Dick Smith in store decline

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1133 posts

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#1462016 5-Jan-2016 22:35

richms:
amiga500: Yep! DSE Riccarton had a tech service counter. It was called 'Clever Dick' I think. It was scrapped a few months ago. They also had brochures advertising services such as software install, virus removal etc..

Clearly not very well promoted. And not sure that going up against noel leeming group for that sort of thing would ever work anyway.

Hmmm yeah Noel Leeming are pushing their own service stuff pretty heavily. They seem to do a prety good job of it too based on feedback I have heard.

I've heard a few rumours that either TW Group (who own Noel Leeming and The Warehouse and stuff) or the group that owns Farmers might be interested in buying what's left of Dick Smith. The people behind Farmers do have a history of buying failed businesses and turning them around - like Farmers itself and Whitcoulls.

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Stan

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#1462027 5-Jan-2016 23:08

antonknee:
richms:
amiga500: Yep! DSE Riccarton had a tech service counter. It was called 'Clever Dick' I think. It was scrapped a few months ago. They also had brochures advertising services such as software install, virus removal etc..

Clearly not very well promoted. And not sure that going up against noel leeming group for that sort of thing would ever work anyway.

Hmmm yeah Noel Leeming are pushing their own service stuff pretty heavily. They seem to do a prety good job of it too based on feedback I have heard.

I've heard a few rumours that either TW Group (who own Noel Leeming and The Warehouse and stuff) or the group that owns Farmers might be interested in buying what's left of Dick Smith. The people behind Farmers do have a history of buying failed businesses and turning them around - like Farmers itself and Whitcoulls.

It would be good if either one brought it. Retail experience is what is needed to fix Dick Smith not a private equity company.

savag3

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#1462029 5-Jan-2016 23:11

According to the Companies Office site the NZ company is not in receivership. So either the receiver hasn't filed the paperwork with the Companies Office site yet or the NZ company isn't really in receivership...
Looking at the accounts for the NZ company available there last financial year it was profitable (net profit $1.35 million) and had $10 million cash in the bank. They look not too bad. If things are still like this it is very likely they will be bought.

mattwnz

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#1462031 5-Jan-2016 23:24

drajk:
mattwnz:

Anyone know if the stores are currently open? They were giving new customers over Xmas, a $5 gift voucher if you signed up to their email newsletters, so I suspect those are void. Just glad I chased them up for my order, as it took them nearly a month to deliver, and had to go to their management to get it. I suspect there will be a few people who haven't got their orders, and I suspect they may become unsecured creditors.

I'm still waiting for some items from 08/12. They are no longer on the website. Phoned today - the staff member didn't even know they were in receivership. Told me I would receive goods by next week as coming direct from supplier - seems unlikely. Asked him to send me an email - said he would but nothing was forthcoming.

If my items don't arrive next week as promised I suppose my best initial action would be to ask CC Bank to reverse that part of the charge.

If they were truly insolvent and accepted orders for goods which they didn't intend to acquire or knew that they had no way of acquiring I believe that the directors may have a case to answer - it will be interesting to see what happens. If there are enough of us in a similar situation we may be able to put pressure on the authorities to act.

I would suggest contacting your credit card company as soon as possible to see what they say, as some may only give you a month to make a charge back for goods not received. They would probably be aware of the situation with other cusomters.

I put the pressure on DS staff to provide me with my goods ordered around that date, because many of us could see the writing on the wall.

Just wondering if the stores do close, what happens with cashbacks that were advertised by DS and run by their suppliers. I have a cashback still waiting to be paid by Canon , for an item purchased from DS about a month ago. I hope this isn't going to be affected by that. I presume it won't be.

mattwnz

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#1462033 5-Jan-2016 23:28

antonknee:
richms:
amiga500: Yep! DSE Riccarton had a tech service counter. It was called 'Clever Dick' I think. It was scrapped a few months ago. They also had brochures advertising services such as software install, virus removal etc..

Clearly not very well promoted. And not sure that going up against noel leeming group for that sort of thing would ever work anyway.

Hmmm yeah Noel Leeming are pushing their own service stuff pretty heavily. They seem to do a prety good job of it too based on feedback I have heard.

I've heard a few rumours that either TW Group (who own Noel Leeming and The Warehouse and stuff) or the group that owns Farmers might be interested in buying what's left of Dick Smith. The people behind Farmers do have a history of buying failed businesses and turning them around - like Farmers itself and Whitcoulls.

Not sure it Whitcoulls has really been turned around. It has basically become a toystore these days, selling rows of cookbooks. I haven't purchased any books from it for years, as it simply doesn't have the books I am interested in. Unity is really the only real bookshop left in Wellington, otherwise you have to buy online.

matisyahu

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#1462038 5-Jan-2016 23:34

Stan:
antonknee:
richms:
amiga500: Yep! DSE Riccarton had a tech service counter. It was called 'Clever Dick' I think. It was scrapped a few months ago. They also had brochures advertising services such as software install, virus removal etc..

Clearly not very well promoted. And not sure that going up against noel leeming group for that sort of thing would ever work anyway.

Hmmm yeah Noel Leeming are pushing their own service stuff pretty heavily. They seem to do a prety good job of it too based on feedback I have heard.

I've heard a few rumours that either TW Group (who own Noel Leeming and The Warehouse and stuff) or the group that owns Farmers might be interested in buying what's left of Dick Smith. The people behind Farmers do have a history of buying failed businesses and turning them around - like Farmers itself and Whitcoulls.

It would be good if either one brought it. Retail experience is what is needed to fix Dick Smith not a private equity company.

If they bought it would it be worth keeping the Dick Smith brand around given so much negative connotations or would they be more or less buying up the left over stock and property leases then turning them into 'Farmers Electronics' or just simply expand Farmers into things like laptops, desktops, phones etc.? I think that goes back to the question whether Dick Smith has a place in the market any more given that Noel Leeming has lifted its game, JB Hi-Fi is here along side Harvey Norman along with numerous online retailers which make me wonder whether Disk Smith has a place any more and whether it would be better to throw in the towel rather than giving employees false hope about the future.

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#1462043 5-Jan-2016 23:35

Farmers use to have a pathetic electronics selection a long time ago. That went to make room for more sheets and pillows and clothes which they seem to do well. Would they really buy a failing chain to get back into a range that is low margin and they got out of a while back? Doubt it.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#1462050 5-Jan-2016 23:47

kawaii:
Stan:
antonknee:
richms:
amiga500: Yep! DSE Riccarton had a tech service counter. It was called 'Clever Dick' I think. It was scrapped a few months ago. They also had brochures advertising services such as software install, virus removal etc..

Clearly not very well promoted. And not sure that going up against noel leeming group for that sort of thing would ever work anyway.

Hmmm yeah Noel Leeming are pushing their own service stuff pretty heavily. They seem to do a prety good job of it too based on feedback I have heard.

I've heard a few rumours that either TW Group (who own Noel Leeming and The Warehouse and stuff) or the group that owns Farmers might be interested in buying what's left of Dick Smith. The people behind Farmers do have a history of buying failed businesses and turning them around - like Farmers itself and Whitcoulls.

It would be good if either one brought it. Retail experience is what is needed to fix Dick Smith not a private equity company.

If they bought it would it be worth keeping the Dick Smith brand around given so much negative connotations or would they be more or less buying up the left over stock and property leases then turning them into 'Farmers Electronics' or just simply expand Farmers into things like laptops, desktops, phones etc.? I think that goes back to the question whether Dick Smith has a place in the market any more given that Noel Leeming has lifted its game, JB Hi-Fi is here along side Harvey Norman along with numerous online retailers which make me wonder whether Disk Smith has a place any more and whether it would be better to throw in the towel rather than giving employees false hope about the future.

The only way I think is if it went back to it's roots with electronics and things for the enthusiast. Maybe if they got into the real techy stuff that other big box retailers don't sell. eg something along the lines of raspberry pi's, Mindstorms lego , funway electronics etc. The sort of thing that gets kids into tech .
They did have a point of difference in that they were one of the only NZ based retailers that sold Kindles, and in some cases far cheaper than you could buy them from Amazon directly.

I think there is a zero chance that someone will buy them, and only rebrand them. It is the brand name that really has any value, and I think potentially it does still have value in terms of a brand, as you can mend brands if it is done well.

richms

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#1462052 5-Jan-2016 23:52

mattwnz:
The only way I think is if it went back to it's roots with electronics and things for the enthusiast. Maybe if they got into the real techy stuff that other big box retailers don't sell. eg something along the lines of raspberry pi's, Mindstorms lego , funway electronics etc. The sort of thing that gets kids into tech .
They did have a point of difference in that they were one of the only NZ based retailers that sold Kindles, and in some cases far cheaper than you could buy them from Amazon directly.

I think there is a zero chance that someone will buy them, and only rebrand them. It is the brand name that really has any value, and I think potentially it does still have value in terms of a brand, as you can mend brands if it is done well.

Anyone buying that sort of stuff will do it online. There is no place for that sort of thing at a mall. Kids are getting introduced to that stuff thru schools who will be directing people to buy from their suppliers that give them the kickbacks or support the programs that they use.

Removing gaming? Probably the only thing that still has a chance in a mall as evidenced by EB being usually quite busy.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#1462054 6-Jan-2016 00:04

richms:
mattwnz:
The only way I think is if it went back to it's roots with electronics and things for the enthusiast. Maybe if they got into the real techy stuff that other big box retailers don't sell. eg something along the lines of raspberry pi's, Mindstorms lego , funway electronics etc. The sort of thing that gets kids into tech .
They did have a point of difference in that they were one of the only NZ based retailers that sold Kindles, and in some cases far cheaper than you could buy them from Amazon directly.

I think there is a zero chance that someone will buy them, and only rebrand them. It is the brand name that really has any value, and I think potentially it does still have value in terms of a brand, as you can mend brands if it is done well.

Anyone buying that sort of stuff will do it online. There is no place for that sort of thing at a mall. Kids are getting introduced to that stuff thru schools who will be directing people to buy from their suppliers that give them the kickbacks or support the programs that they use.

Removing gaming? Probably the only thing that still has a chance in a mall as evidenced by EB being usually quite busy.

Agree that malls are not the right place. They really need to be on the edge of town like Jaycars, in cheaper rent areas. Stores in malls need high turner over to pay the high overheads. Sure, many people will buy online, but also kids like things now and don't want to wait. Plus if they can try things out instore, they are more likely to buy from that store if the price difference isn't big. I am sure there is a market for something new, maybe more in the home automation market, but is possibly something not suited to a normal big box retail store or mall environment.

raytaylor

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#1462059 6-Jan-2016 00:08

richms: Farmers use to have a pathetic electronics selection a long time ago. That went to make room for more sheets and pillows and clothes which they seem to do well. Would they really buy a failing chain to get back into a range that is low margin and they got out of a while back? Doubt it.

When I worked for the local retravision, farmers sales staff used to ring up when doing their price checking around town to set their pricing so they were competitive.
We would see the caller ID and give them prices below our cost

Ray Taylor

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gareth41

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#1462061 6-Jan-2016 00:16

People who bought gift cards using a credit card should just go to their bank and ask for a charge back. Would this be possible in given situation where DSE is invalidating all gift cards? Or is a charge back only accepted on non receipt of goods, i.e. said company/person fails to deliver?

mattwnz

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#1462072 6-Jan-2016 00:56

gareth41: People who bought gift cards using a credit card should just go to their bank and ask for a charge back. Would this be possible in given situation where DSE is invalidating all gift cards? Or is a charge back only accepted on non receipt of goods, i.e. said company/person fails to deliver?

That is an interesting point. I guess they did receive the goods 'in terms of the gift card', but it is essentially defective, if it can't be used for it's intended purpose. eg Is the gift card fit for purpose under the CGA? Maybe someone with a good understanding in law may know. I would also check with teh credit card company as to what they would say. We do have consumer laws for a reason, but it doesn't look like protect consumers for gift cards. The moral is basically don't buy gift cards, as there is a risk that this will happen.

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#1462076 6-Jan-2016 01:52

savag3: According to the Companies Office site the NZ company is not in receivership. So either the receiver hasn't filed the paperwork with the Companies Office site yet or the NZ company isn't really in receivership...
Looking at the accounts for the NZ company available there last financial year it was profitable (net profit $1.35 million) and had $10 million cash in the bank. They look not too bad. If things are still like this it is very likely they will be bought.

A trading profit of only $1.3m is a very low return on the equity invested in the company. The previous year, although higher at $3.7m, was still really low - compared to the size of the balance sheet and the volume of sales. Sales for 2015 were down 10% on 2014.

It seems that none of the cost of the group's hefty bank debt is being shouldered by the NZ operation. Although there is $11m shown as owing to DSE Holdings, it's "interest-free" and there is no 'interest expense' in the NZ Profit and Loss Statement. If the NZ operation had been covering its notional share of the interest on the group debt, the NZ 'profit' would have been a decent-sized loss.

It seems a far stretch for the management to say that the NZ operation is profitable - I'd say it's stuffed. I guess they could technically claim profitability even if the profit was just $1. Huge difference between 'profitable' and viable.

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Jaxson

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#1462081 6-Jan-2016 06:58

I can only assume the tech/electronics part of dick smith was not profitable, so that went in the rebrand to DSE.
There's no going to back to that to start again. The worlds moved on from that stuff being interesting and jaycar is there now also.

As discussed before, DSE just walked itself into a no mans land, where others did whatever DSE tried much better.

How is Harvey Norman holding up? Noel and farmers tend to cover a lot of their base now. Smiths city seems to be struggle locally.

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