm still not sure but seems like discounts and certain type of brands are sold in that store. But like you say makes no sense as they've got another store in that same shopping centre being the Centrale and only done the road from it on North End.
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Post by thekbq14 on Dec 3, 2020 21:09:26 GMT
Didn't Mike Ashley also have shares in Debenhams at one point before he bought House of Fraser with the option of fully taking over Debenhams? I know once he bought House of Fraser he would of sold them shares away.
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Post by thekbq14 on Dec 3, 2020 21:24:07 GMT
And JD Sports buying Debenhams would of been interesting as especially there main brand JD Sports is rivals with Sports Direct who under the Fraser Group has been buying everything. JD themselves have also been on a buying spree off late buying rivals Footasylum well in the process and Exercise4Less which is a rival to it's JD Gym business too which they've been putting investment into. However first of all seems like the JD Sports and Sports Direct are going down different angles JD sticking with the mainly sporty and outdoor scene. Whilst Sports Direct are trying to get a bit of everything and have a conglomerate business under one roof. Which can been scene again when one walks into JD Sports and Sports Direct. Also seems like from the outside looking in Sports Direct subsidisers are doing better then JD's with Go Outdoors going into Administration, them closing Cloggs and also Millets and Blacks having there own issues and now the backing out of Debenhams. Compared to Sports Direct/Fraser Group not having much closures or issues except for the House of Fraser with originally 31 out of 58 meant to be closing but this has been scaled back to just 11 out of 58 closing with the ones closing being mainly due to disputes in rent due to the Administration period if I'm correct. However this might just be again because Sports Direct is the bigger business out of JD Sports in my opinion. But from having inside knowledge in working in one of these stores during this time period numbers weren't really busy but could of been worse so all not bad but could better in this aspect but this might be all retail in general especially Middle/High End high street but comparing it to there other brands like Sports Direct, USC, Flannels etc they seem busier. It will be interesting to see what happens with Arcadia ironically Debenhams used to be owned by them as well how the mighty have fallen but it will go two ways in my opinion with them either closed completely or split up with some maybe closed as I don't see in this climate any business taking over the full business as there are a lot of shops in that group which will be a lot of money and debt.
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Post by mkay315 on Dec 4, 2020 0:46:40 GMT
if you recall Mike Ashley tried to buy Debenhams not long after he acquired HoF, but it was rejected and he declared he was not interested in the business anymore. JD pulled out because of the collapse of Arcadia, not because they had no confidence in Debenhams as a business. The problem with Debenhams is that they have too many concession brands and not enough in house owned brands, which ultimately left them vulnerable to other high street closures. I think Ashley will end up buying some parts of Arcadia like Topshop, Topman and Burton that will be better fits for expanding HoF, potentially into some of the empty Debenhams stores. Picking off Arcadia would make sense for Frasers Group as they pick and choose what they want and tailor it to better suit them. USC would in my opinion be an excellent fit with Burton as a partner brand rather than Dorothy Perkins. In my opinion Debenhams would have gone eventually, it’s just the pandemic sped up the process. Do I think they were wrong to turn down the offer from Sports Direct at the previous administration, yes, but then hindsight is 2020 and they couldn’t have predicted the effects of the pandemic. I feel like this is a valuable lesson about being careful and that you may not know what could be seen in the foreseeable future. Somewhat similar to Blockbuster and Netflix (going off topic)
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Dec 4, 2020 1:09:37 GMT
And JD Sports buying Debenhams would of been interesting as especially there main brand JD Sports is rivals with Sports Direct who under the Fraser Group has been buying everything. JD themselves have also been on a buying spree off late buying rivals Footasylum well in the process and Exercise4Less which is a rival to it's JD Gym business too which they've been putting investment into. However first of all seems like the JD Sports and Sports Direct are going down different angles JD sticking with the mainly sporty and outdoor scene. Whilst Sports Direct are trying to get a bit of everything and have a conglomerate business under one roof. Which can been scene again when one walks into JD Sports and Sports Direct. Also seems like from the outside looking in Sports Direct subsidisers are doing better then JD's with Go Outdoors going into Administration, them closing Cloggs and also Millets and Blacks having there own issues and now the backing out of Debenhams. Compared to Sports Direct/Fraser Group not having much closures or issues except for the House of Fraser with originally 31 out of 58 meant to be closing but this has been scaled back to just 11 out of 58 closing with the ones closing being mainly due to disputes in rent due to the Administration period if I'm correct. However this might just be again because Sports Direct is the bigger business out of JD Sports in my opinion. But from having inside knowledge in working in one of these stores during this time period numbers weren't really busy but could of been worse so all not bad but could better in this aspect but this might be all retail in general especially Middle/High End high street but comparing it to there other brands like Sports Direct, USC, Flannels etc they seem busier. It will be interesting to see what happens with Arcadia ironically Debenhams used to be owned by them as well how the mighty have fallen but it will go two ways in my opinion with them either closed completely or split up with some maybe closed as I don't see in this climate any business taking over the full business as there are a lot of shops in that group which will be a lot of money and debt. The huge issue is when you start liquidation it's a death knell, it's basically the red light to anyone who wants to buy the company. Many smart companies at this point just wait for the liquidation to be over and help themselves to any remaining assets such as empty stores and stock that was unsold by the supplier. When Woolworths went under I remember WHSmith stocking a lot of their stationery. The only reason someone will step in at liquidation would be to save staff jobs, but quite frankly that's only going to be done by someone who has a bigger heart than a business minded brain and there's never anyone like this around. It's quite mad to think that if Ashley did buy Debenhams that it is unlikely to have got to this stage, it's been mentioned hindsight is a wonderful thing. But Ashley has also said House of Fraser's problems are terminal if it wasn't merged with Debenhams at the time, so let's see how that goes. I wouldn't be surprised to see him pick up a lot of the empty stores and turn them into the luxury Frasers stores that he was proposing. It will be sad seeing the empty Debenhams store on Oxford Street if that time comes. I'm probably biased because I worked there but hands down it was the best looking building along that road. It had a presence on the road, alongside the other huge department stores that it was next to its shoes will probably never be filled adequately. I honestly cannot think of anyone who will want a unit of that size, anyone who would has probably got a store on Oxford Street already. Not to mention there is now a very real chance of the huge TopShop store on Oxford Circus standing empty too, not to mention Forever21 is still sitting there abandoned too. Oxford Street may never be what it once was.
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Post by vjaska on Dec 4, 2020 1:50:37 GMT
It's clear the pandemic sped up Debenhams decline but I don't think anyone for certain could say when it's demise would of come and if a deal with Mike Ashley who was the most interested buyer after JD Sports late arrival and someone renowned for turning around ailing shops wouldn't of happened. His attention has suddenly been turned elsewhere due to the tasty option of potentially acquiring Arcadia and JD Sports shareholders had misgivings over taking over a business they had no experience in. For me, if there wasn't a pandemic, Debenhams would of been eventually been brought by Ashley and really should of sold it to him before at the £150m he offered - why they thought they would get £300m for a ailing business is what people and staff should be asking for as the potential to save a chunk of jobs was always there. if you recall Mike Ashley tried to buy Debenhams not long after he acquired HoF, but it was rejected and he declared he was not interested in the business anymore. JD pulled out because of the collapse of Arcadia, not because they had no confidence in Debenhams as a business. The problem with Debenhams is that they have too many concession brands and not enough in house owned brands, which ultimately left them vulnerable to other high street closures. I think Ashley will end up buying some parts of Arcadia like Topshop, Topman and Burton that will be better fits for expanding HoF, potentially into some of the empty Debenhams stores. Picking off Arcadia would make sense for Frasers Group as they pick and choose what they want and tailor it to better suit them. USC would in my opinion be an excellent fit with Burton as a partner brand rather than Dorothy Perkins. In my opinion Debenhams would have gone eventually, it’s just the pandemic sped up the process. Do I think they were wrong to turn down the offer from Sports Direct at the previous administration, yes, but then hindsight is 2020 and they couldn’t have predicted the effects of the pandemic. I think you misread me slightly - yes, one of the reasons was Arcadia's collapse but rather than myself saying they had no confidence in Debenhams business, what I said was the shareholders at JD Sports were not comfortable with taking on a business that JD Sports had no experience in - they have never sold non clothes items and the shareholders were not particularly interested in changing that currently. You are right in why Debenhams failed and it's pretty match their lack of adaptation just like Arcadia whereas someone like Next is doing reasonably well in comparison especially with their online service. Ashley has on record said he wants the whole Arcadia business but will probably end up with bits due to Green's lack of willing to sell it to him - again like Debenhams, he doesn't really have a choice and should flog the lot to him. Pandemic or no pandemic, Debenhams was declining and yes hindsight is a wonderful thing as your rightly mention but the chance to recoup some value and effectively save a business from going under should of went through their brain instead of greed thinking how much we can profit from this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 7:44:53 GMT
if you recall Mike Ashley tried to buy Debenhams not long after he acquired HoF, but it was rejected and he declared he was not interested in the business anymore. JD pulled out because of the collapse of Arcadia, not because they had no confidence in Debenhams as a business. The problem with Debenhams is that they have too many concession brands and not enough in house owned brands, which ultimately left them vulnerable to other high street closures. I think Ashley will end up buying some parts of Arcadia like Topshop, Topman and Burton that will be better fits for expanding HoF, potentially into some of the empty Debenhams stores. Picking off Arcadia would make sense for Frasers Group as they pick and choose what they want and tailor it to better suit them. USC would in my opinion be an excellent fit with Burton as a partner brand rather than Dorothy Perkins. In my opinion Debenhams would have gone eventually, it’s just the pandemic sped up the process. Do I think they were wrong to turn down the offer from Sports Direct at the previous administration, yes, but then hindsight is 2020 and they couldn’t have predicted the effects of the pandemic. I think you misread me slightly - yes, one of the reasons was Arcadia's collapse but rather than myself saying they had no confidence in Debenhams business, what I said was the shareholders at JD Sports were not comfortable with taking on a business that JD Sports had no experience in - they have never sold non clothes items and the shareholders were not particularly interested in changing that currently. You are right in why Debenhams failed and it's pretty match their lack of adaptation just like Arcadia whereas someone like Next is doing reasonably well in comparison especially with their online service. Ashley has on record said he wants the whole Arcadia business but will probably end up with bits due to Green's lack of willing to sell it to him - again like Debenhams, he doesn't really have a choice and should flog the lot to him. Pandemic or no pandemic, Debenhams was declining and yes hindsight is a wonderful thing as your rightly mention but the chance to recoup some value and effectively save a business from going under should of went through their brain instead of greed thinking how much we can profit from this. Now that Arcadia is in administration Philip Green has no choice over who parts of the business are sold to, it’s down to the administrators to decide how to get back creditors cash and not the company directors.
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Post by wirewiper on Dec 5, 2020 18:54:29 GMT
Open Access rail operator Grand Central resumed ist services from Bradford and Sunderland to London King's Cross on Thursday 3rd December. A reduced timetable is in operation and reservations are compulsory. There will be no catering on the trains.
There will be no service from Friday 25th December until Friday 1st January due to the closure of King's Cross station.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Dec 5, 2020 19:17:12 GMT
Arguable as to whether it's linked to the Pandemic or not, but Arcadia has collapsed into Administration tonight, as a result JD is expected to pull out of Debenhams rescue talks tomorrow meaning that Debenhams will be in extremely high risk of liquidating. Could be a very big bloodbath of a Christmas season. Debenhams has now gone into administration. The shops will remain open whilst the remaining stock is sold off, but if no buyer is forthcoming the entire chain will close with the loss of 12,000 jobs. I'm saddened, but I can't say I'm surprised. www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/01/debenhams-close-stores-jobs-department-store-jd-sportsThat's a pity. I often went there for jeans and shirts for example. Just the right quality at reasonable prices.
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Post by bus12451 on Dec 8, 2020 11:37:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2020 20:36:01 GMT
Looking more and more likely London will be heading into tier 3 in a week or so.
Personally not surprised after seeing how people acted during the so called lockdown. I went to Romford at the weekend and was surprised just how busy it was! I have seen photos of Oxford Street too and that was madness! Yes I know I was out so can't say much but I went to a few shops and came home, I was a hour max.
The worrying thing is the infection rate is high already, I imagine it will be even worse once the effect of pubs/ restaurants opening is realised.
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Post by Green Kitten on Dec 8, 2020 22:21:41 GMT
Glad to have a vaccine available for the vulnerable.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Dec 9, 2020 17:38:52 GMT
Glad to have a vaccine available for the vulnerable. I thought Matt Hancock would have had vaccine number 1
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