End of the line for women’s clothes shop
Saturday 20th February 2010, 2:57PM GMT.
Owner Tim Murphy outside the women's clothes shop which is to close
WOMEN’S clothes shop Murphy’s is to close because it is struggling to compete with New Look.
Owner Tim Murphy said that he had no choice but to sell the lease after sales dropped up to 50 per cent since the UK shop opened last July.
The men’s shop next door will stay open because its profits remain up, but the women’s section will shut as soon as someone takes on the unit at Bath Street. ‘There are nine years left on the lease and we are looking for someone to take it on,’
Mr Murphy said, having run the woman’s clothing shop for 16 years. ‘The main reason is New Look. Until they came in we were doing pretty well, but we can’t compete with them. We would have survived the recession, but their arrival was a double whammy.’
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its a real shame i know tim he`s a top bloke hes worked hard to get to were he his today jersey is all but finished no tourist no shoppers good luck man
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Woolworths is still badly missed…a similar shop would have worked on the site as it was one of Woolworths most profitable shops, do we really need such a large girly frockshop.
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Yes and he said New Look was to blame.
Just like we said would happen.
The blame lies with the C.O.C who couldn’t wait for N.L to move in before woollies even closed.
N.L could have fitted in with one of the big stores instead of taking all that space.
Every N.L i have been in are about a quarter smaller than ours.
They should have put in a general store that every-one would use.
I believe the market is losing out as well as people used to go there after coming out of woolies now many no longer go to town.
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Unfortunately,Murphy”s will not be the only shop to close due to the arrival of New Look,many others are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, the C.O.C.could not get “New Look” in quick enough as the are no threat to the supermarkets, had another supermarket arrived here there would have been Hell on, even although 80pc of the peope want one, the whole thing was orchestrated.
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I feel sorry that this man is losing his business but to be very frank the clothing he sells is cheap and not very well made – same as Evolution up the road. The reason people buy from New Look instead is because they at least attempt to make cheaper clothing look a little better and still cost less. Most of the clothes stores in Jersey (chains anyway) cater to a different clientele. New Look came along and suddenly the lower end shops had competition that they previously never had to worry about – so if they are unable to stay competitive in the market they operate in, they should get out of that market – simple rules of business!
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@ bella #3
“…They should have put in a general store that every-one would use…”
As opposed to a clothing store that everybody uses? Woolworths wasn’t replaced like-for-like because of competition in that market place from supermarkets and online stores.
@ hoo ray #4
“…even although 80pc of the peope want one, the whole thing was orchestrated…”
Orchestrated by the COC? Tesco’s looked at coming to Jersey and decided against it, if they’d been able to see Jersey as a large enough market to interest them they’d be here regardless of what the COC may want, but they didn’t. Nobody is stopping Tesco coming to Jersey, they don’t want to be here. 80% may want another supermarket, but unless Tesco thinks 80% of a small market, with higher costs, is worth investing in they’ll not come.
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All empty woolworths shops over here have been purchased by Pound Land
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Lamboratti, who mentioned Tesco?, there are many other retailers who would be glad to provide competition in Jersey, Lidl or Aldi, Sandpiper and the Co-op are savage with there prices in Jersey, foolishly blaming transport costs for it when we all know the supplier pays, they are petrified of competition and even hit back at Poundworld with there adverts. If there is a greedier place on this planet than jersey then tell me where.
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@ Hoo Ray #7
“…who mentioned Tesco?…”
I did, in post #6.
“…there are many other retailers who would be glad to provide competition in Jersey, Lidl or Aldi…”
That’s good then, I assume they’ll be open shortly will they? I assume you can answer from your knowledge, yes? When are they opening? where are they going to be?
Co-op’s savage pricing?!
I was in the UK last week, and one item I buy regularly was only 4% cheaper in the UK than in CICS, Jersey, so once you take off 3% GST that’s only 1% more expensive in Jersey than the UK. 1% for the higher operating costs doesn’t seem excessivly greedy to you does it??
…Oh! also the UK had the product of special offer with 50% off, so at regular pricing CICS beat UK prices by 50%! So, if you’re looking for greed I guess there’s an example of excessive greed in the UK.
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Hope that J. Lamorrari wisited “Specsavers” on his recent trip, anyone with half a brain cell knows that generally speaking, the food basket is much cheaper on the mainland, to suggest otherwise is absolute nonsense, premises could easily be found for smaller retail units like Aldi or Lidl, they did for Iceland.
You disagree with almost every one all the time on whatever subject. Get out more.
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@ H00 Ray #10
“Hope that J. Lamorrari wisited “Specsavers” on his recent trip…”
You appear to have mis-typed your name, my name and ‘visited’; I don’t usually care about typos or spelling etc., but thought the irony of that in a sentence with a reference to Specsavers!
“…generally speaking…”
I wasn’t speaking generally, I was giving a specific example, and that was very clear in my post.
“…premises could easily be found for smaller retail units like Aldi or Lidl, they did for Iceland…”
I agree they could, so if it’s so easy why have neither chosen to do this? you state they would be glad to, so why don’t they? Also you complain about savage pricing by Sandpiper, then seem to use Sandpiper as an example of how things could be done??
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Yes HOO Ray (comment 10)The food basket is very much cheaper on the mainland.I can speak with experience having lived in Jersey all my life until four years ago and now living in the UK.I am stunned when I now visit Jersey and go to a supermarket with a friend as the difference in prices is astronomical.
I was also stunned when New Look opened in the old Woolworths as it is such a huge shop for a limited clientele store like New Look.
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Thanks Julie, most people think like you, although there will always be a few “oddballs”, and thankyou J.Lamporrari,I won £5 thanks to you, as I bet that much that you would rip my spelling to bits first thing and you obliged as Iknew you would, you are so predicable, meanwhile, roll onhavetIhe arrival of Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl,anyone. Some more punctuation and spelling mistakes for you to sort out.
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@ Hoo Ray #13
“…predicable…”
Yes very predictable I know; you can rely on me to pose a reasonable question, or point out when somebody is talking rubbish.
But you’re predictable too Hoo Ray, you can be relied on to come back with a slight, rather than an answer.
Hoo Ray, do you believe that Aldi (or whoever) would charge the same prices in Jersey as they do in the UK? do you honestly believe they would absorb the additional costs of operating in Jersey? If you do why do you think they are yet to open a branch in Jersey?
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Yes J.Lamborrari, I agree with you, these firms will indeed charge more to operate in Jersey, I have heard of regional pricing, I and many others feel that choice is just as important as price, olso these firms will be prevented from trading here by the usual suspects. End of.
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@ Hoo Ray #15
“…usual suspects…”
Oh them :rolleyes:
“…I and many others feel that choice is just as important as price…”
Fair enough, how many international retailers would quench your thirst for choice? Persoanlly I see nothing in Aldi that I couldn’t buy in Tesco or Waitrose, or indeed Checkers or Co-op; Marmite is Marmite at the end of the day the only difference is price amongst these shops.
And I do note that in post #8 your argument was about price and greed.
Just so I’m clear you’d prefer choice over price? and so you’d be happy to see all the national and international stores, all selling more or less identical lines of goods open in Jersey to afford you this choice?
Sorry, but I think if that were to happen the market share of each would be so small that all the local retailers would fold, the national stores’ pricing would have to be much higher with a small market and higher costs, and over time the national stores would leave until only a couple were left, and we’d be in the same situation as we are now for choice, prices would likely be higher, and local businesses would have closed.
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J Lamborrari (comment 16)I don’t know you or what your circumstances are but I am a woman who has always done the family shopping(no idea how often you shop or whether you shop just for yourself or a family)What I love about living in the UK now is the enormous choice and the price-I believe both to be important.I have reached the stage now of knowing exactly where I want to shop depending on what my needs are.For example if I need basic toiletries,cleaning stuff,tinned foods etc I go to Tesco but if I have family coming to stay I head for Sainsbury or Waitrose for better choice in the standard I desire.I use farm shops for vegetables and a village butcher for the best meat I have ever had(and excellent friendly service!)Believe me you can certainly buy things in Sainsbury that you will never find stocked in Jersey Co-Op or Checkers.Of course all the major supermarkets here do excellent childrens clothes too which is a big plus for young families.
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Julie, you are wasting your time trying to reason with J. Lamborarri, I know many people who no longer post an opinion due to this desperately unhappy individual,this person consistently disagrees with everyone on every subject, leave this person to enjoy their marmite.
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@ JULIE #17
Quite why my shopping habits should be of any relevance to how much you enjoy shopping in the UK I don’t know; but the fact that you can enjoy the kind of shopping you want to is great, I’m happy for you.
However if you are trying to make any point about retail in Jersey I’m not sure what it was really.
Comparing the UK in Jersey, and blaming the retailers in Jersey (or the ‘usual suspects’??) for any comparative lack of choice of difference in price is flawed. It really should be either obvious, or at least easy to understand once it’s pointed out that a market with 60million people will benefit from economies of scale not enjoyed by a market of 90thousand.
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Hooray No. 18 Marmite – 75 pence in ASDA.
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I don’t like Marmite.
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Thank you HooRay-point taken and agreed!I thought that as he has limited knowledge of what you can buy in some mainland stores may be because he is a person who doesn’t actually do much shopping which is why I was explaining my situation and my knowledge of shopping in Jersey and the UK.Never mind I shall take your advice.Cheers!
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@ Toastedteacakes #20
“…Marmite – 75 pence in ASDA…”
Without a comparison to local pricing I don’t see how that makes much of a point?
I’d make the comparison myself, but the smallest size I can find is 125grams, and that sells for £1.37 in ASDA, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsburys; so please let me know what size Marmite you are talking about for sale at 75p in ASDA??
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@ JULIE #22
“…I thought…”
Well you were wrong to come to the assumption you did. And even if my knowledge of what was available in the UK stores was limited, how limited did you think it was that I needed to be told that Tesco do; ‘basic toiletries,cleaning stuff,tinned foods etc’ or that Sainsburys do; ‘things’ that Jersey’s Co-op and Checkers don’t(the same is of course true in reverse), and the revelation that your local butcher does good meat and that farm shops sell…. oh what was it you called them; vegetables? …really didn’t come as they great a shock.
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No 23 J. Lam I Purchased the said marmite in ASDA South of Southampton. It was lying in basket which contained various other items of out of date food.
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@ Toastedteacakes #25
So I was right, it was a pointless comment; I wonder were you hoping that people would just take it at face value and add it to the various other myths and BS on price comparisons in these forums?
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No. 26 I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.
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@ Toastedteacakes #27
My point is that you decided to post, in the middle of a discussion on the differences of retailing price and choice between the UK and Jersey, a one line post giving a product, price and vendor; the point seemingly being made that this vendor was cheaper than could be bought locally in Jersey. You failed to point out that the product was in a basket of out of date produce, and therefore likely to been cut price, making any practical or worthwhile comparison impossible.
Now you may claim that you were just stating a fact, for no real reason, like some sort of information tourettes, but I suspect you were just trying to make a point that ASDA were cheaper than Jersey, hoping you fact would not be challenged.
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From my infrequent shopping trips to St Helier I would observe
There are too many clothes shops both male and female. Just take a walk around de Gruchy with the vast quantities of female clothing available, often reduced in price.
Clothes shopping is one of the first things you cut back on if you are feeling less well off.
There are also far too many coffee shops/takeaways – another thing you cut out. A takeaway coffee a day for a year amounts to quite a lot.
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