Smiths City - will it be the next 'Dick Smith'?

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#2049659 5-Jul-2018 11:55

Yeah I don't think they will last the distance. I feel a 80's retro vibe if I ever go into one of their stores which was about a year ago. They do cater to the people that would find it harder to get credit else where that I think is a lot of their customer base (Just guessing).

We did drop in there a couple of years back when upgrading our TV and lounge suite and they would have been at least 10 - 15% more expensive than everybody else although they may have price matched if asked but we didn't.

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#2049681 5-Jul-2018 12:07

My real issue with these guys is that they appear to be uncompteitive in almost every sphere:

My coffee machine (which I paid $900-odd for several years ago) is currently $799-899 everywhere.

At Smiths City? $1199 on their site today.

Samsung Soundbar - from $650-710 everywhere else; Smiths City - $750 on sale.

They just seem out of touch and over priced...and they're expanding into markets where we haven't seen them since the eighties...

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msukiwi

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#2049700 5-Jul-2018 12:16

Handsomedan:

My real issue with these guys is that they appear to be uncompteitive in almost every sphere:

My coffee machine (which I paid $900-odd for several years ago) is currently $799-899 everywhere.

At Smiths City? $1199 on their site today.

Samsung Soundbar - from $650-710 everywhere else; Smiths City - $750 on sale.

They just seem out of touch and over priced...and they're expanding into markets where we haven't seen them since the eighties...

Call me a cynic, but is the "interest" built into the price, so they can give "interest free" loans, since so many use their credit?

That way they don't break the cash vs credit price rule.

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#2049707 5-Jul-2018 12:29

they also sell very expensive steel bicycles ...

Handsomedan

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#2049739 5-Jul-2018 13:05

msukiwi:

Handsomedan:

My real issue with these guys is that they appear to be uncompteitive in almost every sphere:

My coffee machine (which I paid $900-odd for several years ago) is currently $799-899 everywhere.

At Smiths City? $1199 on their site today.

Samsung Soundbar - from $650-710 everywhere else; Smiths City - $750 on sale.

They just seem out of touch and over priced...and they're expanding into markets where we haven't seen them since the eighties...

Call me a cynic, but is the "interest" built into the price, so they can give "interest free" loans, since so many use their credit?

That way they don't break the cash vs credit price rule.

Good question...again, HN offer interest free and deferred payment...and their pricing is still significantly lower than Smith's

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Rikkitic

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#2050667 6-Jul-2018 16:49

I notice that their commercials seem to be shoutier and more frequent lately. Is this a sign of desperation?

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#2050676 6-Jul-2018 17:06

Rikkitic:

I notice that their commercials seem to be shoutier and more frequent lately. Is this a sign of desperation?

Could be. I must be getting used to being yelled at in ads, I recall this guy back in the early '90s before he went bust - it made me feel like throwing something at the TV. This seems extremely mild now:

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#2050678 6-Jul-2018 17:11

Oh God I remember those bike shop ads. Someone complained about him and he totally toned it down after that.

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#2050827 6-Jul-2018 20:38

At one stage C93 banned Craig Adair’s ads because he was annoying the listeners too much. Their ratings probably went through the roof!

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#2050830 6-Jul-2018 20:43

Given the topic of this type of ad has come up, Planet Money (one of the most interesting podcasts I listen to, I reckon) did a show a couple of months back on the origins of them -

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/04/18/603726847/episode-836-the-rational-madness-of-the-used-car-salesman

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#2050842 6-Jul-2018 20:59

alasta: At one stage C93 banned Craig Adair’s ads because he was annoying the listeners too much. Their ratings probably went through the roof!

I remember that very well, we also used to get his TV ads on the Coast. The difference between the originals and subdued ones was quite obvious

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surfisup1000

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#2084474 5-Sep-2018 18:12

And now they look to be in actual trouble...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/106823231/soul-searching-at-struggling-retailer-smiths-city

It would take a dramatic makeover to turn them around.

I'd think other similar stores such as "100% electrical" would be struggling too.

Even the Farmers electrical goods department is something out of the 80's. Although Farmers survives well on other product lines I'd think.

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#2084533 5-Sep-2018 20:10

A debt ratio that has risen from 31 to 40 percent?

Oh dear... they're borked.

They need to borrow against the equity in their Christchurch Colombo Street flagship store!!

Oh wait...

They sold it.

Soooooooo, they can borrow against, um, well, aaaah, ummmmm.

Also, the 100% / Selectrix / Independents are doing a lot better than Smith's. They're agile and able to buy on a local level and not via head office. Not all of them are great, but the ones who do a good job (the likes of Albany Extreme / Barrells in Whangerei etc) are busy for a reason.

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#2084538 5-Sep-2018 20:28

A few 100%'s have closed though, haven't they? I know the Greymouth one did.

Rikkitic

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#2084567 5-Sep-2018 21:32

Smith's City may be going under, but they just opened a new store in Hastings, where they were not previously represented.

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