WH Smith to become TGJones
Discussion
I know a lot of businesses with "family business" sounding names may have very little to do with with the original family behind the business but how cynical does this seem?
I'm not clear if they could have kept using the WH Smiths name or not but I assume not so they had to come up with something.
Marketing masterstroke or utterly misguided?
I'm not clear if they could have kept using the WH Smiths name or not but I assume not so they had to come up with something.
Marketing masterstroke or utterly misguided?
Sporky said:
The name matters a lot less than what they do with the stores.
It's got people talking, which is the point. If that gets people in, good. If the stores stay dingy and disappointing then it'll have been for nothing.
Yeah I kind of get that part of it as I was in the one in our town the other day for a card and I don't get how they run a shop that size when there's about five people in it in the middle of the afternoon.It's got people talking, which is the point. If that gets people in, good. If the stores stay dingy and disappointing then it'll have been for nothing.
But it's interesting psychology about how I thought "I'll pop to Smiths" on the way into town.
Takes a while to build that kind of brand recognition IMO.
Why have they bought them, it's inevitable they are going to close down anyway. Plus I really cannot see them paying the money required to refurbish the stores so they don't look like they are from the year 200o with carpet patched up with tape.
I assume they are going to somehow milk as much money from it as possible before letting it fall into receivership?
I assume they are going to somehow milk as much money from it as possible before letting it fall into receivership?
They didn't buy the name. WHSmiths remains - just at airports and train stations only.
They were making some money (15% of the profits) from the town centre stores - but its decreasing... so how long Jones will survive is definitely uncertain. I'd imagine some large dividends paid with borrowed money and receivership in a few years time.
They were making some money (15% of the profits) from the town centre stores - but its decreasing... so how long Jones will survive is definitely uncertain. I'd imagine some large dividends paid with borrowed money and receivership in a few years time.
I assume the original Smiths is still running and keeping their exorbitantly priced shops in train stations and airports. The people who have bought the high street shops need a new name.
Agree with the above that they are very depressing and I don’t see any world where refurbishing them would be financially justified.
Agree with the above that they are very depressing and I don’t see any world where refurbishing them would be financially justified.
s p a c e m a n said:
I think that they've just bought all of the high street stores but not the name, all of the airport/train ones are staying WHSmith apparently.
The only ones that make any money. They occupy a parallel world where people are prepared to pay £2 for a tiny bar of dairy milk.The high street stores clearly make zero money, few people by buy magazines, newspapers or stationary any more, and even fewer people buy computer peripherals or batteries from WH Smiths.
It has to be a scam of some description involving tax write offs or milking any equity in the company. The buyer owns Hobbycraft, another business that can't make any money.
Sporky said:
I don't see it as a masterstroke, certainly. It's dull, and there's nothing behind it - neither heritage nor a compelling story.
My thoughts entirely. It can surely only be the brand recall that entices people into the decrepit stores so replacing that with something that means nothing can’t be a smart move. The Post Office will be heaving a sigh of relief.
When they moved loads of Post Offices into Smith's I'm amazed nobody asked "what happens if Smith's go bust?".
It was a high risk strategy as looking at the state of their stores they looked nailed on to follow Woolworth's, Wilco's, BHS, Comet etc.
This sale must give them a stay of execution.
When they moved loads of Post Offices into Smith's I'm amazed nobody asked "what happens if Smith's go bust?".
It was a high risk strategy as looking at the state of their stores they looked nailed on to follow Woolworth's, Wilco's, BHS, Comet etc.
This sale must give them a stay of execution.
Skodillac said:
Saw the headline elsewhere and immediately thought someone had released an April Fool early by accident.
Will be disappointed if someone at a tabloid doesn't come up with "Alas Smith turns Jones".
Till then only you, me and the Governor will know about it. It'll be our little secret.Will be disappointed if someone at a tabloid doesn't come up with "Alas Smith turns Jones".
I give it a couple of years. Cue ripped out dividends, limited investment put up as first ranking secured debt and then all the landlord and creditors will get shafted with a pre-pack admin to cleanse all previous sins. Standard PE play book.
Airport and train station WHSmith branded cash cow stores are now freed from the massive high street estate, employee and long term lease commitments which generated just a tiny fraction of earnings.
Would not want to be a WHSmith high street landlord...
Airport and train station WHSmith branded cash cow stores are now freed from the massive high street estate, employee and long term lease commitments which generated just a tiny fraction of earnings.
Would not want to be a WHSmith high street landlord...
They had already been closing a lot of high street stores. They were already in massive decline - newspapers and magazines are as good as dead, books are in decline, expensive stationary probably doesn't have much demand these days, just the post office franchises then really and greetings cards that you can get cheaper elsewhere.
I can't see this lasting long as they are mostly in declining high street locations and the discount tat market must be pretty saturated.
Rubbish name too... TGJones then, not to be confused with TJHughes
I can't see this lasting long as they are mostly in declining high street locations and the discount tat market must be pretty saturated.
Rubbish name too... TGJones then, not to be confused with TJHughes
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
The high street stores clearly make zero money, few people by buy magazines, newspapers or stationary any more
Not "few people", I've heard It's come to a complete stop 
.The only way this company makes money is from the monopoly they have at stations and airports where they charge £25 for a cheese and pickle sandwich and bottle of pop and people pay it because there is nowhere else. None of the non-station/airport shops are making any money because nobody will go there to buy a sandwich where there is an abundance of other eateries in the vicinity, and nobody goes there to buy biros or notepads either when every supermarket sells all that crap for buttons.
They'll be gone within a couple of years once they've been asset stripped.
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hstewie said:
hstewie said: But it's interesting psychology about how I thought "I'll pop to Smiths" on the way into town.
Takes a while to build that kind of brand recognition IMO.
Takes a while to build that kind of brand recognition IMO.
In Scotland many of their shops were previously owned by John Menzies until they were bought by Smiths in the 90s when JM divested from high street retail to concentrate on their logistics business; my parents' generation still call it Menzies 30 years later.Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff