closing down

[icke]

I hear that Haldanes are closing next tuesday. 'another nail in the coffin'

[essex boy]

I'm not suprised! It was not what I would call inviting.

[Ash]

its a poor excuse for a supermarket, not surprised

[bekisman]

More on it in this article in JOG journal: http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/Home/Redundancy-threat-at-Wick-store-5946152.htm

'JOBS could go at a Wick supermarket after its owners claimed they are feeling pressure from Tesco.'

"Haldanes has made a considerable investment in Wick. However, Wick town centre, like so many others the length and breadth of the UK, has suffered from local councils granting major planning consents for large edge-of-town shopping facilities," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns that has happened. However, we anticipate that there will be an upturn but when that will happen we don't know. When it does, we expect that we will be hiring again," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns"? I really wonder if Haldanes had carried out research into coming to the old Somerfield site, Somerfields were struggling and with Tesco just up the road, they were onto a loser before they started.. we've been into the store a number of times, but what could they offer?..

Oh well Tesco has put yet another business under - (will be the cry).

BUT: "We know the business will come back and hope this is just a temporary downturn, but we must make the business successful." Good luck to 'em

[neepnipper]

Would love to see Farmfoods, Iceland, Peacocks or Matalan take over the site!

[starfish]

Would love to see Farmfoods, Iceland, Peacocks or Matalan take over the site!
i agree with you we need a decent shop not a wast of space like haldeans it was never going to work

[TopCat]

never came across such alot of disobliging staff in my life stood for ages with a full tolley twice but had to walk out and leave it as staff kept passing me standing waiting to be served--approached one member off staff for help the snarl I got showed all her teeth,never entered that shop again.

[tori]

approached one member off staff for help the snarl I got showed all her teeth,never entered that shop again.

Lol Aww At Was Funny :lol:

[chrisupyonder]

Matalan would be good, gets my vote.

Chris.

[Crackeday]

Doesnt surprise me.
At the end of it, it was a spar shop in a bigger premises. There selection of meats was always rather poor, and the prices were spar shop prices.
Its a shame, never bought much from it but that could be as an another poster said you had to wait ages for someone to serve you!!! Doesnt exactly give you confidence in the place.

[Kevin Milkins]

I had never heard of Haldanes before they came to Wick and thought at the time, "What will they have to offer that Somerfield didn't"?

It was my understanding that they will be promoting local producers, which made good business sense, but that doesn't seem to have come to a fruitful conclusion.

It's not good for the town to have an empty supermarket in such a prominent position, so I hope someone will take it on soon.

Good luck to the staff in finding re-employment, (I think I might be grumpy if I worked in a shop with an uncertain future).:(

[BO-PEEP]

I agree that Farm Foods or Iceland wood be good, only went in Haldanes twice, not impressed at all.

[crashbandicoot1979]

Wasn't a fan of that shop either so not surprised to hear its closing. The only time I really used it was during the really heavy snow, when I couldn't get the car out to go to Tesco or couldn't be bothered trudging all the way over to the co-op!!! There was never a wide selection of stuff in it though. Its a pity for the staff, there's not a lot of employment on the go so its not a good time to be out of work.

As much as I am not a fan of Tesco (but yes, I do shop there, the hypocrite that I am), I can't say its fair to blame them for this particular shops demise, as it didn't really do much to help itself.

[lowlander76]

i think everyone should remember that it was the company that was poor! the now soon to be redundant staff at this store now face hardship especially those with families! i hope redundancy never crosses any of your paths!!!!

[starfish]

i think everyone should remember that it was the company that was poor! the now soon to be redundant staff at this store now face hardship especially those with families! i hope redundancy never crosses any of your paths!!!!

i agree a lot of them have had a uncertain ife for a while they since somerfeild they had morrisons then the co op now haldeans they stuck loyal to the shop under various name and still been sxxt on hope they find a settled work life soon

[lowlander76]

some of the workers have been there over 20 years unfortunately its not looking good for them on the redundancy pay front, and at there age new work could be very hard to come by!
oh well tescos and coop will be happy that another one bites the dust!!!
its those with the young families i feel for as benefits are cut for non workers and food and fuel prices rise!! so so un fair

[starfish]

i should not think contracts were carried over from one firm to the other so the poor staff will be getting sweet f a

[lowlander76]

contracts were signed with each employer unfortunately!!!

[teenybash]

Feel sorry for the staff, but Haldanes offered very little by way of selection...plus prices were a bit ott. Hopefully a decent food retailer will take over the premises.

[chordie]

i think everyone should remember that it was the company that was poor!

But the staff attitude was quite shocking. Like another poster here, I too left my messages one day and gave up. Not only were there no checkouts operating but there was no-one at the outer kiosk either. And some mornings in there the women who served you had a face like thunder and you rarely got a Thank You. Tesco may have many faults but customer service is one they are topnotch on.

[butterfly]

oh well tescos and coop will be happy that another one bites the dust!!!


That's not strictly true,we feel sorry for them just as they would for us if it was happening to us.In this economic climate who knows what tomorrow will bring.

[essex boy]

More on it in this article in JOG journal: http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/Home/Redundancy-threat-at-Wick-store-5946152.htm

'JOBS could go at a Wick supermarket after its owners claimed they are feeling pressure from Tesco.'

"Haldanes has made a considerable investment in Wick. However, Wick town centre, like so many others the length and breadth of the UK, has suffered from local councils granting major planning consents for large edge-of-town shopping facilities," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns that has happened. However, we anticipate that there will be an upturn but when that will happen we don't know. When it does, we expect that we will be hiring again," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns"? I really wonder if Haldanes had carried out research into coming to the old Somerfield site, Somerfields were struggling and with Tesco just up the road, they were onto a loser before they started.. we've been into the store a number of times, but what could they offer?..

Oh well Tesco has put yet another business under - (will be the cry).

BUT: "We know the business will come back and hope this is just a temporary downturn, but we must make the business successful." Good luck to 'em

Was'nt Tesco aready there when Haldeans took over! How can they moan about loosing their trade to them if this is the case.

[bekisman]

Was'nt Tesco aready there when Haldeans took over! How can they moan about loosing their trade to them if this is the case.
Quite agree - never understood 'em coming in the first place, what director thought it'll be a good idea to plonk a shop where Somerfields were struggling, and a bloody great Tesco was just up the road!

[catran]

Yes it is a shame that the staff will be redundant and there are not a lot of jobs knocking about. Not funny at all to be made redundant

[cherokee]

I agree with most things said on this thread;

Haldanes certainly isn't a fantastic supermarket, by any means of the word.

Staff within could quite often be surly and "off-putting" to their customers :eek: (myself included !)

But; Like quite a few other Orgers, my heart goes out to those staff members who may now find themselves unemployed and especially those with young families to consider. The current financial climate and the disgusting way those who have to rely on ESA or JSA, are treated (I know of this first hand from a close friend of mine !) could possibly make their situation almost intolerable !! :(:(

[bekisman]

Oh well, it's official then AND they are blaming Co-op!

The supermarket chain Haldanes has told workers that it is to close most of its stores with the loss of hundreds of jobs. The group has 26 shops in the UK, 13 of them in Scotland and it employs 600 people.

It is understood four stores may be sold off and the remaining will close on 14 June. One worker told the BBC that he had only just been given the news and would get one week's wages.

Haldanes was launched less than two years ago and was the first new supermarket chain in the UK for 27 years. Arthur Harris, chief executive of Haldanes Stores, confirmed in a statement that he had called in the administrators and said he was devastated at taking the step.

He added: "Our thoughts are with our employees who find themselves facing an uncertain future, we would like to publicly thank them for their efforts and loyalty during their time with Haldanes.

"We will work closely with the administrator and do our utmost to secure the future of a group of stores in the Haldanes estate."

Haldanes bought most of its stores from the Co-operative group, which was forced to sell some shops by the Office of Fair Trading following its acquisition of Somerfield.
Last month Haldanes said it had started legal proceedings against the Co-op because it claimed it had "breached key terms of the agreement".

Haldanes said if it had been aware of the trading performance of these shops, it would not have bought them.

Mr Harris said: "We firmly believed that the Co-op would at least sit down with us and hear what we had to say, but they have chosen to either ignore or refuse all of our requests to meet. This has left us with nowhere else to go."

The Co-op has denied all the charges against it and revealed it had taken action against Haldanes for non-payment of rent. A spokesman for the group said: "Haldanes is substantially indebted to the group due to its failure to pay rents owing to us.
"We have acted in good faith throughout our dealings with the business, including providing significant financial support during its start-up phase."

He added that the Co-operative had been approached by Haldanes to provide "further financial support" but "regrettably" decided it could not.
He said the Co-op would vigorously contest any legal action.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-13716691

[cormack4]

I for one am sad at the closure of haldanes. I always found the staff to be pleasant and polite. I found some of their offers to be better than both the co-op and tesco's, their milk for example. I can't help wonder how many people, that found it a waste of space and expensive with little choice, will quickly walk through the doors before it closes on Tuesday to grab a bargain, like they did when Somerfields closed, never saw so many people in the drinks aisle as what i did then. Please remember that people have lost their jobs and in some cases their main form of income, and be grateful that it is not you.

[Iffy]

Please remember that people have lost their jobs and in some cases their main form of income, and be grateful that it is not you.

Exactly what I'm thinking cormack4, I only hope that everyone who are employees of "Haldanes" can find other employment ......:cry:

[Dadie]

Never really shopped there, just the odd bit or so when in the centre of Wick and running out of time.
But its not a great position to be in in the unemployment stakes in this economic climate trying to find work.
But I didnt really like the shop, but wish the staff all the best, its not their fault its closing.

[TopCat]

More on it in this article in JOG journal: http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/Home/Redundancy-threat-at-Wick-store-5946152.htm

'JOBS could go at a Wick supermarket after its owners claimed they are feeling pressure from Tesco.'

"Haldanes has made a considerable investment in Wick. However, Wick town centre, like so many others the length and breadth of the UK, has suffered from local councils granting major planning consents for large edge-of-town shopping facilities," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns that has happened. However, we anticipate that there will be an upturn but when that will happen we don't know. When it does, we expect that we will be hiring again," he said.

"Nobody expected the drop in returns"? I really wonder if Haldanes had carried out research into coming to the old Somerfield site, Somerfields were struggling and with Tesco just up the road, they were onto a loser before they started.. we've been into the store a number of times, but what could they offer?..

Oh well Tesco has put yet another business under - (will be the cry).

BUT: "We know the business will come back and hope this is just a temporary downturn, but we must make the business successful." Good luck to 'em
Want rid of Tesco-------send Haldanes staff in

[bekisman]

Want rid of Tesco-------send Haldanes staff in
I expect that would work, quote: "never came across such alot of disobliging staff in my life stood for ages with a full tolley twice but had to walk out and leave it as staff kept passing me standing waiting to be served--approached one member off staff for help the snarl I got showed all her teeth,never entered that shop again"

I'd go to Co-op!

[Cattach]

Yes it is a shame that the staff will be redundant and there are not a lot of jobs knocking about. Not funny at all to be made redundant

Not funny at all to be made redundant but sometimes people do not help themselves. Don't know if a different attitude to work and customers would have helped keep shop open but at least they could have tried. I was only in once and was appalled by the staff attitude.

[northener]

Now it makes sense.

I couldn't work out why Haldanes were trying to blame Tesco for their demise, it appears their comments were as a group and not specific to the Wick site.