Hollywood Empire

tuxedo

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to start up a new business in Limerick. I'm trying to track down the guy that owned Hollywood empire in workspace/Thomas st. He had a couple of things that I'm struggling to find suppliers for!! Does anybody know this guy or what he has moved onto?? All help appreciated!!

Cheers,

Tux

bullets

Did not know the guy myself other than calling into him a few times
looking at stuff. Not sure if that guy ever managed to sell on his stock
he may have Loads of it lying about the place.

Are you setting up a shop/business that sells similar items ?
Would love to see another forbidden planet/Gadgety/movie/model/weird and wonderful knick knack types of places open up here.

unfortunately most places like this that open a physical bricks and mortar store usually have completely overpriced items and always got them impression they struggled to stay open. Would be cool though!


~B

Kess73

bullets wrote: »

Did not know the guy myself other than calling into him a few times
looking at stuff. Not sure if that guy ever managed to sell on his stock
he may have Loads of it lying about the place.

Are you setting up a shop/business that sells similar items ?
Would love to see another forbidden planet/Gadgety/movie/model/weird and wonderful knick knack types of places open up here.

unfortunately most places like this that open a physical bricks and mortar store usually have completely overpriced items and always got them impression they struggled to stay open. Would be cool though!


~B

Yep overpriced is being mild to be honest.

I tried using the Gathering for Graphic novels for a few years but their prices are/were a total joke.

Even taking currency conversion and P&P into account, I could order the same stuff from the UK for anything between half to a third of the price.


I loved the Forbidden Planet store that was in Limerick years ago, and when that shut there was a little coffee shop/comic place on Denmark street if memory serves right that had a blonde girl running it who was simply stunning.

PJTierney

Right now all I can think of is The Gathering on Lower Gerald Griffin Street.

source

Kess73 wrote: »

there was a little coffee shop/comic place on Denmark street if memory serves right that had a blonde girl running it who was simply stunning.

Biblios, great little spot.

Kess73

foinse wrote: »

Biblios, great little spot.

That the one. Could not think of the name.

hightower1

Not quite sure if he used to just re sell or have the same supplier as www.battleorders.co.uk but they used to (I cant check the site from my current location) stock the same stuff as himself. (movie replicas wise)

Would love to see another shop like this open up, would be a great hit for christmas. The sort of customer you'd get in there would be repeat business and friendly to deal with too. Always loved the atmoshpere in hollywood empire or forbidden planet, they'd take it as a compliment if you were browsing and not an insult.


Might also be an idea to just go to the polish shop thats there now, just be friendly and ask if they would mind letting you know who the landlord is? If you can contact them and just be honest, let them know your looking to set up a business similar to one that was in that unit and your aware all past tenant records are confidential but if they wouldnt mind forwarding on your contact details to him? Even better if they have offices in the city and just ask politely face to face?
Hope you manage to get it going anyway. A mate of mine used to work in forbiden planet and may know some supplier sources, will send him on the link to this thread and see if he can help too.

RonMexico

I don't want to put a downer on this thread but...

Hollywood Empire - Closed
Biblios - Closed
Forbidden Planet - Closed


That should tell you all you need to know about the viability of such a business in Limerick.

Kess73

RonMexico wrote: »

I don't want to put a downer on this thread but...

Hollywood Empire - Closed
Biblios - Closed
Forbidden Planet - Closed


That should tell you all you need to know about the viability of such a business in Limerick.

Probably true alright.

Galway, Cork, Dublin etc all seem to be able to have stores that cater for the market, but Limerick never seems to be able to cater for the same markets for one reason or another.

What I have found from personal experience is that the Limerick stores that were there in the past were always much more expensive for the same things than stores in the locations I mentioned, and those locations were again more expensive than online.

Funny thing is that there is a comic/games/model shop in the Paul Street mall in Cork, and I have often ran into Limerick folk when I have been there, and the same has happened many times in the Galway store as well.

bullets

I dont own any comics, Cant stand dice rolling tabletopgaming, hate Larping and
other sorts of roleplay, usually dont go for the cheap nasty crude fantasy swords and kit rae ****e,
but I do have a fondness for painting models, and have a compulsive habit of collecting
stuff and LOVE these type of shops. Went through a phase when the Lord of the Rings films
came out of collecting polystone busts from Weta/Sideshow, (even bought a sword) and bought
hundreds of those Lord of the rings 25mm models to paint, and got into a hobby of painting
and making terrain even though I hated and had no interest in the gameplay element of the hobby.

What may survive is a nice big shop for freaks n geeks!
and arty types, something that takes the sterotypical elements from cross-over interests of nerdy/arty types.

Forbidden Planet had Comics/Graphic Novels, Movie, sci-fi stuff. And sold art from people that drew and painted.

The Gathering has models, Railway/Train stuff, warhammer gaming thing.

M sign had craft materials like balsa wood, foamcore that other model /gaming stores did not stock. But was used
by model makers and gamers.

O'Mahoneys had graphic novels at one stage.

Hollywood empire had movie/tv memorbillia, fantasy swords etc. Collectables.

Easons and Empire music were the places to go if you
wanted Posters years ago.

MMmaad and the other head shops sometimes had unusual cool gadgets unfortunatly they also attracted
stoners and scumbags looking for legal highs, fluffy steering wheels, crossbows, and Elvis mirrors.

If all these were combined (without the headshop element) into one store it may attract enough interest to stay open and make some money.

In Cork I think it was forgotten Realms that that sold
all sorts of comics/board games/warhammer/lord of the rings/swords/chess sets/TV/Manga stuff and also was
a web cafe. Although the store is CRAP now compared to years ago, its survived and is still going strong.

There was a Magic Store in Galway that survived for years
selling Science stuff like the levitating spinning tops, slinkys, arty stuff, holograms, magic tricks and other weird toys. Not sure if its still open or not.

Galway had a gaming/model store which was tiny in what
looked like a desserted shopping center, it was the only place I could find (not online) that had a healthy supply of
Model Metal used to cast things, and was always busy with
customers.

Dublins forbidden Planet was fantastic and the Games workshop is almost cult like with is regulars and is a gold mine.

~B

Kess73

bullets wrote: »

I dont own any comics, Cant stand dice rolling tabletopgaming, hate Larping and
other sorts of roleplay, usually dont go for the cheap nasty crude fantasy swords and kit rae ****e,
but I do have a fondness for painting models, and have a compulsive habit of collecting
stuff and LOVE these type of shops. Went through a phase when the Lord of the Rings films
came out of collecting polystone busts from Weta/Sideshow, (even bought a sword) and bought
hundreds of those Lord of the rings 25mm models to paint, and got into a hobby of painting
and making terrain even though I hated and had no interest in the gameplay element of the hobby.

What may survive is a nice big shop for freaks n geeks!
and arty types, something that takes the sterotypical elements from cross-over interests of nerdy/arty types.

Forbidden Planet had Comics/Graphic Novels, Movie, sci-fi stuff. And sold art from people that drew and painted.

The Gathering has models, Railway/Train stuff, warhammer gaming thing.

M sign had craft materials like balsa wood, foamcore that other model /gaming stores did not stock. But was used
by model makers and gamers.

O'Mahoneys had graphic novels at one stage.

Hollywood empire had movie/tv memorbillia, fantasy swords etc. Collectables.

Easons and Empire music were the places to go if you
wanted Posters years ago.

MMmaad and the other head shops sometimes had unusual cool gadgets unfortunatly they also attracted
stoners and scumbags looking for legal highs, fluffy steering wheels, crossbows, and Elvis mirrors.

If all these were combined (without the headshop element) into one store it may attract enough interest to stay open and make some money.

In Cork I think it was forgotten Realms that that sold
all sorts of comics/board games/warhammer/lord of the rings/swords/chess sets/TV/Manga stuff and also was
a web cafe. Although the store is CRAP now compared to years ago, its survived and is still going strong.

There was a Magic Store in Galway that survived for years
selling Science stuff like the levitating spinning tops, slinkys, arty stuff, holograms, magic tricks and other weird toys. Not sure if its still open or not.

Galway had a gaming/model store which was tiny in what
looked like a desserted shopping center, it was the only place I could find (not online) that had a healthy supply of
Model Metal used to cast things, and was always busy with
customers.

Dublins forbidden Planet was fantastic and the Games workshop is almost cult like with is regulars and is a gold mine.

~B

Don't forget that there is a decent model shop just off of the end of Oliver Plunkett street in Cork too, which does decent business and attractsquite a few people from Limerick as it has a much bigger range of models than the Gathering ever had and is a bit cheaper.

phill106

Kess73 wrote: »

Don't forget that there is a decent model shop just off of the end of Oliver Plunkett street in Cork too, which does decent business and attractsquite a few people from Limerick as it has a much bigger range of models than the Gathering ever had and is a bit cheaper.

That would be marks models i think

Kess73

phill106 wrote: »

That would be marks models i think

That's the place.:)

source

Kess73 wrote: »

That's the place.:)

Kess, starting to get a bit worried about you. Getting a bit forgetful in your old age? :D

campo

A lot of my friends are huge into warhammer and I know for a fact they are not too fond of going to the gathering ( they dont get along with owner ) so if a new store opened with warhammer stuff for sale I believe there would be a business in this.

Myself if there was Marvel collectables for sale I would defo be in there buying this.

Kess73

foinse wrote: »

Kess, starting to get a bit worried about you. Getting a bit forgetful in your old age? :D

It's living in the same area as Raiser that has my poor mind in tatters.

tuxedo

Yeah guys thanks for the replies. Basically I'm hoping for model figures / collectors items on the likes of tv/cartoon characters. Simpsons, toy story, horror movies, also famous celebrity items like Ali and bond items. I've also decided that I'll have a area for backpacks and bags. I'm in discussions with Disney distributors and also WWE. I've recently got the go ahead from Ed Hardy to supply me with a range of backpacks so things are slowly getting there!! I have a problem with some of the suppliers for movie memorabilia, they are very expensive, so that's why I wanted to get try find Hollywood empire guy!!

Thanks!!

bullets

Cool, Good Luck with the venture. Nice to hear of news
of maybe a new place opening.


~B

hightower1

Any ideas on a location yet? Would like to keep an eye out for it.

(Oh I remeber hollywood empire stocked these too, dropped a few hundred on one cause they are so awsome! Might wanna consider it.. www.force-fx.com)

Wetbench4

tuxedo wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to start up a new business in Limerick. I'm trying to track down the guy that owned Hollywood empire in workspace/Thomas st. He had a couple of things that I'm struggling to find suppliers for!! Does anybody know this guy or what he has moved onto?? All help appreciated!!

Cheers,

Tux

Fair play for having the balls to start a company, i hope it does well and takes off for you.

steveon

Andy was the guy who owned and ran Hollywood empire, he used to sell at the carboot that was held in Thomas street, that moved down to Barringtons carpark but I havent been there since it moved, so Im not sure if hes down there or not.

There is also a guy living in Pallaskenry in Co.Limerick that sells the same merchandise but again he's exact address slips me mind

I do know where the house is....in the housing estate at the end of the town...called An Curran think its no 5-6 on rite hand side...might be worth asking on the county board.

tico1300

hi tux, i know andy (hollywood empire) spoke to him earlier & told him to check out your thread & he should get in touch with you

topdollar

hey Tux , this is Andy , I used to own Hollywood Empire .. what you looking for ?

topdollar

RonMexico wrote: »

I don't want to put a downer on this thread but...

Hollywood Empire - Closed
Biblios - Closed
Forbidden Planet - Closed


That should tell you all you need to know about the viability of such a business in Limerick.

sad but true , small retailers pay higher prices to mid level suppliers for small quantities of merchandise and shipping in , also mostly in sterling which is a killer .. wish I could have stayed open but the market faded and rent, rates, insurance , electric, internet , phone and actually paying myself something each month didn't get easier , overheads will destroy your soul ... some days were busy , some where no one came through the door .. but thats running a business in Limerick ...

as i have a chance to say something here, all those who went through the doors at my shop deserve thanks for keeping something different alive in Limerick city , and it was cool to just chat movies with the lads all day ... cheers...

ps - a few ads on adverts if anyone is interested ..

bullets

You must have a small fortune of a collection!
I remember a full scale Sauron Helmet at one stage
which would fetch a pretty penny.

Even a lot of the UK online Stores that sell stuff like this are
expensive, Dont know how the existing shops in Ireland survive. Lot of stuff I bought over the years I ordered from the states or china and it was a little easier on the pocket than the UK.

Anyone remember this guy in the UK, he ran out of
space at home! (I've currently two rooms in my house that are taken over with stuff I've collected need to try and stop
buying stuff)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207198/Movie-buff-sell-amazing-1m-collection-memorabilia-huge-storage-cost.html


~B

topdollar

bullets wrote: »

You must have a small fortune of a collection!
I remember a full scale Sauron Helmet at one stage
which would fetch a pretty penny.

Even a lot of the UK online Stores that sell stuff like this are
expensive, Dont know how the existing shops in Ireland survive. Lot of stuff I bought over the years I ordered from the states or china and it was a little easier on the pocket than the UK.

Anyone remember this guy in the UK, he ran out of
space at home! (I've currently two rooms in my house that are taken over with stuff I've collected need to try and stop
buying stuff)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207198/Movie-buff-sell-amazing-1m-collection-memorabilia-huge-storage-cost.html


~B

Hey Bullets

I have 3 Sauron Helms left but think I will be keeping one for myself

RonMexico

topdollar wrote: »

sad but true , small retailers pay higher prices to mid level suppliers for small quantities of merchandise and shipping in , also mostly in sterling which is a killer .. wish I could have stayed open but the market faded and rent, rates, insurance , electric, internet , phone and actually paying myself something each month didn't get easier , overheads will destroy your soul ... some days were busy , some where no one came through the door .. but thats running a business in Limerick ...

as i have a chance to say something here, all those who went through the doors at my shop deserve thanks for keeping something different alive in Limerick city , and it was cool to just chat movies with the lads all day ... cheers...

ps - a few ads on adverts if anyone is interested ..

Hey good to know you are still kicking:D Bought many an item off you back in the day. I know that business conditions in Limerick are dire so I feel your pain regarding rates and overheads. Its a shame that shops like yours and many others had to go.

Good luck with whatever you're doing now anyway.

anti_c

:)open a shop in limerick city is DOOMED better of drink your money in cork city

Imbatman

Hi folks,i used to work in forbidden planet patrick st,and think i kept the shop going with the amount of stuff i bought in roches st but unfortunately it closed due to rent rates etc,the owner of the store was a scottish fella named kenny who had a sweet deal with the gap jeans shop,he was rent free but had a falling out over something stupid and moved whole lot out to roches st and only lasted a few years,some sound people came in and worked there,tracey,shay,etc,and des...rip dessie.fair play andy for staying open as long as you did,for a few years now i have wanted to open a shop in town but saw how tough overheads are and have fought the urge...so far a mate is interested in starting up and was saying about splitting the bills but even then its a tough option.We all could do with another comic/toy/hobby shop here again.

KerranJast

Would it be worth your while checking out Castletroy as a location? There's a glut of empty commercial places near the University who I suspect would be prime Market for your products.
There's one spot in particular next to BOI across from the main UL gates that's vacant.

Imbatman

no if i were to do it i would stay in town,castletroy is struggling just as bad as in town but my pal would be doing a 50/50 and seeing as he has an established business already i would be getting a rent free deal and do profit sharing with him which would work out a lot healthier financially for me,i understand what you are saying about u.l but students dont have a lot of expendable income and summer months would finish the shop as you would have 12 weeks of struggling to make a sale.

topdollar

Forbidden Planet rocked they had a cool file system there so you could put stuff away for a week or two before buying , i know coz i had one great store , and cool people worked there .. town is full of Euro shops right now , its a pity, but I know from experience that the overheads are still stuck in the boom years, landlords won't give breaks.. and rates are a joke , thousands for what !! hope HMV don't go , they are fighting to stay alive in UK ...

kiersm

Would luv to see sumwhere like this open in Limerick the OH is a WoW player and the only way to get any stuff for him is to go to Other Realms in Cork and that can be a pain sumtimes.

I tried using the Gathering but the guys in there were soooooo unhelpful and i wasn't impressed with them.

Imbatman

i always believed if you looked after customers they would look after you,when i sold comics privately on ebay or donedeal etc i always threw in something extra for free,backing boards,comic bags,extra comics,it kept everyone happy and people always came back.would there be a steady demand though in town for a new shop?????

brianregan09

Best of luck with opening you're new shop dude if it happens just to let you know i'll be in there weekly if you do marvel graphic novels , Love going up to forbidden planet in dublin such a long trek though and you can't get hardly anything in Easons or O Mahoneys anymore

Imbatman

cheers brian,seriously thinking about it,would like it to be a mix of forbidden planet/dublin city comics/biblios.a relaxed athmosphere and friendly helpful staff.

kiersm

Have to say that sounds like a very cool shop, wud luv that. I used to order stuff up from Cork and always went back cos i found the staff there to be so helpful

brianregan09

Making the trek to Forbidden planet tommorow, do it once every 3 months or so love the place up there, Thats the thing you'd have going for ya there is flip all interesting inside in town nowadays i try to avoid it like the plague i do make the very odd trek into easons but after the last few times its not even worth you're while, i think with the likes of Green Lantern, Thor , Iron Man and soon Captain America hopefully all been big succeses and becoming main stream characters beside Spiderman and Batman i think there probaly isn't a better time to open a comic/collectibles shop, Every time i go into FB in Dublin place is full of tourists too, the thing you've got to nail i think is gettin a good spot in town, think thats what killed FB in limerick eventually and hollywood empire most people who went in there were going in there specificlly, They weren't stumbling upon it if you get what i mean

Imbatman

Hi folks,looked into setting a similar type shop like andys,the overheads and start up costs are frightening,buying stock and having enough funds to survive even 6 months would be up to 30 grand,i would be putting a massive debt onto myself which i cant afford,my other option is to see about a friday stall at the indoor market and see how it pans out.my question is for the Limerick lads,would it be viable,is there still a demand for comics,graphic novels and toys

brianregan09

Where is the indoor market ? down at the milk market ? Well i'd be down to you for new trade paper backs at least every 2nd week anyway without a doubt, And if you got in stuff like Forbidden planet have (movie,videogame,comic toys id buy that off ya too, so theres 1 customer and also it sucks awfully that it cost so much to just set up not worth the risk even but a stall im all in for

aN.Droid

How did I miss this thread?

I used to spend every penny I had in Hollywood empire when I was a teenager. Card games used to bleed me dry! However I would love to see somewhere like it open up again.

I would love to buy graphic novels locally rather then traveling or finding them online. If you did the stall, I think ti would give you an idea of the demand you might see if you open up a bricks and mortar. However the market is very early and I don't know if most of your possible clientel would be around at those times. I would. But that's just me!

I don't know how much the stalls are going for but if it's not too much I say go for it!

Mc Love

Having a market stall is quite a good idea!

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy

Can't believe I forgot Hollywood Empire! Would defiantly go down to the market to check that out! Know a good few people who would as well.

kiersm wrote: »

I tried using the Gathering but the guys in there were soooooo unhelpful and i wasn't impressed with them.

oh stop, they're very bad! Last time I went in there my friend was asking about Warhammer, he was just "mm yeah yeah no mm well now *obscene about of money* yeah...mmmmm *showing boxes of things he wasn't asking for* yeah yeah yeah" and kept starring at me, I had to leave (・´ｪ`・)

topdollar

thanks to Sera and Limericks for supporting Hollywood Empire when I had it again thanks to all that helped keep it going... sadly town is in bad shape for retail more than ever .. hope in time it gets better , an indoor market sounds cool ... Andy

phill106

Maybe you can couple your market stall idea with a website? People could see all the stuff you have online, then could either order online or collect and pay in person. You would have a small selection of your stock in the stall each weekend of course to further advertise.

caspa307

yeah a website with laser payment option too please lol, but seriously if theres a store or stall id be hugely intrested in buying pretty much everything that has been mentiond so far

whatdoicare

Dude, great idea setting up yr shop- you'll have a regular with me too if you get good comics and art supplies in
Also, word of advice, town is falling apart- the place with the most footfall is the crecent shopping centre- easy to get to and plenty of parking- also the most footfall of teenagers- who I assume will be a big part of your business.
Any big businesses in Limerick are moving out there.

Anbo

I hope this shop opens, I'd love to have a place in Limerick where I can get comics/graphic novels!! Best of luck with it!

aN.Droid

Any more on this? Really wishing there was a place to buy graphic novels, went into easons and o mahony's and walked out pretty much straight away.

Imbatman

Andy if you read this will you send me on a private mail i need to pick your brains on something.

brianregan09

Nice to see this bumped was there any movement on this ?