Zavvi stores to close
Zavvi is at present the UK’s largest independent entertainment retailer selling music, games and DVD’s Zavvi have closed 22 of it’s stores today adding another 178 people to the dole queue.
Closing immediately are these 22 Zavvi stores in ;
Ashford
Ayr
Bideford
Braintree
Braintree
Bridgend
Castleford Outlet
Chatham
Edinburgh Cameron Toll
Hempstead Valley
High Wycombe Octagon
Huddersfield
Liverpool
Livingston McArthur Glen Outlet
Manchester Salford Quays
Mansfield McArthur Glen Outlet
Newcastle Royal Quays
Sterling Mills
Street, Clarks Village
Swindon Great Western Designer Outlet
Torquay
York McArthur Glen Outlet
I really thought that Zavvi would have been ok, from what i read and heard it was a supplier problems due to woolies holding company going down.
DaveN
Carps 1623 days ago
http://www.itsafamilything.co.ukYeah – their wholesale supplier was Woolies somehow. Didn’t they just buy up all the old Virgin Megastores? I know they did in Leeds.
Anyway, selling CDs/DVDs on the high street doesn’t look like the greatest business model to be in at the moment. I think a big part of Woolies’ business itself was CDs, although I kept the Dewsbury branch open thanks to my love of pick ‘n’ mix sweets
IanSEONottingham 1623 days ago
http://www.WEBVIZ.co.ukJust before things wre really grim for them they had a whole shipment of Take That cds (which was no.1 at the time) turned back by woolworths distribution. Pretty grim. I suppose anyone who downloads is partially to blame but their stores rapidly went downhill after the switch from Virgin (no listening posts updated etc). Even the firesale to get rid of stock isn’t that inspiring!! Well not in Nottingham at least.
Andy Blackburn 1623 days ago
I heard the same Dave, that they were only struggling pre-Christmas as Entertainment UK, Woolworths’ distribution firm, were their main supplier.
Goes to show, no one is “recession proof” and tha t, yet again, Branson is a fantastic businessman, 16 months after selling Virgin Megastores, Zavvi is going down the tube.
Dominic Hodgson 1623 days ago
http://www.thehodge.co.ukWheres the HMV affy link?
You disappoint me Dave
Leeds is still open though, thats interesting
Paul 1623 days ago
This all started when General Motors in America called recievers in, They called their debts in, one of which was Woolworths who’s debt was over £360 million which they could not pay just like that, Nobody would lend Wollies the money to repay the debt and they called the recievers in. E-UK part of Woolworths then called Zavvi’s debt in for over £160 million which again Zavvi could not pay and called the recievers in.And they all fall like dominoes. Thousands of jobs lost for £360 million. But a few thousand jobs may be saved at landrover/Jaguar as the government is thinking of pumpigs Billions of pounds into the now INDIAN company. Some things don’t make sense to me, but maybe thats just me???
DaveN 1623 days ago
@Dom you should know we test different things all the time
Andy (Blue Snapper) 1622 days ago
http://www.bluesnapper.com/blogZavvi gone. Adams gone. Woolworths gone etc
It is alarming and sad for redundant employees but, apart from the emotional impact of all these closures, is it not the (obvious) case that the weakest businesses go to the wall in a recession first?
Isn’t this just a shake out of shops that the majority didn’t really want and that kept going for the past few years on cheap money?
I mean who on earth shopped in Woolies? I loved Woolies as a kid but that was er..some time ago. Pic N’ mix, feather dusters and ‘Now that’s what I call music XXX’. Zavvi? Never bothered to go in as HMV was opposite (maybe I like brands). Many Mums in my area thought Adams clothing was poor.
Once on demand pay as you go films (BT Vision, Sky etc) get their inventories sorted to offer decent (eclectic) choice, what’ll happen to LoveFilm, Blockbuster? Are we to mourn them too because they didn’t respond market demand (or are they?)
Am I alone on this one?
ric 1615 days ago
yes its another blow for the high street – zavvi seemed a strange name as it said nothing about what was being sold i guess people just forgot. I was in london on tues day + the piccadilly store was brisk with trade + closed the next day – there was a hell of a lot of stock in there to be transfered out !!
also visited oxford st store ( i used to go to regional meeetings there 7-8 years ago when i worked for our price/v shop/virgin – got speaking to a girl in the book dept who said no one knew what was happening day to day + she was just lucky to be at the flagship store as they should be the last to go as they will get all the stock from closed stores. I find the most ironic thing about the clousure is that virgin had set up their own distribution centre in daventry about 7-8 years ago which worked well but then they sold it to EUK some time later which is why they are now where they are – corporate greed