A Natural Consequence Of Having Too Many Shops !

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/29201191

I have been waiting for this. My town centre has 12 Mobile phone shops...far too many and something had to give. What a pity about all those job losses though.

[Gromit]

There is no such thing as too many shops.

That is competition and keeps prices down. The network providers want to reduce competition so that they put prices up and so that they make more money for themselves.

It has nothing to do with the marketplace being too crowded. It is too much competition keeping prices down for consumers

[VHG]

>>the network providers are no longer prepared to let them have any airtime.

Not quite true.

Phones4U for you do not sell their own phones or have their own phone network.

They are a reseller for other peoples phones and networks.

So you buy a contract at Phones4U for a Samsung phone on the EE network.

Phones4U take a small cut for dong the sale, but your phone and network provider is EE, not Phones4U.

It seem that now EE, Vodafone etc will no longer give Phones4U any phones or allow them to sell contracts on the EE or Vodafone network, so Phones4U cant trade as they have nothing to sell.

I assume Vodafone and EE now think they can sell direct to the customer (over the internet?) without having to give Phones4U a cut of the business.

[mikey4444]

Isn't the "marketplace being too crowded" and "too much competition" the same thing Gromit !

[Gromit]

No. See VHG's answer above.

[mushroom25]

I've never managed to buy anything from a phone shop, whether a network shop, or a re-seller. I go in, and the sales staff ignore you, they're too busy looking cool, or talking to their friends, or playing games. if you succeed in getting anyone's attention, they've never heard of what you went in there for.

result, I buy online.

[mikey4444]

Gromit...I give up ! Phones for u obviously had a really smashing business model and its all down to sheer bad luck !

[mikey4444]

VHG...Vodafone and EE already sell masses of stuff on the internet and no longer need to waste money paying someone else to do it for them. All retail is going that way these days.

[Bazile]

mushroom25

//I go in, and the sales staff ignore you, they're too busy looking cool, or talking to their friends, or playing games. if you succeed in getting anyone's attention, they've never heard of what you went in there for. //

your'e ignored when you go into a phone shop -really ?

My experience is that your'e accosted by staff , before you even cross the doorway

[Gromit]

Mikey,

It was not that great a business model. They were reliant on other companies to supply them things to sell. The other companies decided they didn't need them.

[mikey4444]

Mush...I have had your experience and then I have had the opposite. I remember being very grateful for the O2 shop in Penzance getting my phone to work again after it froze up last summer. I love iphones but sometimes they just sit there and sulk, and there is beggar all you can do about it. This lad was marvelous though and so polite !

A "Saturday" boy took it all in his stride and fixed it in about 5 mins !

[mikey4444]

Thanks Gromit...I think we met in the middle there somewhere !

[tamborine]

No mobile shops in my high street but too many dentists. Halitosis Street is where I live ;(

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29218808

I heard John Caudwell being interviewed on the Today Program this morning and he came over as very plain-speaking. He says this story stinks and I agree with him.