Comet in admin. It's been in a mess for a while.

Another massive blow for Hull and the surrounding area. Thats Comet, Seven Seas and Kimberley Clark all closing in Hull (and Barton) and McCains cutting around half of their workforce too.

Of course the government will tell you all's well up here and they are creating jobs........my

I'm not surprised tbh, last time I bought anything from there was at least 3 years ago. Haven't been back because they weren't cheap, had poor service, poor stock, poor range and were too bothered about trying to pressure us into buying an additional warranty instead of actually helping us.

I've always found them OK but, yes, they have struggled these last few years and stock at times has been sp. They only seemed not to be cheap against the internet based sellers. Problem is that when all the shops go bust no one will be able to go and look at the goods and get advice. To me its better to pay an extra couple of quid for that, especially for specialist items eg for hobbies, etc. People will end up regretting not patronising shops.

I doubt there'll be many who remember the original Comet business model. They had a large shed on Clough Road in Hull, where they stocked everything in their original shipping cartons. They could undercut other retailers because a quirk in consumer law allowed them to act as wholesalers and avoid consumer legislation. I bought my first HiFi from there and can remember paying around £800-ish in 1978 for a top-range Pioneer system of separates (I re-sold them on eBay a few years ago for not much less than that). That loophole was soon closed and it was abput that time that Comet embarked on its expansion programme. Because of their discounting, they still had problems sourcing from some manufacturers, even though Retail Price Maintenance had been abolished, so they offered grey imports

There's no doubt that along with other aggressive retailers in different markets, they hastened the closure of many independents and although I feel sympathy for the staff, I reckon the owners of Fanthorpe's in Hepworth Arcade will be laughing their tits off.

I never said they did fail because of the government. I'm saying the government will bury their head in the sand and pretend its not happening or its a one off here in Hull. Thats just not the case. In the space of just 4 weeks, 3 major companies in Hull and surrounding areas have announced they are closing and moving their businessess elsewhere, in the case of Kimberley Clark its to the far East. Do you think the government should actually step in here and be finding out why, or should they do as they are doing now which is bugger all? All Mr Cameron would say on Wednesdays pmq's was the JobCentre + will be there for the redundant employees. I'm sure those made redundant will be jumping for joy at that news.

Are you really still trying to peddle that little myth? Really?



I look forward to hearing your explanation of a culture of what appears to be poor management, and a lack of coherent planning and investment in the private sector.

Were you still in school shorts or don't you remember the instigator?

I recall the days when Comet would take our full page (broadsheet news) adverts in the daily newspapers with no photographs but just lists and lists of all of their stock and a price - want a Hi-Fi seperates, choose the amp from the amp section, then a truntable from the turntable section etc etc etc.

They had one warehouse on Armley Road in Leeds which was literally a warehouse with a "trade counter" style area for the public, you walked in, told them what you wanted having pre-selected it from the newspaper ads which were also posted around their reception area and someone went "out the back" to get it for you - most times the first time you saw what you'd bought was when you got it home

When I got married we didn't have a honeymoon instead we took a day off work and went to Comet in Cowgate in Newcastle, it was another warehouse with a trade counter and a list of stock to choose from but being in Cowgate it was protected like a high security prison, you actually had to knock at the door and wait until they decided whether you were ok to let in, then when you'd bought your goods (cash only) you'd go around the back and wait untilt eh coast was clear and they felt brave enough to open the doors and bring your packages out to your car - we bought a twin tub washing machine with our "honeymoon" money so we wouldn't have got far if we'd wanted to go away anyway

Wasn't it Comet, who a few years ago stopped receiving cash, insisting instead that all transactions be by card or cheque?

I'd put this one down to the shift of the retail environment into the internet age rather than any gov or recession.
Like Game in particular, Woolworths to a large extent and soon very likely the Argos part of HRG, HMV and Waterstones, they did not recognise and react to the effect the internet was to have on retail.

Remember, government = bad, regardless of facts, it's the Sin Bin way at the moment, everything is Thatchers fault (even though Labour had over a decade to fix everything)