How are WHSmith still in business?

Dave101t

woolworths were cheap and had everything tho, whsmith is just...well pointless, like currys and comet (in that they are all the dixons group anyway)

costapkt

Do not think Comet is in same group as Dixons, PC World are though. Comet is part of Kesa Electricals.
Still think that WHS are rubbish.

Reverbe

Loved it as a kid. Was a one stop shop for all your needs. Had loads of free dvds and videos with the points over the years.Still like the fact that they sell mags nobody else does but since they no longer give points out anything that can be bought elsewhere is...

DCFC79

costapkt wrote: »

Do not think Comet is in same group as Dixons, PC World are though. Comet is part of Kesa Electricals.
Still think that WHS are rubbish.

cusrrys, pc world, currys are part of the dsg group, comet is of the same group as darty and others

as0ta

biscit wrote: »

But I also find Borders and Waterstones far better for books too!

I agree.

looby-loo_2

I went in to a large branch today with my 20% of coupon. I ordered a book but was then told I couldn't pre pay for it. This meant I couldn't use the coupon as it expired today. Pity.
I came home and ordered it on Amazon for £1 less. I really wanted to support my local shop.

The must keep up with the times.

Chloepad1

I have no idea how they havent experienced major financial difficulties so far. They are vastly overpriced.

michaelvintner

I can see where you ar coming from but I don't want them to go out of business. I don't want anyone else to lose their job, well apart from Gordon Brown and his bunch or cronies at the next election.

barvid

DrScotsman wrote: »

I wanted a certain textbook back in February, new revision was coming out in June and as a result, you couldn't get the current revision anywhere new OR second hand (except from the Amazon Marketplace for 5x the price). WHSmith's website had it for a decent price, available in 1-2 weeks. I knew this was a bit strange, so I placed the order but didn't hold my breath for it to arrive. If I was expecting it to arrive, I would consider the service I got completely pathetic:

Placed the order on 24th February. Many weeks later, asked where it was and got "After checking your order with our supplier I can advise that they are expecting the book in around 22nd March from the publisher. This is, however, an estimated date as we cannot guarantee that a further delay will not occur."

Later on my order page the name of the book changed to "Product Not Available"! Emailed them and got "After checking your order with our supplier I can advise that they are expecting stock of this book in around 6th April. This is, however, an estimated date."

Eventually on the 27th of April "Due to issues outside of our control it is with regret that I have to inform you that your order ref xxx has been cancelled." No decency to even tell me what's gone on.

So to answer the OP's question, I have no idea why these guys are still in business, especially since I still got paid cashback on that order!!

Well surely that's an issue with the publisher/supplier of the book, not the reseller.

DrScotsman

barvid wrote: »

Well surely that's an issue with the publisher/supplier of the book, not the reseller.

1. Not giving me a reason why they cancelled my order is pathetic - they WILL know why
2. I can't believe that when the book changes name to "Product Not Available" they still claim it's going to arrive without even addressing my concern
3. I'm not convinced that when every other shop has stopped stocking this book that the supplier genuinely told WHSmith that they were going to ship them some, and then go back on their word. I think there's a bad internal process going on and I call porkies on the estimated dates

And like I said, can you imagine how irate you'd be if you genuinely needed this textbook and bought it from WHSmith because they said 1-2 weeks? It's their responsibility alone.