Good shout Tweakes. There were concerns in December, but they said that the 'experience' of their shops was worth keeping. It also helps out their brand, when they also supply to supermarkets etc. One thing about chocolate, though, is that while it's a seasonal product, its seasons are all year long. Valentine's next, then Easter... I also think that Thornton's don't have the same level of brand identity as HMV. I think HMV would have been able to thrive online without shops. Not convinced that Thorntons would.
I was in HMV after christmas, and the staffseemed fine to me. I don't like the Amazon, Starbucks, Costa tax evasion thing, and I hope the government hit them hard, but for an exile, having music and books delivered to the door takes some beating. A lot of the music I like (JBK, Japan, Sylvian) is very obscure, but Amazon have loads of it. HMV Have a bit of a back catalogue, but nothing like what Amazon offer. All the same, high streets will soon just be a couple of supermarkets, an empty pub and MacDonalds.
Got a £20 voucher back in England, is it refundable? Anyone seen the South Park episode on Blockbuster, can't believe they're still open.
Doc, if it was bought on a card then perhaps but the cardholder has to phone their card issuer and claim.... if was bought with cash then no there is no refund available.
GAME and Clintons have both been bought out and have been streamlining their businesses to the new models that appear to be quite effective in America. I think Thorntons is a good shout at closing, as well as one of the Holiday operators and CEX. At a risk of creating an Elephant on the forum, I would like to point out that Costa is a British owned company (Whitbreads) that is trading on the London stock exchange and has it's call centre in Dunstable. They paid over £15 million in tax in the last financial last year, compared to the £8.6 million that Starbucks have paid over the last 14 years.
