Peats 'World of Electronics' (partly) Closing

Jolly Days

dealt with peats for many years , not always the cheapest but always good to deal with.

tony.aspergers

Peats downfall was taking on the Sony Centre franchise. The problem with that franchise is that they were then forced to sell Sony products at the official RRP and could not therefore compete with anyone else. When this happens (always caused by the big names) things go wrong very quickly.

Another single branch big Dublin store is on the verge of having the same problem tonight, they are being forced to sell Canon products at the official RRP and are loosing out on competition too....

HellFireClub

tony.aspergers wrote: »

Peats downfall was taking on the Sony Centre franchise. The problem with that franchise is that they were then forced to sell Sony products at the official RRP and could not therefore compete with anyone else. When this happens (always caused by the big names) things go wrong very quickly.

Another single branch big Dublin store is on the verge of having the same problem tonight, they are being forced to sell Canon products at the official RRP and are loosing out on competition too....

Would this not be illegal and against competition law?

Nate--IRL--

HellFireClub wrote: »

Would this not be illegal and against competition law?

If it is a condition of a franchise I doubt it. Whether the franchise is a wise business decision though, is another matter.

Nate

tony.aspergers

Look at the UK. Lots of different electrical retailers including Sony Centres, yet prices way lower than what we pay here, far lower than the difference between the currencies and VAT rates as well. And these lower prices are at the trade end in the UK, which is not the case here, the single outlet Dublin retailer I referred to in my earlier post makes very little profit on Canon items, because the Canon Ireland price is so stupendously high to start off with.

As an example: Canon EOS 600D body - over here €749. In UK - £499.

Amalgam

Ooh, lemon juice and vinegar from some members..

You have to be from a certain age to realise how sterile Dublin was for shops that would get PC component items more or less within 1-3 days of the UK market release.

If you wanted a loose CPU or other itemed oddity, there and then, they were the place to go to, think back to the times of going into some outlet, say, looking for an upgrade, a Pentium 166 or similar, other street outlets would quote you prices that would literally cause you to burst out laughing. Choice was poor.

89/90.. I went through this phase of making my way back from school, into Dublin, then going to Peats to just stare, like a weirdo, at the freshly stocked Sony DAT (Digital Audio Tape) decks.. fantasizing. (the irony of recording Heavy Metal, from vinyl, onto DAT, was lost on me at the time..)

There is something to be said for high street shopping. Sad to see Peats join the list of graveyard outlets that made 'tech mooching' around Dublin streets a treat.

Harry Moore (Grafton Street and Dawson Street), Richer Sounds, Alliance Electric, Virgin Megastore Hi-Fi section (I used to go in and just stare in awe at their Nakamichi tape decks..) (instore and separate), Philips store.. [sniff]

the_syco

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

Elara and Komplett both have a physical presence in Ireland and employ staff.

Both in industrial estates far from the city centre.

=-=

As for costs, to get stuff here is UK + truck + boat. In the UK it's train + truck. Thus most things would be cheaper in the UK. I think the Guinness is cheaper in the UK, even though it's brewed here, which shows we really are being taken for a ride!

tony.aspergers

the_syco wrote: »

As for costs, to get stuff here is UK + truck + boat. In the UK it's train + truck. Thus most things would be cheaper in the UK. I think the Guinness is cheaper in the UK, even though it's brewed here, which shows we really are being taken for a ride!

But they sell everything at those UK prices up in Northern Ireland........so they should be cheaper than they are down here. No wonder the likes of Amazon are doing so well at the moment in Ireland!

Think they do brew Guinness somewhere in the UK these days, but might only be the canned version, not sure.

Richard

tony.aspergers wrote: »

But they sell everything at those UK prices up in Northern Ireland........so they should be cheaper than they are down here. No wonder the likes of Amazon are doing so well at the moment in Ireland!

Wage prices and rent are lower there.

Think they do brew Guinness somewhere in the UK these days, but might only be the canned version, not sure.

Guinness used to be brewed in Belfast and London, but afaik it's all brewed in Dublin these days, at least all the Guinness for the UK and Ireland.

Guy:Incognito

tony.aspergers wrote: »

The problem with that franchise is that they were then forced to sell Sony products at the official RRP and could not therefore compete with anyone else.

No they werent.

declanx

Sorry to hear about this. Feel for the people out of a job. One of the only places to stock Amiga/Commodore stuff. A landmark for the Dublin Tech community has passed.

Dec.

BarackPyjama

Sad to see them go from a nostalgia point of view and, of course, for those losing their jobs. However, like so many businesses, Peats failed move with the times. It's been a long time since their type of business needed to be bricks and mortar.

Nijmegen

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

They would in general have a smaller staff, and much lower overheads (for similar sized operations).

But that's the e-commerce business model: In a store you have a physical look at the product and can speak to a real person face to face as well as get your purchase instantly.

Buy online and you have to wait for delivery but generally get cheaper prices.

To be honest I think that niche stores will all be driven online in the years to come. If we look at Komplett they have generally cheaper prices and the delivery is free.

uncle_sam_ie

the_syco wrote: »

Both in industrial estates far from the city centre.

=-=

As for costs, to get stuff here is UK + truck + boat. In the UK it's train + truck. Thus most things would be cheaper in the UK. I think the Guinness is cheaper in the UK, even though it's brewed here, which shows we really are being taken for a ride!

Yeah, so what.

The Corinthian

the_syco wrote: »

I think the Guinness is cheaper in the UK, even though it's brewed here, which shows we really are being taken for a ride!

The price of alcohol is principally governed by excise taxes, which are much higher in Ireland than the UK. Prices in other industries are influenced instead by economies of scale (for example Irish magazines will be more expensive than UK ones because advertising revenue - which offsets price - is related to circulation, which naturally is much lower in Ireland). So price points are not all governed by the same thing.

It is always a pity to see a 'historical' company go bust, but that's life. Boom periods often mask flawed business models that only come to the fore when recessions hit.

Peats never really changed their business model with the times, from what I can see. They could have attempted to adopt newer retail models such as those employed by Argos or Saturn (major German IT discount store in much of Europe - don't know if it's around in Ireland), or at least borrowed aspects of those models. It could have gone down the Internet route in more than the rather tepid manner it did. It could have avoided costly franchising mistakes such as those suggested here by some posters.

But whatever the details, it didn't and the rest is history.

murphaph

Nate--IRL-- wrote: »

Another victory for upward only rent reviews

Nate

They are not the only problem faced by (in particular) high street businesses in Ireland. Look no further than your local innefficient county council with redundant staff not being made redundant (eg binmen after the service has been contracted out to the private sector) to see where the rates these businesses pay are spent. Look no further than extortionate public liablibty insurance due to the high costs associated with claims in Ireland.

The government could fix these 2 huge issues by reforming local authorities from the ground up. There is ample room for svings here but most of them woulc come from making extra staff redundant.

The government could force the hnd of the legal profession to limit costs associated with litigation and so on, all pf which would reduce insurance premiums.

Rent is a huge problem, but only part of the problem and it will fix itself as greedy landlords are left with increasingly empty premises which have to have their rates paid on them. Landlords will be forced to reduce rents to realistic levels to get new businesses in to cover the costs of rates and insurance and upkeep on the building. It'll take a while but the rents will (and are IMO) falling as units become available. Unlike private rented accomodation, there is no artificial floor in rents provided by rent supplement.

Ratzo Rizzo

The closing of Peats, a well established household name in Dublin, is simply another indicator of the perilous situation we find ourselves in this country right now. It's a direct consequence of the poor handling of the country's economy by Fianna Fáil and the Fianna Fáil led coalitions. Jail Bertie and his corrupt cabal!

AllGunsBlazing

As a lad there would always be the annual shopping trip to Dublin and in my case a visit to Peats was always top of my itinerary. Back then I had to get most of my C64 games via the mail and the idea of actually being able to browse a shelf of video games at my own leisure was absolute heaven.:D

Thanks for the memories and goodbye.

ntlbell

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

The closing of Peats, a well established household name in Dublin, is simply another indicator of the perilous situation we find ourselves in this country right now. It's a direct consequence of the poor handling of the country's economy by Fianna Fáil and the Fianna Fáil led coalitions. Jail Bertie and his corrupt cabal!

Can you explain how Fianna Fail causes Peats to over charge not change with the times and how they directly impacted peats poor buisness practices and lack of creativity and imagination?

skimpydoo

When I was 10 I got my first computer in Peats in 1980. A nice Commodore Vic20 and we got a few games for it. I remember the sales guy showing me Jelly Monsters which was a Pac Man Clone. Their prices over the years got a bit more expensive but the customer service was second to none. I remember in the late 90's they moved their store across the road and I was thinking no because of the memories I had in their old store.

WillieFlynn

I feel sorry for the staff. I lost my job recently but luckily got another very quickly.

I was amassed Peats lasted so long. Anyway I have thought for a long time that they expanded too much, as they had a lot of niche products as well as the general TV/computer stuff. By expanding it placed them on a collision course with the likes of Dixons, Harvey Normans and power city etc., which would be hard to go up against even in a boom.

I see one of the biggest problems in the retail industry is not the upwards only rent reviews, but the huge increase retail space over recent years. In 2005 it increased by 25% in one year* alone and we weren't short of shops before then:-)


* http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=944&Itemid=77

AlekSmart

WillieFlynn wrote: »

I see one of the biggest problems in the retail industry is not the upwards only rent reviews, but the huge increase retail space over recent years. In 2005 it increased by 25% in one year* alone and we weren't short of shops before then:-)


* http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=944&Itemid=77

A very good point WillieFlynn,and often overlooked in this topic.

Ireland was allowed and indeed Government policy appeared to facilitate a conversion to one gigantic Retail Park.

A journey through rural Ireland became one where counting the Retail-Parks replaced admiring the countryside and every middling town suddenly accquired a "Traffic Flow" problem as we,The People, swallowed this flawed dictat hook,line and sinker....willingly and without the application of undue force.

MysticalRain

I was very sad to hear Peats closing this week. But in a way, they only have themselves to blame. They should have spend the boom years expanding their online presence rather than over-extending themselves on the high street and chasing Sony franchises in shopping centres. Peats would have had a great head start on many other retailers in Ireland with their excellent brand recognition and great customer service. Irish retailers have never really understood the internet, and it's potential for there businesses.

AldilaMan

I bought a Sony camera there 6 months ago which had a few problems. I left it back to Peats 2 weeks ago and they said they would send it back to Sony. Any chance that I'll get it back from Sony now

nice_guy80

online business are killing small businesses up and down the country

Annabella1

nice_guy80 wrote: »

online business are killing small businesses up and down the country

Agreed+ I was talking to a postman the other day.The only thing they are handling nowadays is amazon(or equivalent) parcels and bills.They were out the door with parcels last Christmas.How many of us go 'tyre kicking' in the retail shops and then buy them online at home.
On street shopping has changed forever regardless of recession or VAT

Cuddlesworth

AldilaMan wrote: »

I bought a Sony camera there 6 months ago which had a few problems. I left it back to Peats 2 weeks ago and they said they would send it back to Sony. Any chance that I'll get it back from Sony now

Get in contact. The camera was bought and paid for, its possible that you could get it back.

Kintarō Hattori

AldilaMan wrote: »

I bought a Sony camera there 6 months ago which had a few problems. I left it back to Peats 2 weeks ago and they said they would send it back to Sony. Any chance that I'll get it back from Sony now

I finished up on Thursday but went in on the Friday and Tuesday gone by to ring customers who had items in for repair, deposits, credit notes and gift vouchers. Give 01-9023718 a ring. It'll put you through to a call centre where your details will be taken. This will then be passed onto the administration department in Peats who will chase it up for you.

I'd do it for you myself but I finished up Tuesday as there were very few calls coming in.

Sand

Sad to see an Irish business fail, but I don't grasp why it was impossible for Peats to compete with online business? Did they not have an internet connection? Surely Peats could have expanded to service not just walk-in customers but also markets in the UK and Europe?

I visited them a couple of times but their stock was poor and overpriced - I could always get exactly what I wanted and for far cheaper elsewhere. Just seems to be a business model that didn't evolve past the 1980s, and evolution has taken its course.

AldilaMan

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I finished up on Thursday but went in on the Friday and Tuesday gone by to ring customers who had items in for repair, deposits, credit notes and gift vouchers. Give 01-9023718 a ring. It'll put you through to a call centre where your details will be taken. This will then be passed onto the administration department in Peats who will chase it up for you.

I'd do it for you myself but I finished up Tuesday as there were very few calls coming in.

I got in contact with B.A.V.S who are the repar agent for Sony. They located it and are posting it out. Happy Days :D