Zavvi folds...

Chat about stuff other than Transformers.
Cliffjumper
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Zavvi folds...

Post by Cliffjumper »

...and no-one really cares. Harsh to their staff, but that's another identikit overpriced entertainment store staffed by ill-informed students in the wall (unless it's the only toy store in town, was anyone upset about Woolworths?). The big chains have wiped out too many independants over the years, and now they've been done up the arse by online companies and supermarkets. At least the old biddy behind the counter in Sainsburys isn't going to quote a Q review at you when you buy something or go "huh-huh dude, Gavin and Stacey Kaiser Chiefs American Dad hardcore sold out Magners" to their similarly ugly, dreadlocked co-moron.

The more of these bastards topple, the more chance there is of high streets beign worth visiting instead of just being the same stuff you get on the internet, but more expensive and sold to you by some twat who thinks Taxi Driver is obscure.

Hands up anyone who actually bought anything in a Zavvi anyway...
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secretcode
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Post by secretcode »

And Zavvi is a?
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Post by electro girl »

secretcode wrote:And Zavvi is a?
I believe that was explained in the original post.
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Post by secretcode »

Ah. I see it now.

I have the same issues with Circuit City. Good thing they're almost gone.
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Grufflock
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Post by Grufflock »

As someone who works full-time for Zavvi, I'm a bit pissed the way things have been done. The company has been mismanaged from the get-go, and truly deserve this little bit of fun. After all, they told us on Xmas Eve. Bastards.

However, each and every person I work with (management excluded) have worked their ass off each and every day, so if you want to make generalisations Cliffjumper, feel free, but be aware I have no idea how I'm gonna pay my monthly bills in the current climate.

And yes. I'm furious at how my christmas has been well and truly wrecked.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Like I said, it's harsh on the staff, regardless of their competence (your branch would seem to be unrepresentative of the capability of employees - I'm talking about staff who think claiming Bowie CDs are in the classical section is somehow funny, who are too busy talking about their Wii to serve a queue, and that's just two instances that I remember - those two are from two different stores, one of which was in Taffy Land, and I've been in five unimpressive branches).

Zaavi and Virgin before them have steamrollered many other people (often more qualified people who know what they're talking about) about out of jobs (and business) in smaller stores, and generally contributed to the overpricing of entertainment media. It sucks that you're going to have to look for a new job at this time of year and everything, but I'm afraid your employers were dinosaurs operating in a cabal of overcharging, poor service and quick profits.

TBH, I don't think the credit crunch has done much more than move this forwards. Bricks-and-mortar stores are always going to be necessary because there are always going to be people who don't trust computers (however many condoms you sell) and think £12.99 is a fair price for a CD, but ever since the likes of WH Smith and Tescos rolled this into other stuff people want (and generally lowered prices to boot, something the likes of HMV, Zaavi etc. have been far, far too slow to respond to) the writing's been on the wall.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Music's one area where I see no point whatsoever in dealing on the high street -- even if a store's actually got something in I'm likely to want, it'll be slow to find and there are transport costs to go and look on the off-chance they have it. A few text box searches to find, and find at the best price, win every time.

DVDs are similar. WHSmiths, judging by recent experience, is basically a tax on people who don't plan ahead or can't use a computer.
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Grufflock
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Post by Grufflock »

Cliffjumper wrote:
I'm afraid your employers were dinosaurs operating in a cabal of overcharging, poor service and quick profits.
To be fair, I have nothing good to say about the company itself, and I was looking to get out anyhow. It's more the way that this has come around, and whilst we are not closed yet (merely in administration, which is we'll be dead in the water soon enough). The staff at ours have been mistreated on a daily basis. Last sunday, we started at 10 in the morning and left the store at half three the following morning attempting to start the campaign changes.

Would we have bothered if we knew this was coming? Hell no.

But we did what we could to try and keep our jobs. It annoys me when people think that we've got easy jobs and no knowledge of the products. Could not be further from the truth.

Ah well. Christmas beer here I come!
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Denyer wrote:WHSmiths, judging by recent experience, is basically a tax on people who don't plan ahead or can't use a computer.
This is basically how a lot of high street media sales seem to function -"Oh Christ it's Jim's birthday, I'd better go down town and buy him something! But where? Some big store where I don't have to think and there'll be a chart laid out with all the popular stuff!". Aside from that, a lot of impulse purchases that sound good without being able to compare to play/Amazon on the spot.

There's an independant in Southampton named Essential Music that somehow manages to stock more variety at better prices and with knowledgable staff who are capable of genuinely interacting with customers - that's more likely to get an impulse buy out of me, and it's more likely to keep them viable as they build up a customer base.

I've never seen the point of any town having three or four shops that deal primarily in DVDs, CDs or even computer games - they all have near-identical stock holdings and basically the same prices. None of them have any particular charm, even if you're a muso fan who likes the whole thing of going out and getting an album on release day. Even sales are a swindle - the same boxes of overstock shipped to each store, and often sold at the planned label price in a couple of months' time anyway.
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Post by CounterPunch »

Obviously sad on the people who work there, but tbh, if this eventually leads to customers getting better deals because it forces the companies to think "hang on just one second, maybe we're not selling because people cant afford" then I'm all for it.

There isnt a single thing sold in these shops you cant find cheaper online, 3 for £20 on DVDs for instance, you can DEFINITELY find those DVD's cheaper online, at play.com, but it is whether or not the cheapness outweighs the wait for the product.

My brother and I went in to HMV about 2 weeks ago, looking for a CD, £20, went in to Tesco, was £6.99, how on earth can anyone justify that?
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Post by Grufflock »

Tesco make a massive loss on the media in order to get you into the store to buy other items.
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Post by CounterPunch »

Grufflock wrote:Tesco make a massive loss on the media in order to get you into the store to buy other items.
Yes, but Tesco wont be in trouble of going out of business any time soon because of their unwillingness to provide decent prices, so in the end, they win.

And Tesco was just one example, if these stores want to stay in business they have to think about what they charge. Iron Man for example, 2-disc was £18 at my HMV, bought it for like £12.99 elsewhere, the place I bought it might be making a loss on the media, but at the end of the day, theyve got my sale, HMV havent.
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Post by Jetfire »

Cliffjumper wrote:...and no-one really cares. Harsh to their staff, but that's another identikit overpriced entertainment store staffed by ill-informed students in the wall (unless it's the only toy store in town, was anyone upset about Woolworths?). [/quote

Zavvi I celebrated (Seemed liem chav heaven to me and it was ****in g expensive compared to HMV otr amazon) but Wollies I felt like crying about. I literally spent every saturaday in my childhood in wollies spending hours picking out Transformers and hoping there would be there in 3 or 4 weeks when I have saved enough to buy them. I was happy reading the backs and tech specs. Sadly I didn't have much of a childhood really but that was one of the only fond memories I have.
The big chains have wiped out too many independants over the years, and now they've been done up the arse by online companies and supermarkets. At least the old biddy behind the counter in Sainsburys isn't going to quote a Q review at you when you buy something or go "huh-huh dude, Gavin and Stacey Kaiser Chiefs American Dad hardcore sold out Magners" to their similarly ugly, dreadlocked co-moron.
:up:
The more of these bastards topple, the more chance there is of high streets beign worth visiting instead of just being the same stuff you get on the internet, but more expensive and sold to you by some twat who thinks Taxi Driver is obscure.

Hands up anyone who actually bought anything in a Zavvi anyway...
Occasionally. Only at first when I realised Virgin hadn't changed their sign. Bunch of wankers generally. But where I lived I had to shop in croydon or Sutton because that was the only places where there was 'decent' shops to go to baring a train journey into London. I'm glad it's gone. It represented something wrong to me.
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Post by Jetfire »

CounterPunch wrote:Yes, but Tesco wont be in trouble of going out of business any time soon because of their unwillingness to provide decent prices, so in the end, they win.

And Tesco was just one example, if these stores want to stay in business they have to think about what they charge. Iron Man for example, 2-disc was £18 at my HMV, bought it for like £12.99 elsewhere, the place I bought it might be making a loss on the media, but at the end of the day, theyve got my sale, HMV havent.

To be fair to music shops if they sell CDs and DVDs at a loss, they have nothing but are giving cash away. If Tesco's do it they have just about everything you can imagine you require to physically live on to make money off. It's a bit unfair to compare there because how can music shops make money or even pay their staff if literally everything they sell is less then what they buy it in for?

Zavvi were shit (and virgin before them) but HMV often price things OK and regularly have brilliant sales.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Selling stock at a loss doesn't cover a £13 discrepancy. Tescos do sell some stuff at a loss, and other items at a minimal gain (most retailers make pennies on cigarettes, for example - while I'm kept away from exact figures, I'm reliably informed that in most shops if you go in and buy a packet of fags and some chewing gum, the retailer is making more from the gum than the fags). However, they're not going to gain that much on a basket of shopping, not reliably enough times to offset a £13 loss.

Essential Music, who I mentioned earlier, have an extensive stock of £6/7 back catalogue albums - you know the sort of thing, used to be called 'mid price'. Same CDs were always £9.99-10.99 in HMV/Zaavi. That's an independant retailer with, what, three Hampshire outlets (might be two, actually, I can never remember). You mean to tell me they have bigger spending power than a high street chain? You could argue they have smaller overheads thanks to a relatively poorly located and small (but well-laid out) store, but then that's kinda the point. They can also pick and choose staff, meaning they end up with a handful who know their stuff, rather than a handful who know their stuff and a dozen others who might as well be working in McDonalds.
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Post by Denyer »

Grufflock wrote:Tesco make a massive loss on the media in order to get you into the store to buy other items.
Not convinced, as Amazon sell out at basically the same prices but it's the entire thrust of their business.
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Post by CounterPunch »

Jetfire wrote:It's a bit unfair to compare there because how can music shops make money or even pay their staff if literally everything they sell is less then what they buy it in for?
Tesco was merely one example, I could go in to any store that sells CD's or DVD's (including independant CD shops) and find theyre cheaper than HMV in every way, I can buy 3 DVD's from HMV for 20 quid or buy the same for 15 from Sainsburys (providing they have the titles) so in the end all I'm paying more for is a wider selection of choices in the sale.

And to balance it out and not compare to a supermarket, I went in to a music shop and bought 4 CD's for 8 quid each, I then went in to Zavvi, 1 of the CD's they didnt stock, it wasnt sold out, they simply didnt stock it (and theyre not some obscure band either) and the other 3 cost £12, £16 and £17 each.
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Post by Grufflock »

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not say Tesco lose 13 pounds per cd, but they do lose money on CD's and DVD's. It's an way to get people in.

Neither am I championing Zavvi. At least when it was Virgin, it didn't have a self-righteous arrogent streak a mile wide that pissed on it's employees. As mentioned before, I've been looking for a way out.

Best way to put it is this: Two years ago, having a job with this idiots was better than the dole.

A year ago it was slightly better.

Now: Ah well. Less former figures.
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Post by Denyer »

Except not all retailers command the same wholesale unit costs -- and most suppliers (with good reason) won't state what their wholesale prices for competitors are. On the online side of things, Amazon in particular aren't liked by suppliers because the choice is often between taking a cut or not having use of them as an outlet; it's a smaller version of the problem faced with chains such as Wal-Mart.
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Post by Jetfire »

Shoulda known:

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