NurembergVillan Posted March 26, 2012 Moderator Share Posted March 26, 2012 I'll go where I can get a product cheaper and if that's online then so be it. I think most people would do the same thing... Thats fine, until there is no more offline. And when that happens, what do you think willhappen with prices. Humans are fantastic at "short termism". Now, I appreciate, perhaps as a yoof, and hardcore gamer, you might have a "certain"perspective - you are both familiar with on line, are actually "on line", and perhaps have less disposable. But if you look at the typical Game store on a saturday, it's not just people like you. The next time you have a birthday, and your favourite uncle gives you a crappy present, its because he may have forgotten til the last minute, and when he went to buy you something, there was no where to buy it. Same with any parents who are buying the kid their first console, or young kids who "can't" shop on line. Anyone canwalk into game with a tenner and get something, even s/hand, but who under 16/18 can buy online without a paypal/bank account? Do you think your high St is poorer without a games shop? Or without all the music shops that went bust? Or that some of the 2.8m unemployed are ex woolies/zavvi/game staff? What frigtens me, is this appears the future of physical retail, and soon High st's will be dead urban spaces, simply as the likes of AMazon, Play simply occupy the far corner of some industrial unit hundreds of miles away. When you spend your £, you make the choice. Me, I no longer shop online unless it's totally neccessary, simply as I know what retail future I want. Ironic that you've written that on an Internet message board rather than writing a letter to Heroes and Villans or The Holy Trinity. Times change, consumers change. Shops have got to up the ante and offer people a reason to go in there other than to just buy stuff. If I want a transaction I'll do it online. If I want a service provided to me it's better in store. Places like Game, for me, are transactional. It's just somewhere I go to buy something. So I'll buy it from wherever is cheapest. If I need advice, like buying a bike or something else need advice on before I purchase, then I'll do it in person. Simples, as the computer-generated meerkat who sells online car insurance would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLN Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'll go where I can get a product cheaper and if that's online then so be it. I think most people would do the same thing... Thats fine, until there is no more offline. And when that happens, what do you think willhappen with prices. Humans are fantastic at "short termism". Now, I appreciate, perhaps as a yoof, and hardcore gamer, you might have a "certain"perspective - you are both familiar with on line, are actually "on line", and perhaps have less disposable. But if you look at the typical Game store on a saturday, it's not just people like you. The next time you have a birthday, and your favourite uncle gives you a crappy present, its because he may have forgotten til the last minute, and when he went to buy you something, there was no where to buy it. Same with any parents who are buying the kid their first console, or young kids who "can't" shop on line. Anyone canwalk into game with a tenner and get something, even s/hand, but who under 16/18 can buy online without a paypal/bank account? Do you think your high St is poorer without a games shop? Or without all the music shops that went bust? Or that some of the 2.8m unemployed are ex woolies/zavvi/game staff? What frigtens me, is this appears the future of physical retail, and soon High st's will be dead urban spaces, simply as the likes of AMazon, Play simply occupy the far corner of some industrial unit hundreds of miles away. When you spend your £, you make the choice. Me, I no longer shop online unless it's totally neccessary, simply as I know what retail future I want. There will only be no more shops if no one wants them. If that happens then no problem, no one wanted them. If people want to pay enough to pay for the extra service cost then they stay open. Simple. Personally I'm not bothered if "high street shops" close. I buy virtually everything online including food, clothes and even the flat I live in. The only retail experience I have is cafes/bars/restaurants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 That's easy to say when you live in London/Birmingham/Manchester though. Smaller market towns now have centres which are thoroughly depressing places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 I've also had 4 or 5 customers go out of their way to tell my manager how happy they were to be served by me, and a few of them have come back because of that. It was always nice when someone would leave the till after I'd served them and stopby the management that day on the way out to say I'd done good by them. I once got given a bottle of wine by the management at the restaurant I worked at for having a nice arse. It was policy that if anyone got mentioned by name (in a positive way of course) on a comment card that are left on all of the tables, that they got a free bottle of wine. This particular table were a bunch of women and all the comment card said was "Ben, our waiter, had a nice arse!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 That's easy to say when you live in London/Birmingham/Manchester though. Smaller market towns now have centres which are thoroughly depressing places. Yes, agree. I live in one of those towns and it is **** depressing. Actually, we have **** all here. It is not the thread to moan about it though but is down to the Council putting money here, where it is not needed and killing the high street by allowing applications from shops nobody wants or needs and not allowing those shops an application that would really be good for Newport and the surrounding areas. Asda want to come here, I went to the Council meeting and I was shocked how hard they made it compared to when I went for the Waitrose meeting and the atmosphere was different, the Council even put food on... Nayson, you saw my Nando's post if you understood the Island and how one chain of McDonalds is owned by somebody with Council buddies (not for here...) you'd see why there are so many McDonalds and the fact Nando's might come here is a fight in the right direction for us. I went into HMV in Southampton last week, picked up a few DVDs, Blurays and other bits, if I had bought them on the Island, it would have cost me £18 more... So basically, people on the Island shop online because a) we are ripped off and we are denied choice and c) unemployment is higher than the national average here and saving a few £££ plus free delivery is so much better for those here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sie Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Both my local GAME and Gamestation got closed yesterday (Washington branches) about an hour after I was in there. Ended on a high note though - picked up Rage: Anarchy Edition on PC for £9.98 from GAME then nipped to Gamestation 3 doors down and scored Dead Island Special Edition on PC for a mere £9.98. Both brand new. Some nice, friendly service from the staff to boot. I deliberately didn't bring up the administration because every other punter in there probably was and I'm pretty sure employees being constantly reminded of their imminent unemployment from customers isn't really a good thing. Btw, Dead Island. **** great fun. If you have it on PC, hit me up for some co-op. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Irish GAME stores start sit-in protest - list of closures confirmed The day after 277 GAME and Gamestation stores were shut by administrators at least one of them isn't taking the closures sitting down - or rather it is as staff refuse to hand over the keys. Yesterday staff from 13 of GAME's Irish stores threatened a sit-in protest over unpaid redundancies, and now several have made good on that threat. Ben Lamb O'Sullivan has been updating his Facebook page from the Monaghan branch, where former staff have been protesting that they were not giving the required 30 days notice before being made redundant. 'Just had an administrator at our door, ain't getting our keys! It's all official now!' says one Facebook update from O'Sullivan. Other staff in Ireland and beyond have also started to complain that administrators PwC intend to pay them only their standard March wages, with nothing extra for their notice period or any redundancy compensation. PwC has now confirmed that 277 GAME and Gamestation stores have been closed in the UK and Ireland, from a total of 610 last week. Around 2,104 people are believed to have been made redundant as a result. This is the full list of every single store that has been closed, as patched together by website RetailWeek. No further closures are expected this week, but the long term fate of the remaining stores is unknown. Abergavenny Unit 3 Cibi Walk, Frogmore Street Accrington 29 Broadway Aintree Comet Altrincham 97 George Street Andover 49 High Street Antrim Unit 42, Junction One Outlet Centre Ashford 18 County Square Ashington 12 Station Road, Ashington Ashton Unit 28, The Arcade Athlone Unit 44 Athlone Town Centre Aylesbury Units 36-37, Friars Sq. Shopping Centre Ballymena Unit 15 Fairhill Shopping Centre Banbury 4B Castle Quay Shopping Centre Bangor NI 9 Bloomfield Centre Barking Unit 17 Vicarage Fields Shopping Barnet Unit 10 The Spires Shopping Centre Barnsley 32 Market Street Barnstaple 30 High Street Barrow In Furness Unit 26, Portland Walk Basildon 84 Town Square Basingstoke 3 Mayfair House Bath SU7 St Lawrence Street, Southgate Centre Beckton 19 Gallions Reach, 3 Armada Way Belfast Unit 55 Castle Court Shopping Centre, Belfast Belfast (Conns) Unit 20, Connswater Centre Belfast (Forestside) Unit 12, Forestside Shopping Centre, Upper Galway Birkenhead 35-37 Milton Pavement, Grange Precinct Birmingham Unit 52, The Pallasades Birmingham 138 New Street Birmingham Fort Unit 3a The Fort Shopping Park Bishop Auckland 59 Newgate Street Blackburn Unit 7 Victoria Court, The Mall Blackpool Unit 19, Houndshill Shopping Centre Blanchardstown Unit 112, Blanchardstown Town Centre Bluewater LO42 Lower Thames Walk, Bluewater Bolton 37 Newport Street Bootle Unit 7, 63 Parkside, Strand Shopping Centre Boston 23 Strait Bargate Bournemouth Unit 4, Avenue Centre, Commercial Road Bournemouth 49 Commercial Street Bracknell 39 Princess Square Bradford Unit 2, The Broadway Bradford 4-6 Darley Street Brent Cross Unit B15, Brent Cross Shopping Centre Bridgend 12/14 Adare Street Bridlington Unit 11 The Promenades Brighton 69 Western Road Bristol SU16 Cabots Circus, Broadmead Bromley 68-68A High Street Burnley 68/70 St James Street Burton on Trent 7 Underhill Walk Bury 20 Princess Parade Buxton Unit 13, Spring Gardens Camden 124 Camden High Street Cannock 6 Market Hall Street Canterbury 14 High Street Cardiff 92 Queen Street Chatham 152 High Street Cheltenham 100 High Street Chester 39 Foregate Street Chesterfield 22 Vicar Lane Shopping Centre (10 Vicar Lane) Chiswick 350 High Road Cirencester 26, Cricklade Street Clacton on Sea 20-22 Station Road Colchester 3 Shewell Walk, (Unit 13 The Culver Centre) Coleraine 16 Kingsgate Street Collierswood Unit 9a Tandem Centre, Christchurch Road Congleton 45-47 High Street Cork 6 Mahon Point, Cork Cork 66 Patrick Street, , Cork, Eire, Coventry Unit 22, West Orchards Centre, Smithford Way Cowley 107 Pound Way, Templars Square Shopping Centre Cramlington 4 Dudley Court Crawley Unit 8, County Mall Crawley 10-12 The Martlets Crewe Unit 7, The Market Centre Croydon 98/99 Whitgift Centre Croydon (Purley Way) Comet Cumbernauld Unit 29, Antonine Shopping Centre, Tryst Road Dewsbury 12 Longcauseway Doncaster 43/44 Market Place Dorchester 55 South Street Dublin 2 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Eire, Dublin Unit 18, Ilac Centre, Dublin 1 Dublin (Dundrum) Unit 10, Level 3, Dundrum Centre, Dublin Dublin (Dundrum) Hamleys Dundrum Dublin (Liffey) Unit 37, Liffey Valley Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin, Dudley 7 Churchill Parade Dudley (Merry Hill) Unit L87, Merry Hill Shopping Centre Dumbarton 77/79 High Street Dundee 40 Murraygate Dunstable 6-8 Nicholas Way, Quadrant Shopping Centre, Dunstable, LU6 1TD Durham Unit SU40, Land Of The Prince Bishops Shopping Centre East Ham 111 High Street North East Kilbride 5 The Olympia, Town Centre Edinburgh 127 Princes Street Edinburgh (Leith) Unit RU4, Ocean Terminal Ellesmere Port 18 Mercers Walk Enfield 37 Church Street Enniskillen Unit 23, Erneside Shopping Centre Evesham Unit 16, Riverside Centre Exeter SU19 Princeshay Falkirk Unit 34, Howgate Centre Fleet 16 Hart Centre Gainsborough Unit 13b, Marshalls Yard, Gainsborough Galashiels Unit 8 Douglas Bridge, Galashiels Galway 5 Eglington Street Glasgow Unit L3/22 , Buchanan Galleries Glasgow Hamleys Glasgow Glasgow 146 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow 83 Sauchiehall Street Glenrothes 42 Unicorn Way Gloucester 16 Kings Walk Grantham 53 High Street Great Yarmouth Unit 10 Market Gates Shopping Centre Gretna Unit 53, Gretna Outlet Village Grimsby 24 Victoria Street West Halesowen 38 Hagley Mall, Cornbow Centre, Halesowen Halifax 12 Woolshops Hanley Unit F, The Potteries, Hanley Hanley 214-215 The Potteries Harlow 8 Broad Walk, Harlow Harrogate 2D Cheltenham Parade Harrow 68-70 St. Anns Road Hartlepool 92 Middleton Grange Shopping Centre Hastings 19 Queens Road Hemel Hempstead Unit 201, The Marlowes Shopping Centre Hemel Hempstead Unit 12, The Marlowes Shopping Centre Hereford 56 Commercial Street High Wycombe 16 Church Street Hounslow Unit 13, The Treaty Centre, High Street Hull Unit G46, Princes Quay Huyton Unit 5 Cavendish Walk, Derby Road, Huyton Hyde 8 The Square, Hyde Ilford 172 - 174 High Road Inverness 6-8 Ingliss Street Jarrow 25 Viking Precinct, Jarrow Kensington 185 High Street Kettering 27 Gold Street Kidderminster 82 Worcester Street Kingston 64-66 Clarence Street Lakeside Unit 282 Lakeside Shopping Centre Lancaster Unit 15, Ashton Walk, St. Nicholas Arcade Leamington Spa 83 Parade Leeds 50-52 Albion Street Leeds 18 Kirkgate Leeds (Birstall) Unit 8b Birstall Shopping Park Leeds (Crossgates) 58 Crossgates Shopping Centre Leeds (Crown Point) Unit 5b Crown Point Retail park Leicester 42 Granby Street Lewisham 68 Lewisham Centre Limmerick Unit 11A, Cruises Street, Limerick, Eire, Lincoln (Valentine) Unit 2a Valentine Retail Park Lisburn 6 Bow Street Lisburn Unit A10, Bow St. Mall Liverpool Unit 43/44 Clayton Square Shopping Centre Liverpool Unit 44, South John Street Llandudno 46 Mostyn Street Llanelli Unit 1, Llanelli Shopping Centre Long Eaton 10 Market Place Lowestoft 43 London Road North Luton 142-144 Andale Centre Luton 39 George Street Macclesfield 25 Mill Street Maidenhead 75 Queens Walk, The Nicholson Centre Maidstone 351 Chequers Centre Manchester Unit L16 Arndale Centre Manchester Unit 59, Arndale Centre Manchester (Trafford) 124 Peel Centre, Trafford Centre Mansfield 38A Westgate Meadowhall Unit 29, High Street, Meadowhall Shopping Centre Meadowhall Unit 52, High Street, Meadowhall Centre Melton Mowbray 14-15 Market Place, Melton Mowbray Merthyr Tydfill 4 Graham Way, Tydfils Shopping Centre Merthyr Tydfill Unit 3 Beacons Place Shopping Centre Metrocentre Unit 112 Lower blue hall, Metro Centre Middlesbrough 108 Linthorpe Road Middleton G14 Middleton Shopping Centre Milton Keynes Unit SU 10, Midsumer Place Monaghan Unit 27 Monaghan Shopping Centre Newark 9 St Marks Place Newbury 63A North Brook Street Newcastle 8 High Friars, Eldon Square Newcastle Fenwicks Concession Newcastle 78 Grainger Street Newport 13 Commercial Street Newport Isle Of Wight 63 High Street Newry Unit 12A, Buttercrane Shopping Centre North Finchley 776 High Road North Shields Comet Northampton 17 Abingdon Street Norwich 17 St Stephens Street Norwich 3-4 Castle Mall Shopping Centre Nottingham Unit 2, 33 Listergate Nuneaton 2A Market Place Oldham Unit 18, The Spindles Shopping Centre Omagh Unit 5, Main Street Development Orpington 79 - 81 The Walnuts, Orpington, BR6 0TW Perth 9 Scott Street Peterlee 21 Yoden Way Plymouth 81/83 New George Street Portadown Unit 6, High Street Mall Portsmouth 7 Meadow Walk, Cascades Shopping Centre Preston 8 Fishergate Centre Preston 172 Friargate Putney Unit 28, Exchange Shopping Centre Ramsgate 30 High Street Reading Unit 17 Oracle Shopping Centre Redcar Unit 8, Regent Centre Rhyl 64 High St Rochdale 54 Market Way Rugby 45-46 Clocktower Centre Runcorn 48 Forest Walk, Halton Lea Shopping Centre Salisbury 11 High Street Scarborough 112B Westborough Scunthorpe 58 High Street Sheffield Unit 22/24, Fargate Sheffield 37/41 The Moor Shrewsbury 3-4 Castle Street Skelmersdale UNIT 27 Upper Mall, The Concourse Shopping Centre Slough N21 Curzon Mall, Queensmere Centre Solihull Comet South Shields 89/91 King Street Southampton Unit SU8, West Quay Centre Southampton 82 Above Bar Street Southport 203 Lord Street Speke Comet St Albans Unit 32, The Maltings Stafford 21 Gaolgate Street Staines 54 High Street Stevenage 64 Queensway Stevenage 54 Queensway Stirling Unit 24, The Thistle Centre Stockport Comet Stockton-on-Tees Unit SU32, Wellington Square Stockton-on-Tees 134B High Street Stratford 88 The Mall Stratford upon Avon 13 Town Square Shopping Centre Sunderland 251 High Street Sunderland 27 Blandford Street Sutton 192 High Street Sutton Coldfield Unit SU7, New Hall Walk, Lower Sutton Parade Swansea 12 Union Street Swindon 9 Havelock Square, Brunel Shopping Centre Swindon 7 Regent Sreet Tallaght Unit 307, The Square Tamworth Unit 18, Ankerside Taunton 47 North Street Telford Unit 6, 159 New Mall, Telford Shopping Centre Telford 32 Sherwood Street, Telford Shopping Centre Torquay 5 Union House Truro Unit 2, 4/6 Pyder Street Uxbridge 13 Market Square Victoria 10 Victoria Place, Buckingham Palace Road Wakefield 17 Kirkgate Walsall 42 Old Square Shopping Centre Walthamstow Unit 11A, Selbourne Centre Wandsworth 61 South Mall, Wandsworth Shopping Centre Warrington 46 The Mall Washington Unit 30 Albany Mall, The Galleries Washington 26 Albany Mall Welwyn Garden City 21 The Howard Centre Wembley 458 High Road West Belfast Unit 4 Park Centre, Donegall Road Weston Super Mare 85 High Street Weymouth Unit 5, Bond Street Centre Wigan 23 Market Place Winchester 106A High Street Windsor 21 King Edward Court Woking 4 Middle Walk Wolverhampton 27 Dudley Street Wood Green 83 High Road Woolwich 112 Powis Street Wrexham 42-43 Hope Street Wythenshawe 18 The Birtles, Wythenshawe Yeovil 13-15 Vicarage Walk, Quedam Shopping Centre York Unit 3, 5 Spurriergate sauce Our Game survived then, but not the Gamestation. Thought they might both go tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogso Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Oh, and this 'offer' has appeared on ShopTo Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_c Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Why is Jim Bowen working at that store that's refusing to shut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sie Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Oh, and this 'offer' has appeared on ShopTo *Game card offer image* Heh. They pulled that after folk made a point that it was in pretty bad taste. ShopTo seem to be susceptible to unprofessional, lowest common denominator tactics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 I like ShopTo, generally, but they've been utter words removed with regards to Game's woes, that offer is the kind of thing that would make me less likely to want to use them. Blockbuster weren't much better, and they've nothing to crow about whatsoever. Anywho, pretty sad time at work, 6 hours of just boxing up everything - they want the shelves, phones, you name it. We spent 6 hours just clearing the shelves and boxing up stock for it to be checked out of our stocklist and then sealed up for shipment back to head office. The store looks sorry for itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 Incidentally the Irish stores doing sit-ins will achieve very little - nobody is getting redundancy, and thats that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 27, 2012 Moderator Share Posted March 27, 2012 I can understand them. The landscape is very different over here. We're near breaking point. Desperation levels are far higher in Ireland certainly than in GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 I can understand why they've done it (it appears that the company has broken Irish law), but basically it appears when administration comes knocking all bets are off. I mean we're not even offering refunds on faulty goods, you have to take it up with PwC, which is a curtailment of a basic consumer right. All they've achieved is withholding stock. And it's probably all they will achieve, because theres literally no money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1986 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Chindie, is there any hope in the management for the company to be taken over? I do feel GAME was incredibly overpriced, but I do have a 40 quid voucher which I want to spend.... Hope your job hunt goes well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 I couldn't tell you, management at Game Group is not that hot once you get above store management, as our predicament can attest, and we thus don't hear a whole lot from them. I do know that the administrators in charge reckon theres a chance a going concern in the company, the reason they dumped 40% of the company yesterday was to make the company more sellable, as well as more straight forwardly just to cut the costs. Theres rumours of a few interested parties, the guys who bought Comet, GameStop, lenders consortium... The only management I encounter a lot, my store manager, is out on his ear already like the rest of us at our store so theres not much hope in him... What I can tell you, and you probably won't be happy to hear, assuming by voucher you mean credit note/gift card, is that at this moment in time your voucher is worthless. It's not been voided - the value is still on it, but you cannot spend it. PwC suspended all the trade cards pretty much immediately. They have said they might reinstate them in the future, and there is a chance if someone does buy out what remains of the company and decides to basically restart the company, they may as a good will gesture let old trade card accounts be used. If you mean you have literally a voucher, I think they've been knocked on the head for time being too. Fingers crossed. (Though now I have no reason to be bright about the company, I'll say this - I'll be **** amazed if they let trade cards/gift cards and vouchers be used) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1986 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Yeah I found out about the shutting down a bit too late as I have had the voucher for ages, it's my fault but also i refused to use them for games i didnt want (was saving for new GTA) I do hope the store comes back but it needs to be more competitive. I feel sorry for children who have saved or been bought these cards for presents as it will only ruin their opinion on shops. I did feel it was in bad taste to both staff and shoppers that the stores were instantly closed without prior warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted March 27, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted March 27, 2012 I don't think anyone expected them to just shut a load of shops the moment administration was officially in place. Even our shop, which we knew was going to be closed, hadn't expected to get a call at noon saying to shut immediately. But you can see why PwC did it. All the staff in those stores were basically another cost to them, they wanted them shut as fast as possible to stop... well, the rot, as far as they're concerned. The talk has been they just looked at all the stores profitability and shut all of the stores the didn't believe matched up instantly. The cost cutting is further evident in our store pack up this week - they want it done by Friday, and no later, and they want everything packed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sie Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 You're still going to get paid for helping pack that shit away aren't you? I certainly know what I'd be doing if the answer is no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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