57 replies to this topic

[:)]

Vieira4, on 20 February 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

Not to mention JB had removed the 2 for 30 and 2 for 30 sales and also seem to have upped the price on every blu ray by $5-10 on top of that.  I do not even bother going in there at those prices.

no competition from amazon now is there ! if I didnt still have some jb vouchers probably wouldnt bother going back there ! bigw has done some good pricing of late eg lady and the tramp. its just their stores are so hopelessly organised and with literally no stock ever so not a great option either !

[Vieira4]

:), on 21 February 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

no competition from amazon now is there ! if I didnt still have some jb vouchers probably wouldnt bother going back there ! bigw has done some good pricing of late eg lady and the tramp. its just their stores are so hopelessly organised and with literally no stock ever so not a great option either !

probably true but weren't jb claiming profits were down 9% or something?  noone will be shopping there at all at current prices!

[blybo]

The days of huge discounts may be coming to an end. Think of every retail business that has gone belly up or in dire trouble and the common thread is no service but cheap prices. As the public has become more accustomed to discounting the discounts have had to become bigger to entice us to open our wallets. This spirals to a situation where turnover must be huge to cover over heads, particularly for B&M stores. Volumes have decreased across the entire retail sector and the big discounts can no longer survive.

Even in my own industry the stores doing discount merchandice are in trouble. The guys offering service and exclusive or quality product for a fair price are the ones doing well.

Many think the days of B&M stores are numbered. What will happen to prices once they disappear and the online stores have gotten ride of their competition? Be careful what you wish for.

[mr-happy-pants]

Otherwise known as the 'Bunnings Model'

You only have to compete while the competition exists!

As blybo says "be careful what you pray for"

[GaryCook]

blybo, on 22 February 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

The days of huge discounts may be coming to an end. Think of every retail business that has gone belly up or in dire trouble and the common thread is no service but cheap prices. As the public has become more accustomed to discounting the discounts have had to become bigger to entice us to open our wallets. This spirals to a situation where turnover must be huge to cover over heads, particularly for B&M stores. Volumes have decreased across the entire retail sector and the big discounts can no longer survive.

Even in my own industry the stores doing discount merchandice are in trouble. The guys offering service and exclusive or quality product for a fair price are the ones doing well.

Many think the days of B&M stores are numbered. What will happen to prices once they disappear and the online stores have gotten ride of their competition? Be careful what you wish for.

What I experience is "no service and expensive prices"

It's ridiculous that I can buy stuff cheaper at retail plus freight from the US than the B&M stores get the same stuff for wholesale.  They need to lift their game when it comes to negotiating prices with manufacturers.  Combine that with paying Westfields a lot less exhorbitant rent and they might just be able to compete.


Cheers
Gary

[blybo]

GaryCook, on 23 February 2012 - 09:53 AM, said:

What I experience is "no service and expensive prices"

It's ridiculous that I can buy stuff cheaper at retail plus freight from the US than the B&M stores get the same stuff for wholesale.  They need to lift their game when it comes to negotiating prices with manufacturers.  Combine that with paying Westfields a lot less exhorbitant rent and they might just be able to compete.


Cheers
Gary

You need to shop at different stores then! At least I get service.

I think you might be surprised to know just how small our market is. I'm a wholesaler and I can't negotiate decent prices largely because our volume is not worth worrying about on a global scale and the distributors have single retail clients  who buy more than all of Australia, especially on exclusive type products. It also seems that apart from the large "box mover" market in Oz that AV retailers use the distributors to buy items often 1 at a time and then expect credit. Can you blame a wholesaler who has a huge warehouse full of merchandise for wanting a decent chunk of the profits if they are the ones taking all the risk and supplying warranty?

Why should a retailer make big margins if the box comes in the back door and out the front into the consumers car?

Australian retail rents are the highest in the world, partially because our real estate is still largely unaffected by the GFC and there are always businesses willing to pay those rents.

Edited by blybo, 23 February 2012 - 02:15 PM.

[GaryCook]

blybo, on 23 February 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

You need to shop at different stores then! At least I get service.

It's a generalisation of course, but compared to the retail shopping I have done O/S, the service levels here are crap.

Quote

I think you might be surprised to know just how small our market is. I'm a wholesaler and I can't negotiate decent prices largely because our volume is not worth worrying about on a global scale and the distributors have single retail clients  who buy more than all of Australia, especially on exclusive type products.

I have stopped buying from a number of manufacturers, I buy retail from O/S.   When they call me up I tell them exactly that.  My largest supplier has world wide pricing, I pay the same here as in India, China and the US.  That's why he's my largest supplier, the company that was my largest supplier doesn’t have world wide pricing, I could actually buy their product cheaper in Korea than I could here, and the stuff was made here.


The time has long gone where a manufacturer can use one country to subsidise another, the prices are too easily passed around the world.  For example, my local tyre retailer, part of a national franchise, is $10K a week better off buying retail from the US than buying from the local manufacturer/distributor wholesaler.  That's just ridiculous and unsustainable, not to mention totally illogical.  At first he used to hide it from the supply chain, now, after I suggested it, he tells anyone and everyone.  As a result the gap is closing, some tyre brands/sizes are now 50% cheaper than they were last year.

Quote

It also seems that apart from the large "box mover" market in Oz that AV retailers use the distributors to buy items often 1 at a time and then expect credit

Everyone expects credit.

Quote

Can you blame a wholesaler who has a huge warehouse full of merchandise for wanting a decent chunk of the profits if they are the ones taking all the risk and supplying warranty?

I demand manufacturer’s warranty both as consumer and a wholesaler.  Otherwise the customer gets screwed with lousy service because there’s nothing in it for the distributor/wholesaler so they cost cut on the warranty.

Quote

Why should a retailer make big margins if the box comes in the back door and out the front into the consumers car?

Exactly.

Quote

Australian retail rents are the highest in the world, partially because our real estate is still largely unaffected by the GFC and there are always businesses willing to pay those rents.

Frank Lowy is rich enough, I don’t need to make him any richer.


Cheers
Gary

[Ralfi]

tonyjg, on 17 February 2012 - 05:49 PM, said:

No real bargains.   No deals.

For me it's; No titles.

I've suspended my BD rental sub again too.

Waiting on new living room furniture, which should arrive next week - so hoping that'll encourage more sitting, rather than the more active stuff i've miraculously motivated myself to do this Summer..

Put off both the LOTR & SW trilogies until I can sit in comfort (that's 5 months since purchase!)

I'll be a laz-e-boy (plug!) again soon.

btw, anyone want to buy a near-new black, leather recliner? (i'll edit this if inappropriate)...

[:)]

strange if even there are releases, nto sure the go but aint getting to the shelves ! wheres 'the hunter' for example ..perhaps theyre trying to recreate the movie so you feel like your looking for a tassie tiger in the tassie wilderness !

[flukeyluke]

There can't be any money in BD's for the retailers because they don't commit much space to the format. Look how many titles are now in the market yet just a small percenatge actually make it to shelves.
I have given up shopping for disks locally because the range is so limited, particularly for music BD's which I love.

I am also on here alot less. I have most of the BD's I wanted and rarely even go in the trade thread now. What does seem to make it in there is not the stuff I would chase.
There just does not seem to be be much going on with the BD format in general, certainly not locally anyway.

[:)]

sounds like we heading to end up like the US pity, the B&M stores including the giant chain stores just cant compete with the likes of amazon there. end up wiht the ludicrous situation where just cant go out pick up a disc looking for. have to order it online and then wait for it to turn up in the mail !

[com5984]

I use to buy on spec, but pretty much download all my movies and if one impresses me I'll order it on bluray

[melmac]

Looks like there may be one less store to buy from soon with Wow going into administration, I have only purchsed from them once when they had that super cheap Back to the future special a while back.
http://www.theage.co...0227-1ty57.html

[tonyjg]

melmac, on 27 February 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

Looks like there may be one less store to buy from soon with Wow going into administration, I have only purchsed from them once when they had that super cheap Back to the future special a while back.
http://www.theage.co...0227-1ty57.html

I just noticed a small story on this in today's Sydney Telegraph - Business Section.   $20m bad debt, 15 stores and 500 employees.

Noted that it had suffered declining sales in a consumer environment characterised by heavy discounting. With respect to this last point - what can any retail store do to 'compete' in such an environment ??  It's noticable to myself that JB has been opening more stores in Sydney (pointlessly opening one at Taren Point / Caringbah close to the Miranda store, and re-opening at Bankstown).  Then there are 3 stores here in the city cannabilising each other.

I wonder where JB will be at come the end of 2012 - more stores, or less ??

Edited by tonyjg, 28 February 2012 - 08:44 AM.

[Chopsus]

I think you will find that JB are deliberately proliferating their stores in order to drive out competition (like WOW) ... once done they will scale back and hike prices.

This model has been used many times before by the big retail chains with regard to fruit & veg shops, Bread Shops, Butchers etc ..... BlockBuster also used the same model in the mid 90's to drive out competition.

[:)]

Chopsus, on 28 February 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

I think you will find that JB are deliberately proliferating their stores in order to drive out competition (like WOW) ... once done they will scale back and hike prices.

This model has been used many times before by the big retail chains with regard to fruit & veg shops, Bread Shops, Butchers etc ..... BlockBuster also used the same model in the mid 90's to drive out competition.

I remember the guy at myer telling me they couldnt compete with jbhifi re price. and they dont price match for that reason. and were getting out of disc retail all together as couldnt compete. looks like the jb master plan is working.

but to guys like me it has zero implication when direct import from amazon is still an option.

[MLXXX]

com5984, on 26 February 2012 - 05:29 PM, said:

I use to buy on spec, but pretty much download all my movies and if one impresses me I'll order it on bluray

One I saw on the net was Street Dance 3D. The dancing and 3D impressed me and I wanted a full res copy on Bluray. Couldn't see it offered in Australia so ordered it from Amazon UK for a very reasonable price. [Took the opportunity to order several other 3D Blu-rays at the same time: one postage charge all up of GPB 8.05.] 11 calendar days from on-line ordering to delivery to my Brisbane address. The 3D is very good, and much more effective in Full HD.

[mcduck]

well i'm ordering the new  Twilight, Sherlock 2, Tin Tin, The Three Musketeers and Captain America this weekend  
i can wait no more
but there really aren't a lot of movies worth having so i guess that's slowed down the demand
that and dvds are like $30 each on release in Aus and blus more

Edited by mcduck, 01 March 2012 - 07:11 AM.

[Quark]

The Indiana Jones set is now up on Amazon for release in the northern fall/autumn.

[tonyjg]

mcduck, on 01 March 2012 - 06:42 AM, said:

well i'm ordering the new  Twilight, Sherlock 2, Tin Tin, The Three Musketeers and Captain America this weekend  
...............
but there really aren't a lot of movies worth having

THIS

[mcduck]

tonyjg, on 01 March 2012 - 02:23 PM, said:

THIS

Thanks for that  
read some reviews and giving it a miss

[Bosch]

I still prefer to buy locally, and will only import if the title probably won't ever be released here (obscure cult movies, e.g. HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP) or the local release has problems compared to the O/S releases.

I picked up 3 decent mainstream movies from JB on the weekend for $10.63 each during their 3-for-2 selected sale. Over the years I've noticed that most titles I want eventually get discounted. Just have to be prepared to wait.

Edited by Bosch, 07 March 2012 - 12:24 PM.

[jsmith]

Bosch, on 07 March 2012 - 12:23 PM, said:

I still prefer to buy locally, and will only import if the title probably won't ever be released here (obscure cult movies, e.g. HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP) or the local release has problems compared to the O/S releases.

I picked up 3 decent mainstream movies from JB on the weekend for $10.63 each during their 3-for-2 selected sale. Over the years I've noticed that most titles I want eventually get discounted. Just have to be prepared to wait.

Sure it often is just a matter of waiting, however once they get cheap here they're even cheaper O/S. You may have got some of those for $6 - 9 on Amazon.

JSmith

[com5984]

Not so much the price, we get ripped off with audio a lot of the time not to mention packaging

[minty]

com5984, on 07 March 2012 - 05:48 PM, said:

Not so much the price, we get ripped off with audio a lot of the time not to mention packaging

Exactly!