B&Q to close

homolumo

More jobs gone if restructuring goes ahead. Huge loss to that retail park.#

http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2013/0131/365509-examiner-appointed-to-diy-chain-bq-ireland/

Jason Todd

homolumo wrote: »

More jobs gone if restructuring goes ahead. Huge loss to that retail park.#

http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2013/0131/365509-examiner-appointed-to-diy-chain-bq-ireland/

''Based on management's forecasts and the company's current trading performance, it is proposed that at least two stores, Athlone and Waterford, will be closed. In addition, most of the other stores will require the agreement, by individual landlords, of substantially improved terms. In light of the required change to terms, management consider it likely that a further two stores will be closed,'' today's statement added.

We just can't catch a break here.

spankmemunkey

They didnt say they were closing, just that they were entering examinership, I think they are trying to force rental costs down, heard something like that, they have huge losses here but they arent closing just yet.

Whitfield clinic have also entered examinership but they are still making money its just the previous owner had wracked up massive debts, but they are operating(pardon the pun) now making profits/doing well and looking for a new owner!

Hoping they are going to be okay but think they are another victim of the housing market collapse!

How many people are employed in B+Q?

Jason Todd

spankmemunkey wrote: »

How many people are employed in B+Q?

I think it's 690 across Ireland.

thomasm

Always thought they were better and busier than the ghost town that homebase resembles most of the time

Partizan

The jobs in Waterford and Athlone based stores could be in jeopardy.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2013/0131/breaking21.html

DIY chain B&Q Ireland Ltd has been placed into interim examinership following a hearing at the High Court this afternoon.

This gives the company protection against its creditors for up to 100 days while the DIY chain attempts to restructure the business and formulate a survival plan to put the business back on a viable financial footing.

Declan McDonald of PwC has been appointed as interim examiner.

Under a proposed restructuring, stores in Athlone and Waterford – which employ 92 staff between them - would close.

MitchKoobski

Homebase would want to be counting it's lucky stars.

Partizan

Argos I hear also in big trouble.

Cabaal

Sad news, so even if B&Q is saved its likely Waterford is gone anyway,

I think one of the nails in Waterford's coffin when it comes to B&Q was the moving of TK Maxx, atleast thats my view. Always figured would have gotten more business with TK Maxx beside it as it makes it a more attractive destination for say a couple shopping,

Cabaal

Partizan wrote: »

Argos I hear also in big trouble.

Argos are closing alot of stores in the uk and the likes because they need to compete with online retailers and its cheaper do online ordering then have stores.

http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/argos-planning-to-close-up-to-75-stores-647339-Oct2012/

Partizan

Cabaal wrote: »

Argos are closing alot of stores in the uk and the likes because they need to compete with online retailers and its cheaper do online ordering then have stores.

http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/argos-planning-to-close-up-to-75-stores-647339-Oct2012/

Which will likely affect stores here.

spankmemunkey

Cabaal wrote: »

Sad news, so even if B&Q is saved its likely Waterford is gone anyway,

I think one of the nails in Waterford's coffin when it comes to B&Q was the moving of TK Maxx, atleast thats my view. Always figured would have gotten more business with TK Maxx beside it as it makes it a more attractive destination for say a couple shopping,

Completely agree with you, HATE shopping in TK MAX now, it was much better where it was and had more to offer, Im sure they had a larger work force out in butlerstown retail park, and if B+Q Close i reckon more will leave that park, its really scary the knock on affect closures have.

I dont know why TK Max left, well apart from the obvious breaking rules of their licence but surely some sort of permission could have been sought afterwards, Dont really shop there anymore

tonc76

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Completely agree with you, HATE shopping in TK MAX now, it was much better where it was and had more to offer, Im sure they had a larger work force out in butlerstown retail park, and if B+Q Close i reckon more will leave that park, its really scary the knock on affect closures have.

I dont know why TK Max left, well apart from the obvious breaking rules of their licence but surely some sort of permission could have been sought afterwards, Dont really shop there anymore

So you do know then?

spankmemunkey

"I dont know why TK Max left, well apart from the obvious "

Ha ha yeah i do:D

Sully

A lot of businesses can't seem to survive in Waterford but operate okay a half an hour up the road in Kilkenny. Very sad to read another business has decided to pull out of Waterford.

rasper

More bad news for Waterford, more jobs , income and confidence gone
How much more can we afford to lose, government aint going to do much only coast to their pension pots

Sully

rasper wrote: »

More bad news for Waterford, more jobs , income and confidence gone
How much more can we afford to lose, government aint going to do much only coast to their pension pots

B&Q would have gone even if the government worked for free.

realworld82

not nice to see the closure of the waterford store but it will be far more beneficial for our town to see a locally owned hardware stores and local kitchen and bathroom providers thrive now that B&Q will be gone,

shockwave

Its a massive store, would be hard to find another retailer to go into a building that big.

spankmemunkey

realworld82 wrote: »

not nice to see the closure of the waterford store but it will be far more beneficial for our town to see a locally owned hardware stores and local kitchen and bathroom providers thrive now that B&Q will be gone,

In the current economic climate it will NOT be Beneficial in any way shape or form chances are there wont be anybody stepping into that void, maybe woodies will be smiling and other small fish but thats about it.

Finnbar01

realworld82 wrote: »

not nice to see the closure of the waterford store but it will be far more beneficial for our town to see a locally owned hardware stores and local kitchen and bathroom providers thrive now that B&Q will be gone,

That depends on prices, quality, range etc of goods provided by a local store.

spankmemunkey

Finnbar01 wrote: »

That depends on prices, quality, range etc of goods provided by a local store.

How many tile places are there in waterford? how many builders suppliers are there? how many hardwares? theres still alot and theres still a less demand, were just losing a company that employs made 40 people thats 40 families and it WILL have a knock on effect on that retail park in terms of footfall, There will almost certainly be more closures of english multinationals

spankmemunkey

Looks deffo anyway that the Waterford branch will close, it was on the radio earlier that 2 branches will close. what does B+Q stand for anyway?

mccarthy37

Richard Block and David Quayle were the two men who started up this company in England. B&Q
Shame to see this palace go but it hasn't been doing well for a long time. I never saw a big crowd in there. Feel very sorry for the staff there.
It isn't that long ago that Brooks closed down, there is an air of desolation beginning to creep into Waterford. While other cities seem struggle on Waterford is in free fall with very little being done about it. Sure what can be done about it has always been our response. Lets see what the outcome will be among the Politicians that supposedly represent the area.

Wanderer2010

To be fair, what do people expect politicians to do about this? All they can do is spout about how unfair it is that Waterford is getting the raw end of the stick and how many families will now have to emigrate etc etc. Its not as if I dont think its sad but people expect local politicians to swoop in and save the day. If Edna cant make a dent with the big boys over our annual zombie bank debt, then Paudie etc sure as hell arent going to change simple economics and rent policies. We are definitely being ignored on the jobs fronts but why do people still look to politicians for the answers. It smacks of naivety.

spankmemunkey

Southeast has the highest unemployment rate at 19.4 percent, Its getting bad, As i said before there will be a knock on effect from B+Q closing, some people are saying its good:eek: All the english multiples will start to consider their position and get trigger happy.(cept tesco) they make too much here,

spankmemunkey

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

To be fair, what do people expect politicians to do about this? All they can do is spout about how unfair it is that Waterford is getting the raw end of the stick and how many families will now have to emigrate etc etc. Its not as if I dont think its sad but people expect local politicians to swoop in and save the day. If Edna cant make a dent with the big boys over our annual zombie bank debt, then Paudie etc sure as hell arent going to change simple economics and rent policies. We are definitely being ignored on the jobs fronts but why do people still look to politicians for the answers. It smacks of naivety.

I think the time is now for Enda to stand up and say now enough is enough to the troica and Merkel Police Stations being closed for the last time today the country looks like it imploding, if Ireland were to start saying ye know what if you dont start playing ball with us were not playing ball with you, that would throw europe and the euro back into great difficulty!

realworld82

shockwave wrote: »

Its a massive store, would be hard to find another retailer to go into a building that big.

maybe another Tesco...we need another one:rolleyes:
or how about Dealz...they do huge amount for the local economy when they open up.
or how about some kind of a mixture of pound shops/tesco/cash for gold/bookies and kebab shop, they seem to be the only business that people of waterford will support

wellboytoo

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Looks deffo anyway that the Waterford branch will close, it was on the radio earlier that 2 branches will close. what does B+Q stand for anyway?

Big and quite

delthedriver

spankmemunkey wrote: »

"I dont know why TK Max left, well apart from the obvious "

Ha ha yeah i do:D

Sorry, I dont understand

Can you enlighten me please?

wmpdd3

It is interesting how the British high st names are registering their ROI arms as xxxx Ireland and then letting them fend for themselves when things go bad.

Its seems to be the rent that kills them in the end, Athlone and Waterford would have been serious boom time rent contracts.

B&Q in Mahon pt always seems to be busy enough and I never go there on the weekend, always a Tuesday etc.

er1983

I'm surprised they are closing down as I felt all the other DIY/garden centres were dearer ie Morris's, homebase, woodies

Partizan

realworld82 wrote: »

maybe another Tesco...we need another one:rolleyes:
or how about Dealz...they do huge amount for the local economy when they open up.
or how about some kind of a mixture of pound shops/tesco/cash for gold/bookies and kebab shop, they seem to be the only business that people of waterford will support

Sure another one of those huge conglomerates setting up shop actually does more harm then good. It has been proven that the likes of B&Q and Dealz actually cause more job losses than create as they use their financial clout to displace local businesses by driving down costs and forcing them out of business. For every one job they create, the displace 3 others.

Waterford is fubared and depending on cheap and tacky stores like Dealz to hold the place up speaks volumes about the place.

spankmemunkey

delthedriver wrote: »

Sorry, I dont understand

Can you enlighten me please?

They left cos they broke their licence agreement, They were only licenced to sell certain products in that area, but they were selling food products and the like, which i believe they didnt have an operating licence to do if it wasnt food it was some other product they didnt have a licence to sell and therefore had to move back to town in order to do so.

The people behind B+Q are business people, they arent stupid, they looked at the risk involved and decided it would make beter financial sense to keep Ireland under a seperate umbrella, and frankly they would have been stupid not to, its paying off now for them isnt it, so you can say they were spot on.

spankmemunkey

Partizan wrote: »

Sure another one of those huge conglomerates setting up shop actually does more harm then good. It has been proven that the likes of B&Q and Dealz actually cause more job losses than create as they use their financial clout to displace local businesses by driving down costs and forcing them out of business. For every one job they create, the displace 3 others.

Waterford is fubared and depending on cheap and tacky stores like Dealz to hold the place up speaks volumes about the place.

Right but its too late to do anything about it now isnt it? Auld Jimmy's hardware shop that sold everything is well closed down by now and no matter how many big conglomerates close down, the little hardware local shop wont be back, it just wont, so we do actually need another large retailer to come in and provide the same amount of jobs that the previous one did, The jobs are no longer there and are becoming fewer and fewer it will end up like a ghost time, hopefully not, but the stats are pointing towards it.

Finnbar01

spankmemunkey wrote: »

How many tile places are there in waterford? how many builders suppliers are there? how many hardwares? theres still alot and theres still a less demand, were just losing a company that employs made 40 people thats 40 families and it WILL have a knock on effect on that retail park in terms of footfall, There will almost certainly be more closures of english multinationals

It is not only English multinationals but plenty of home grown shops as well that will face closure

I hate to say it, but how many shops are actually economically viable? Most of those shops started up during the bubble. Now the bubble has popped, they simply have no reason to exist.

Finnbar01

Partizan wrote: »

Sure another one of those huge conglomerates setting up shop actually does more harm then good. It has been proven that the likes of B&Q and Dealz actually cause more job losses than create as they use their financial clout to displace local businesses by driving down costs and forcing them out of business. For every one job they create, the displace 3 others.

The function of any business is to make a profit, not create jobs. Driving costs and prices down is good for the consumer, as the consumer will have more money in their pockets to spend on other things.

When Dealz opened in Lisduggan Shopping Centre, other shops out there had to hire in more workers becuase of increased foot fall.

BlaasForRafa

er1983 wrote: »

I'm surprised they are closing down as I felt all the other DIY/garden centres were dearer ie Morris's, homebase, woodies

Woodies have a price-match promise so if they are dearer on something you only have to say it at the customer service desk and they'll sort it out.

Its sad to see anywhere closing but as others have said, it always seems quiet out there. Any time I've gone to Woodies or Morris's on the other hand they're always at the very least ticking over.

spankmemunkey

Whens the sale starting?

PremierDeise

I am thinking more along the lines of what is going to happen with the other stores out there. First TkMAxx leaves there then B&Q.........

niallo76

spankmemunkey wrote: »

They left cos they broke their licence agreement, They were only licenced to sell certain products in that area, but they were selling food products and the like, which i believe they didnt have an operating licence to do if it wasnt food it was some other product they didnt have a licence to sell and therefore had to move back to town in order to do so.

The people behind B+Q are business people, they arent stupid, they looked at the risk involved and decided it would make beter financial sense to keep Ireland under a seperate umbrella, and frankly they would have been stupid not to, its paying off now for them isnt it, so you can say they were spot on.

Tk Maxx moving from from Butlerstown was a devestating blow for the area-why was the real reason for it??the knock on effect was huge-probably won't be long before Halfords is on the move also-such a shame

spankmemunkey

All of these stores opened when there was a property boom and things were going good and there was enough to go around, so its only normal that these things receed,

I wonder how long Harvey Norman can hold out for? Id say they might hang on in there but ye never know, Wonder how halfords are doin?I will have no reason to go into that estate now that B+Q arent there and i useto pop into a few shops there but im sure theres plenty of people that would be the same

average_runner

Problem for shops like b&q is that the population outside cork, dublin and galway arent big enough to make them profits

Cabaal

average_runner wrote: »

Problem for shops like b&q is that the population outside cork, dublin and galway arent big enough to make them profits

If that was the case Woodies would be closing their outlets at an alarming rate around Ireland, i don't believe its as simply as you've outlined here.

realworld82

just remembered some lad on here thought this would have been a good location for IKEA

spankmemunkey

Yeah but a shop like IKEA would attract people from all surrounding counties, although i dont think waterford is a good position, theyd probably want to be going to the likes of Cork instead

danjo-xx

Harvey Normal will be gone as soon as their current contract is up.

How is Halfords doing.


Government says it can't do anything about these upwardly only rent reviews.

Serve the landlords right if they end up with fcuk all rents.

realworld82

word is that there is three or four more high street english stores to follow the same route as hmv and b&q,
this rent review thing is being pushed a lot but does not have as much impact as these english chains would let you believe, Kingfisher could easily to afford to carry a few under performing stores if they wanted to same as most retailers have to do, but they see that there is no future in waterford

road_high

realworld82 wrote: »

just remembered some lad on here thought this would have been a good location for IKEA

Not a hope I'm afraid. They'd want some where with a big population and a buoyant economy. Cork, just maybe.

allthedoyles

Finnbar01 wrote: »

The function of any business is to make a profit, not create jobs. Driving costs and prices down is good for the consumer, as the consumer will have more money in their pockets to spend on other things.

When Dealz opened in Lisduggan Shopping Centre, other shops out there had to hire in more workers becuase of increased foot fall.

Don't think the footfall in Harvey Norman is helping B & Q .

Last time we shopped in HN , we decided to have a peek in B & Q , but is was so far away , we did't walk , but got into car and drove . - Its a long walk from one to other , especially if you buy in B&Q , its a long walk back to car at HN .

Found the display in B&Q suited building contractors , rather than DIY enthusiasts .

Also believe the buildings should have been planned better and built into a shopping center square , rather than a single row .

We had lunch today in Lisduggan SC , and its unbelieveable the traffic/footfall that has been created since Dealz arrived .

All units in Lisduggan seemed to be doing quite brisk business .

Hoffmans

anyone no when the closin down sale is on?