Sight and Sound UK

[laserman16]

Another one bites the dust,such a shame when will it end.

Not this year. I think there will be plenty more before this year is out as I doubt things are going to vastly improve for a while.

Our local Sonycentre ceased trading two weeks ago so yes things seem to still be in a thinning out mode.

Mind you, I wouldn't have thought the "Sonycentre model" is a very brilliant idea at the moment, rather restricts peoples choice.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The Coventry one closed down too a few weeks ago. If you're not too far from us, I think they were owned by the same person.

 

[matthewpiano]

Sonex Communications ran those stores, and about 13 others including Manchester. They went into administration before Christmas.

The Sony Centre model can work extremely well but getting as big as Sonex did means that in the very quiet times you have far bigger overheads than somebody only running a small number of stores. If you have 15 stores and they all go quiet at the same time, that is a lot of rent to pay on low levels of cashflow.

 

[the record spot]

Ironically the Onkyo 8050 has been mentioned so many times in the last few months, it, could now be classed as one of those boring, dull options. But as you know, this just is not the case..........

I know in the discussion it was mentioned by FATS that we should get one on demo, but here's a product that has some connection with this whole discussion. Why would we want to put a £400 product on display that can be had for £270 online? There could be a number of reasons why this product was being sold so low - maybe the manufacturer did a deal for that dealer so he could do it cheaper - maybe he's cutting down stock - maybe he's clearing them out - or maybe he's just desparate. Who knows. But going back to an earlier point - turnover isn't profit, and keeping products with pricing like that is a fast track to bankruptcy.

It's likely nearing the end of its shelf life I imagine David; the 8050 came out coming up on a year ago now, so I'd expect a replacement to follow on. That said, Onkyo are quite faithful with their two channel stuff as their A-933 amp is still out there, a couple of years after it went out on the market, so perhaps the 8050 will hang around awhile longer.

 

[laserman16]

The Coventry one closed down too a few weeks ago. If you're not too far from us, I think they were owned by the same person.

I live in Redditch so not to far away from you.

 

[laserman16]

In fact looking at the Sony website it looks like Worcester and Kidderminster have gone as well, I think they were all part of the same group.

 

[matthewpiano]

Yep, as I said above, all run by Sonex Communications. They had more Sony Centres than any other single company, although there are still plenty left across the UK.

 

[laserman16]

Yep, as I said above, all run by Sonex Communications. They had more Sony Centres than any other single company, although there are still plenty left across the UK.

I didn't realise they were run by Sonex, but then you learn something new everyday.

More people for the dole queue, some or most with families and mortgages, very sad hard times I'm afraid.

 

[SteveR750]

Had you considered that the stock issue may be with Graham Slee or indeed their distributor?

As an aside it makes no sense to me to stock all of the What Hi-Fi winners becuase I do not agree with all the choices.

I'm pretty sure that I'd generate more turnover in a year than any established retailer per hour spent with a cutsomer (which is I suppose a more meaningful easure of footfall in this kind of product) using a more consumer friendly choice and convenience approach.

Oh the arrogance. A well paid job awaits you in Edinburgh if you can back up your claims. Turnover isn't profit by the way - plenty of failed shops to show that.

I didn't mean to come across as arrogant so apologies if I did, but it is borne out of frustration with not being able to easily listen to what I might want to buy, and frankly if retailers are going to always second guess it then sorry but I aint coming to your shop! I agree, in a number of cases buyers have no idea what to buy, so those that don't go and buy a handful of mags, read online reviews etc are going to depend entirely on your view and what you have available. All I am asking for is more choice, preferebly in my own home at a time that suits me. For example, if I want a home demo, I have to drive all the way to the nearest shop to collect it, and then return it, these things really are easy to change with some imagination surely.

Thanks for the job offer, but my view of retailing this kind of stuff is very different from yours, like I said in a previous post there is perhaps an opportunity for a radical new way of selling this kind of product, if I had the capital and a different domestic situation I'd have tried it a couple of years ago. Im not saying it's easy, and might not work, but a bit of experience running a business helps.

Two things are certain though, unles you change something, you will always get the same result; and the customer is usually right. I very nearly bought a pair of ex dem speakers from your shop, but didn't in the end. Ironically I wish I had Many businesses pay thousands of pounds each year to try to find out exactly what their customers think, and want. I gave it for free and got an insult in return.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

No worries Steve I am not here to insult anyone. I was hoping to show that there are reasons behind stocking decisions that may not be obvious from the other side of the counter. If we were having an actual conversation it would be far easier to find common ground and I could perhaps be slightly more candid. If you are in Edinburgh let me buy you a pint and we can give it a shot.

 

[Andy Clough]

To get back to the original OP, I have now had official confirmation from the liquidator that the company has ceased trading and will go into liquidation this Friday, February 3rd. Full details in our news story.

 

[BenLaw]

Does 'liquidation' imply there may be some stock going cheap?

 

[Andy Clough]

Think it's unlikely as those who did order goods just before/after Christmas didn't get anything.

 

[BenLaw]

Fair enough, I thought there might be stock of unordered items, but probably just wishful thinking.

 

[davidpr]

Very sad when this happens. I never visited the shop but they were always helpful when I dealt with them and offered good advice when asked. Living in Cornwall means Ido have a great choice of specialist shops and places such as this are important. Also sad for the people who have lost their jobs.

 

[DIB]

The only time I dealt with S & S was at the back end of November last year. The remote control for my Creek amp that I had bought 2nd hand off Ebay was not working, and the seller informed me that he'd bought it from S & S but had never used the remote control as he had always used another universal one. To save time I duly contacted S & S directly and they agreed to sort it out with Creek for me. A couple of weeks later the remote control unit arrived back with me fully working. I was not sure whether they had to do this for me as I was not their original customer, but they sorted it out for me with no fuss or hassle whatsoever, which I thought was pretty good service.

.

 

[matthewpiano]

I know the shop going back to when they were Sevenoaks, based in Preston city centre. I bought my original Quad 11Ls from them with an Arcam A65+ and CD73T. Later they changed to 'Sight & Sound' when the owner wanted the freedom of having his own stocking policies and pricing, but they still had the same shop on Lune Street. Then, probably about 18 months ago, they moved to new premises in St. Annes and had a shop there as well as running the internet operation.

I'm sad to hear of their demise. Last time I dealt with them was only before Christmas when I was considering a new Thorens turntable. They were very helpful, although in the end I went for a Rega elsewhere.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Does 'liquidation' imply there may be some stock going cheap?

 

[BenLaw]

Damn, I thought I'd deleted that photo from Facebook.

 

[SteveR750]

No worries Steve I am not here to insult anyone. I was hoping to show that there are reasons behind stocking decisions that may not be obvious from the other side of the counter. If we were having an actual conversation it would be far easier to find common ground and I could perhaps be slightly more candid. If you are in Edinburgh let me buy you a pint and we can give it a shot.

No offence taken, and virtual pint drunk!

It's a real shame it's happened, it's a pretty unpleasant experience for everyone - customers, suppliers, and of course the owners. I realise just how lucky I was with the Proacs - I guess they were trying to shift the stock they actually owned to raise cash, which would also explain why the price dropped by £400 overnight, and they shipped them so fast. I hope you guys manage to get your money back.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SteveR, I share your thoughts for everybody. Sorry to take this varied thread off on another tangent but do you mind me asking about your CA DACMagic Plus? Any issues, happy with it? What kind of connection do you have between your laptop and the DAC? Coax I assume? and what i/c cable are you using? I see you've got it linked up to a very serious amp and speakers and am thinking of buying a good DAC. Would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[SteveR750]

Thanks SteveR, I share your thoughts for everybody. Sorry to take this varied thread off on another tangent but do you mind me asking about your CA DACMagic Plus? Any issues, happy with it? What kind of connection do you have between your laptop and the DAC? Coax I assume? and what i/c cable are you using? I see you've got it linked up to a very serious amp and speakers and am thinking of buying a good DAC. Would appreciate your thoughts.

A £10 lindy usb cable. Was using an optical with the old dacmagic, but the USB connection is better imo on the +. DAC to amp is chord cobra RCA. The dacmagic plus is very good, i liked the old version, but this is slightly smoother. The headphone amp isn't bad either.

 

[franklin2829]

Hi,

As an ex owner of a Sevenoaks franchise and now a Director of an online site with custom install I've seen both sides of the coin and been very interested by this thread. I know the guys at Sight and Sound and I'd like to say it is sad that another one has gone. I wish them all the best. This will be a very stressful time for them and I am sure they will be working hard to ensure as many of their customers and suppliers as possible get whats due to them.

As regards stocking What Hi Fi award winners a lot of dealers will adopt that approach as they believe that is what people want . I agree it is a little daft to push it so heavily and then not have the product in stock. It can be frustrating for the customer who wants to take away the product that day but unfortunately these are the times we live in. A lot of dealers can't afford to keep those levels of stock any more. They call off product from the manufacturers as and when the orders come in and would rather make customers wait than hold stock.

David -I take your point about Sevenoaks having a number of stores in a smaller area but they are a slightly different animal in that there are different business models at work there, the partnership owned stores and the franchises often working quiet independently from each other with massive differences in working capital and all the politics that come with it. You could also argue that within the franchises you have different business models at work as the owners will have their own ideas about what to profile.

During my time with my store I would spend hours believing that "online" was the way to go. Reduced costs, few staff, no premises to worry about. The reality isn't quite like that. I have found that running a Ci/online business (even with my own demo rooms) can be equally as challenging as the store but in different ways. The long and short of it is that mid/high end Hi Fi/AV is a tough place to be. It has been for a while and I dont see it changing for a while. That said if you are creative, work hard and look after your customers it can work. We dont want to see any more REPUTABLE stores or online sites dissappear but unfortunately I fear more will go this year.

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that SteveR, appreciated. Am looking to set up a system to rescue my music from laptop/iPod dock prison where it's been left abandoned by me for too long. I had decided that I'd had enough of separates with the associated cables, floorspace and cost and all of my separates, like the good old Marantz PM44SE and CD63 and big KEF floorstanders from late 80's or 90's, have been put out to the long grass in storage.

I live in a semi-detached now (regretting a bit moving from the detached place last December) and that was another thing that made me think there was little point splashing out a lot of cash when sound levels will need to be kept moderate (not sure whether my very elderly next door neighbour is hard of hearing and don't want her to have to love the music I do - or have a turn!) but I am now reminded that good quality audio does not have to be heard at anything higher than a reasonable level.

I used to love my separates hugely but had convinced myself that compromise on quality for convenience instead was fine and a decent enough iPod dock and good headphones would be a sufficient improvement on what I had allowed my music equipment to degenerate to. To that end I have recently bought an Arcam rCube and a Graham Slee Novo headphone amplifier (from the Graham Slee distributor direct due to my issue with my Sight and Sound order going belly up) to go with Grado SR80i headphones.

Having only started reading this forum so see what I could find out about Sight & Sound ceasing trading I couldn't help wandering around into other threads and reading reviews.

All in all my sub-£300 outlay to Sight and Sound, which I am unlikely ever to get back, is now likely to cost me around £1.5k now and thousands in years to come I expect because I've caught the Hi-Fi bug again.

Sites like this need to come with a warning on the home page but I'm sure that in freeing my music by emptying my wallet I'll fill my ugly mug with a big smile again.

 

[Andrew Everard]

As an ex owner of a Sevenoaks franchise and now a Director of an online site with custom install I've seen both sides of the coin

Chris

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