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Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Mags, I guess it depends.

I buy two each month, near religiously. Those are Fortean Times, and Viz. Thats stuff I can really replicate online.

Bizarre used to be a compulsory purchase. When it started out, it was a one-stop-shop for counter culture info. Put me onto several great films, and opened my eyes to a world of weird. Then? At some point it just became a ‘Tits and Tats’ lads mag, with very little content. It also repeatedly had the lead singer from HIM as ‘guest editor’. The quality sank.

If it was trying to transition into a bodmod culture mag, it failed to take account that’s a market already well served, and in far more competent ways.

The internet didn’t kill Bizarre. Bizarre killed itself.

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Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

Slipspace wrote:

I've not noticed any significant decline in newsagents in the UK in the last 10 years or so. What I will say is WH Smith is pretty much the only place you can get a full range of specialist magazines on the UK high street.


This. I walked into the Smiths at Temple Meads Station here in Bristol and picked up a couple of astronomy magazines (Sky at Night and Sky & Telescope) and the Sky at Night Complete Guide to Astrophotography. Pretty niche magazines (Sky at Night less so due to the BBC programme) and unlikely to be common in newsagents.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/05/31 10:41:33


The Laws of Thermodynamics:
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Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:


The internet didn’t kill Bizarre. Bizarre killed itself.


Honestly I think this is true for quite a few magazines.
Photography magazines, for example, will have the same block of articles that do the rounds every year almost - macro, landscape etc... .They are great for beginners for that year, but quickly offer very little in substance to their articles and very little for the more advanced shooter to be interested in. Gear reviews I think made up a big portion of the intermediate sales, but the internet has won that battle years ago. So I think a lot of magazines dwindled in quality to the point where I think they've fallen so far that they can't get out of the hole they've dug themselves. When the internet started picking up a lot of the entry level and casual article stuff the magazines didn't rise to the challenge and advance their content.

Even White Dwarf went through the same process and even went further than most (esp when you consider that every single page is basically advertising for the company product so they didn't need advertising pages in themselves to pay for the print).


I think that coupled to too many ads is an issue. I've seen some magazines where the articles are so buried behind pages of ads that I just don't want to read them. You feel like you're more buying ad-trader with more ads than most websites could stuff into their pages without being listed as spamware and being ignored.


I guess we've got a whole generation of businesses who have grown up with the ideal of the new customer not the old customer. Same as how utility and insurance companies will sting you with higher and higher costs if you stay loyal to them, but will drop prices instantly if you argue or if you go to another company etc... The established customer has become a throw-away commodity and its all about the new customer. Sadly I think many things like magazines find that eventually you do run out of a viable population of new customers and when your old customers speak poorly of your product then the sales start to nosedive away from high profit into really low profit to ticking over. Utility companies and the like can get away with it because you've got to keep paying to get the service, whilst optional product lines fizzle out.

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Made in gb
Courageous Grand Master




-

Credit where credit's due, Smiths has been reasonable over the years when it comes to getting fishing magazines, and older dakka members of a certain generation will remember the Commando war comics, and to my surprise recently, they're still going, and Smith has them in stock.

But the staff still look depressed, and the store layout was last seen in British home Stores, and we all know what happened to them.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Kilkrazy wrote:
My local Smiths has been redone recently and it's rather nice how. I no longer feel my will to live draining away when I go in.

They have a large range of magazines, which is about the only thing they do which you can't get elsewhere fairly easily.


Consider yourself lucky that your local store got a lick of paint. Mine's still looks like something out of 1980s East Germany

I'm sure they'll get round to refurbishing it sometime...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
nfe wrote:
 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
nfe wrote:
I suppose no one else does what they do on the high street and people still want to buy a paper or whatever on their lunch break.


Plenty of corner shops for that - some pretty good one's at that.


Not on high streets, rarely with the selection, and never with the brand recognition.



I suppose I'm thinking small village/town. City centre rent prices would be crippling for indy newsagents I suppose.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/05/31 14:41:31


"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




If Smiths concentrated on the magazine side of things they might get cut a little more slack. But they insist on having loads of mediocre other sections. They have book sections with about 10% of the selection you get in an actual bookshop, sell chocolate and drinks at inflated prices and cram in a whole range of board games, jigsaws and posters I don't think anyone ever buys. The one closest to me still sells DVDs, and most of them are over 10 years old!

The staff do seem to wander around aimlessly too, which makes the frequent plastic crates of stock strewn about the shop floor even more infuriating.
   
Made in gb
Courageous Grand Master




-

Slipspace wrote:
If Smiths concentrated on the magazine side of things they might get cut a little more slack. But they insist on having loads of mediocre other sections. They have book sections with about 10% of the selection you get in an actual bookshop, sell chocolate and drinks at inflated prices and cram in a whole range of board games, jigsaws and posters I don't think anyone ever buys. The one closest to me still sells DVDs, and most of them are over 10 years old!

The staff do seem to wander around aimlessly too, which makes the frequent plastic crates of stock strewn about the shop floor even more infuriating.


My Smiths has got a ton of jigsaws.

I don't mind a jigsaw myself, and some of them are quite nice but at that price. Never.

Charity shop next door sells them for a couple of quid.

I will repeat what I said earlier to people: now and again, Smiths go on a price cut frenzy, and some books and stationary get the fire sale treatment. 70% discounts and all that.

Yeah, it's usually the stuff that's been sitting there 5 years

but I was able to get the Ardennes offensive, brand new, for £6, when the previous day, it had been £25.

Watch carefully, bide your time, and pounce when a bargain presents itself. That's my advice to my fellow dakka members.

"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut



Glasgow

Slipspace wrote:
If Smiths concentrated on the magazine side of things they might get cut a little more slack. But they insist on having loads of mediocre other sections. They have book sections with about 10% of the selection you get in an actual bookshop, sell chocolate and drinks at inflated prices and cram in a whole range of board games, jigsaws and posters I don't think anyone ever buys.


I bet they do an absolutely roaring trade in both boardgames and, especially at Christmas, books. Most people buying gift books aren't going to bookshops, they're buying celebrity autobiographies, the latest diet book, or popular histories that have big advertising around holidays when they see them in passing.
   
Made in gb
[SWAP SHOP MOD]
Killer Klaivex







 Excommunicatus wrote:
I haven't lived in Britain since 2012 and even I know that WH Smith is very, very, very, very, very far from the U.K.'s only newsagent chain.

It's not even the only one in the (tiny, rural) village I grew up in. Boston Spa, if anyone's interested. Had a Londis, a Costcutter's and two other independent newsagents to boot.


Londis and Costcutters are chain stores. Not chain newsagents. There's a distinction there. Even with independents, they're usually booze, confectionary, and grocery shops more than they are newsagents. Londis is no more a chain newsagents than a petrol station is.

W.H. Smith are a specialist newsagents/stationary store that occasionally dabbles in bookselling. Nobody else fills that specific niche. Furthermore, they're usually the only one on the High Street of any given town. You might have one of the aforementioned seedy looking corner shops tacked on at the very edge depending on your locale, or a supermarket somewhere, but neither of those carries the range of Smiths or hits the same sweetspot in terms of stationary and books.

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Does anybody buy magazine from Smiths, though? When I go in, there's a line of people reading the stuff, and very little of it being bought.

And I came across wargaming magazines missing the free miniature.

Smiths have dabbled in a few fields over the years. They used to do games and DVDs for a while, but they mostly pulled out of those when the medium crashed and filled it up with more art supplies. Then they recently incorporated Post Offices, and cut costs by automating as much as possible.Given that they tend to buy magazines at something like 30% of the cover price (it's why they fell out with GW a whiles back), their overheads actually aren't very high beyond the rents. And as someone else pointed out, I believe they actually own a lot of their stores. Their size also gives them the muscle to negotiate advantageous contracts with the newspapers and publishing houses.

Slipspace wrote:

Your definition of successfully is a lot different to mine. When I lived in a smallish town the local Post Office was in a Smith's and it was an utter disaster. Self service machines that didn't work most of the time and a single staff member at the counter led to ridiculous queues and it also had shorter opening times than the Smith's it was situated in, which was aggravating.

It works for them in that it sucks more customers into the shop who would otherwise have been forced to go to their local corner store to visit a post office; that will now buy packaging and publications in there instead. Footfall ultimately means more than you or I being mildly annoyed at the wait time because old people have trouble with self-service. It also gives them another revenue stream, because in this day and age of online purchasing, diversifying into other relevant hard to replace services equals longevity.

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2019/05/31 15:40:42



 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Only comparable chain I can think of was John Menzies.

You may recognise the name from Trainspotting, as it’s where Renton, Spud and Sickboy go shoplifting. That also happens to be the same shop pretty much all my childhood He-Man and Star Wars toys came from. I mean, mine were paid for. I hope.

But they wound down to just a distribution network aaaaages ago.

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Longtime Dakkanaut



Glasgow

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Only comparable chain I can think of was John Menzies.

You may recognise the name from Trainspotting, as it’s where Renton, Spud and Sickboy go shoplifting. That also happens to be the same shop pretty much all my childhood He-Man and Star Wars toys came from. I mean, mine were paid for. I hope.

But they wound down to just a distribution network aaaaages ago.


I thought they were bought over by WH Smith? Literally every single Menzies store I can think of became a WH Smith.
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Oddly enough I bought a magazine from whsmith yesterday. I don't tend to buy them now as they just clutter up the house, but wargames illustrated had a sprue of bolt action us army infantry so I thought why not.

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Earth

Every time I go into WH smith to get my weeklies its always got a lot of people going back and forth, the place always has people inside and the book deals they put on are pretty good, got a lot of books about law from them for 25% off even though they dont stock them they still let me order them in.
   
Made in gb
Courageous Grand Master




-

 Formosa wrote:
Every time I go into WH smith to get my weeklies its always got a lot of people going back and forth, the place always has people inside and the book deals they put on are pretty good, got a lot of books about law from them for 25% off even though they dont stock them they still let me order them in.


Not the Richard and Judy book club?? I had forgotten about that.

Those two are madder than mad mad McMad


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Oddly enough I bought a magazine from whsmith yesterday. I don't tend to buy them now as they just clutter up the house, but wargames illustrated had a sprue of bolt action us army infantry so I thought why not.


Didn't know that about Bolt action and Wargames Illustrated. Thanks for the heads up.

Might have to pay Smiths a visit. Strokes chin thoughtfully...

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/05/31 22:19:45


"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd 
   
Made in gb
Boosting Space Marine Biker





Scotland

I have no real problems with their shops. I don't get the hate. People that fill in these types of surveys are the vast minority. I can see why WHSmith aren't phased. The stores are a bit dilapidated, and I only go in for odd stationary things but it's there when I need it and I'm not harassed when I'm there. What more can you ask for?
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
 Formosa wrote:
Every time I go into WH smith to get my weeklies its always got a lot of people going back and forth, the place always has people inside and the book deals they put on are pretty good, got a lot of books about law from them for 25% off even though they dont stock them they still let me order them in.


Not the Richard and Judy book club?? I had forgotten about that.

Those two are madder than mad mad McMad


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Oddly enough I bought a magazine from whsmith yesterday. I don't tend to buy them now as they just clutter up the house, but wargames illustrated had a sprue of bolt action us army infantry so I thought why not.


Didn't know that about Bolt action and Wargames Illustrated. Thanks for the heads up.

Might have to pay Smiths a visit. Strokes chin thoughtfully...


They seem to have free sprues often, a few weeks ago they had a sprue of apache Indians.

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Keeper of the Holy Orb of Antioch





avoiding the lorax on Crion

A new theory.

Wh Smith is a horcrux for the Queen and Prince Phillip and can only be broken by basalkisk poison, or cursed fire.

Magic keeps it in business to achor her soul on the planet.

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Adrift within the vortex of my imagination.

WH Smith has a good business plan for retail, they focus on small stores and also good catering to those offline.

Magazine subscriptions, most people do that onlne, but WH Smiths do prescriptions for people.

The also focus on small term immediate needs stuff like confectionary.

n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.

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Somewhere in south-central England.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
Slipspace wrote:

I've not noticed any significant decline in newsagents in the UK in the last 10 years or so. What I will say is WH Smith is pretty much the only place you can get a full range of specialist magazines on the UK high street.


This. I walked into the Smiths at Temple Meads Station here in Bristol and picked up a couple of astronomy magazines (Sky at Night and Sky & Telescope) and the Sky at Night Complete Guide to Astrophotography. Pretty niche magazines (Sky at Night less so due to the BBC programme) and unlikely to be common in newsagents.


Fun Fact. A long time ago I was production editor of Astronomy Now magazine. I still have the habit of moving it in front of its rivals when I go into Smiths.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

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Bristol

 Kilkrazy wrote:

Fun Fact. A long time ago I was production editor of Astronomy Now magazine. I still have the habit of moving it in front of its rivals when I go into Smiths.


That's cool! Didn't see that one in there or I'd have picked it up as well, was going on a bit of a splurge so I'd have some stuff to read on a train down to see the other half's family in Devon.

The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in us
Screamin' Stormboy





New Zealand

Do you have Loto or Scrachies in the UK?
I had a friend that worked for a while in a store almost exactly like you've described and it was horrifying how busy the Loto counter was (I don't think I ever saw anyone even look at the other 90% of the store)

 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut



Glasgow

We have both a National Lottery (and a European one) and scratch cards. Almost all newsagents sell them but I think they're probably a bigger boon to small corner shops than to Smiths, though they do stock scratch cards, and probably have the lottery, too (I've never paid enough attention to notice).
   
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[DCM]
Procrastinator extraordinaire





London, UK

Just to add to the wide range of things WH Smith do, I've seen a fair few with Modelzones in the back of their shops behind all of their stationary (upon a google search, WH Smith owns Modelzone, who would have thought).

At least one WH Smiths can be found in nigh on every airport in the UK and make a lot on the back of overpriced meal deals and travel sweets.

I like them purely for the selection of scale modelling magazines that can be bought with good consistency.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/06/04 09:41:51


   
Made in gb
Ghost of Greed and Contempt






Engaged in Villainy

I worked in a tiny little WHSmith travel store for about a year - huge price mark-ups on everything, and quite often people would complain about them. But the thing is, they still bought the stuff!

Obviously the Travel outlets are different to the high street shops, but I was always surprised just how much cash could be generated from a shopfloor no bigger than (and I'm doing some very shaky mental maths here) maybe 200 square feet?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/06/04 10:51:52


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Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

People hate the travel markups, but we still buy because there's often little else to choose from. Even on sites where there's multiple stores most are marking up in stations/airports. Though most have no idea how much of the markup is pure profit for the store and how much is going to rent for those sites.

I've also seen people spend hundreds on scratchcards. If a store gets a few loyal buyers of them that can generate a lot of money for almost no floorspace coverage. For the space of a few rolls of card and box out the back with more they can generate a huge amount of profit for very little cost.

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[MOD]
Anti-piracy Officer






Somewhere in south-central England.

 Z-Ray wrote:
Do you have Loto or Scrachies in the UK?
I had a friend that worked for a while in a store almost exactly like you've described and it was horrifying how busy the Loto counter was (I don't think I ever saw anyone even look at the other 90% of the store)


A lady who works in my local W H Smiths won £384,000 from the lottery and still goes on working.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

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Halandri

 Kilkrazy wrote:
 Z-Ray wrote:
Do you have Loto or Scrachies in the UK?
I had a friend that worked for a while in a store almost exactly like you've described and it was horrifying how busy the Loto counter was (I don't think I ever saw anyone even look at the other 90% of the store)


A lady who works in my local W H Smiths won £384,000 from the lottery and still goes on working.
i mean it's enough for a nice house, maybe a car too. That's going to save you on your monthly rent/mortgage payments, but it is still probably a good idea to keep working. Hell
, even if she bought a few moderate properties for rental income as well as living rent free there are a lot of benefits to staying in work beyond the obvious economic ones.
   
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Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

nareik wrote:
 Kilkrazy wrote:
 Z-Ray wrote:
Do you have Loto or Scrachies in the UK?
I had a friend that worked for a while in a store almost exactly like you've described and it was horrifying how busy the Loto counter was (I don't think I ever saw anyone even look at the other 90% of the store)


A lady who works in my local W H Smiths won £384,000 from the lottery and still goes on working.
i mean it's enough for a nice house, maybe a car too. That's going to save you on your monthly rent/mortgage payments, but it is still probably a good idea to keep working. Hell
, even if she bought a few moderate properties for rental income as well as living rent free there are a lot of benefits to staying in work beyond the obvious economic ones.


Aye, or set the money aside into investments to live off the interest.

Thing that most come unstuck with is that they buy a big car and house and live the high life on the money rather than invest and live off the interest or use it to clear debts/buy a home etc... The former they often come crashing down from because they burn through it fast and they've no job to support it; whilst the latter come out way better because they can maintain it and if they lose some or most of it they can still keep going.

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On an Express Elevator to Hell!!

Shopping experience in there is pretty poor on the grounds that you physically couldn't fit more shelf space into an area of ground, although ones local to me seem to have space themselves out a little better now.

Personally just shop in there for mags - usually every other month or so will get Total Film, Q, Retro Gamer - the odd plastic kit modelling mag, White Dwarf or Wargames Illustrated. I guess there are probably enough other people doing the same to keep them going. As someone else said above, you sometimes get some pretty good book deals in there too.

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