Peats closed down :(

Dublin_Gunner

Gae wrote: »

Sad to see it go, but honestly I think the prices they were charging were absolutely ridiculous. I often felt when I had to buy something there that they were just taking advantage and ripping me off. That seems to be the way things are going anyway - companies who ripped people off in the boom are dying in the recession. People are obviously being more careful about where they spend their money.

Only because you're comparing to online retailers who have very little overheads.

And in fairness [for PC parts anyway] Peats only ever really had a 20-50 euro premium, which when you include delivery from online, and the ability to bring the item back the next day if something goes wrong easily makes up for the few extra € you pay.

Too many people look at the price on the label without considering anything else, and make their decision based on that.

Lelantos

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Sure look at Harvey Norman, haven't yet broken even in Ireland yet. I wonder how long the parent company will hold on for?

They lose 50 mill Aussie dollars per year with Ireland accounting for 12 mill of that by some estimates.

Lelantos

mike65 wrote: »

Harvey Norman are lucky as they are very profitable world wide so can afford to sit out the crash. Though the boss is still grumpy - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-30/harvey-norman-profits-increase/2862280[/QUOTE]
This is more like it
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/harvey-norman-remaining-committed-to-ireland-despite-losses-of-31m-2661522.html

Bullseye1

I can only assume Harvey Norman is tied into long term leases. Their MD here in Ireland admitted that they are losing huge money here and is being subsidised by their businesses abroad.

cojack101

RIP Peats. Last of the good retailers.

Paparazzo

Bought my super nintendo with street fighter II turbo there around 1994, think it was £160 which encluded an extra controller. Had to carry it home on the bus in a black bin bag, longest bus journey ever.

Staff were great though, was getting a load of cables and adapters and they couldn't have been better. The complete opposite of the the wasters in dixons.
It always had a reputation for high prices though.

Tow

I always thought (maybe they do) they owned the current Parnell St. building. In the 80's Peats Wholesale was located there (was the shop there in the 70's) and I remember you could buy a pack of five switches etc for the cost of one across the road in the shop. Once you had cash in your hand, Geoff did not worry too much if you were from a company or not. In any event it appears Peats Wholesale is still in business.

Kintarō Hattori

Tow wrote: »

In any event it appears Peats Wholesale is still in business.

They are a completely different company from the retail element.

Nothingbetter2d

meh i always found peats to be expensive compared to other electrical devices stores

Guy:Incognito

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Great staff always. Sad to see them close. But this is the way things are going. Someone has to consolidate the Irish gaming and technological sector into a warehouse where people can buy online and it gets shipped out to them locally.

I dont want to buy all my goods site unseen.

BostonB wrote: »

In Blanch center they had two shops almost opposite each other. .

The Sony Centre in Blanch is not a Peats one.

cabrwab

Sad to see them go, i hadnt gone in there in awhile to buy anything.
This year we have seen 2 great AV companies gone from dublin, Richer sounds(philips store) and Peats.

As others have said you could go into both of these stores and be met with people who knew what they were talking about.

Sad to be stuck with the likes of curry's and harvey normans if you need av goods.

"Santa" got my first computer there an atari ste, that meant i had 1mg of ram!!

As others have said there computer section was awesome
I wish they stayed in the old premises, and didnt bother with all the smaller stores.
Best of luck to all involved.

the groutch

hopefully they will return in some form as a Christmas pop-up shop

ThisRegard

BostonB wrote: »

I remember when they used to have PC games and Aimga games down in a tiny basement with the components. Used to go in browsing for games.

I got my first computer there when it was in it's old premises, an Atari 600XL along with the tape deck and a pile of games in the mid 80s. But I recall the computer department was upstairs at the time ? It was probably the only place you could by games at the time until Computer City opened on Cathal Brugha Street, popped in there most Saturdays to rent my games.

stanley1

well laid out shop but fierce expensive, got a roberts internet radio online for €145, peats were looking for €299 :eek:

Slippin Jimmy

stanley1 wrote: »

well laid out shop but fierce expensive, got a roberts internet radio online for €145, peats were looking for €299 :eek:

Did you question them in the price difference? That is excessive.

Kintarō Hattori

Duffff-Man wrote: »

Did you question them in the price difference? That is excessive.

It most certainly is. I'd be surprised if we were out that much as we bought from the approved distributor.

stanley1

ebay roberts wm-201 145 new, peats 299.

Dan Jaman

Peat's prices were always a bit too high - if they'd retrenched and slimmed, perhaps they'd have weathered it out. I would have bought from Peat's on numerous occasions but could always find the same item from another supplier within Ireland for less money, including P&P. That's not even considering UK purchases. I always try to buy Irish, but Peat's weren't doing themselves any favours.

Gregsor

Sad to hear of Peats going,was always on the list with a trip to the city with my dad to check out the new technology back in the 80's.
Bought many a game for the Atari 800xl there along with renting them from Computer City not too far from them,always worth the journey .
The memories,i don't know how they weathered it so long tbh,they should have tried a merge maybe.

Rezident

Damn, I've been using Peats for years but I suppose online sales must be a large part of the reason.

Phoenix3

BostonB wrote: »

I had a lot of good experiences of Peats over the years so sorry to see it go.

But I couldn't understand how it survived this long. It went from having the one original shop on Parnell st to shops (and I include the Sony shops here) everywhere in a very short period of time. In Blanch center they had two shops almost opposite each other. I don't remember when I saw them busy either. Take the one on Stephens green past the Shelbourne there would often be 4 staff on the floor for 1 or 2 customers. Also consider they were expensive too. I was always put off by that.

I'm sorry for the staff, but I'm sorry for the consumer too. The alternatives like PC World or Maplins are even more expensive, and much less knowledgeable.

Seems to me they over expanded.

Sony Shop in Blanch had no connection with Peats-They went bust before Christmas.

oppenheimer1

I don't know why people keep raising the upward only rent. This was outlawed by the previous government for all new contracts. The government doesn't have the power to legislate retroactively (thankfully). It was something that FG should never have promised because it was something which is impossible to deliver, without a referendum.

No one forced these retailers to accept upward only rents. The lack of customers is the main reason Peats has closed. Before people throw the blame around can they honestly say they never went into an electrical store to try things out, only to go home and buy it online?

Dan Jaman

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Before people throw the blame around can they honestly say they never went into an electrical store to try things out, only to go home and buy it online?

No, I've never done that - it's a dirty trick.
I'll mention to the local guy what the online price is and he can often get close enough to it that he gets the sale.

Bobby42

I did work experience in Peats on Parnell street years ago. I loved every minute of it. I'll always remember one of the lads sending me upstairs to get the long stand.

BostonB

Phoenix3 wrote: »

Sony Shop in Blanch had no connection with Peats-They went bust before Christmas.

So someone else said earlier. I just assumed it was as I thought I recognised someone I used to see in Peats working there. Same with the other Sony shops from time to time. Perhaps I was mistaken.

Kintarō Hattori

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

No one forced these retailers to accept upward only rents. The lack of customers is the main reason Peats has closed. Before people throw the blame around can they honestly say they never went into an electrical store to try things out, only to go home and buy it online?

You can either accept the upward only review or you close down wherever the affected shop might be. That isn't as easy a step to take as you might think. It can have a knock on effect in that the image of your company is affected on all sorts of levels. People, suppliers, customers etc lose faith in what your brand stands for if they see a unit close. They might have no idea why you shut something down.

Sure a lack of customers is a major reason in our demise but it wasn't the reason. There was no one factor that sealed the fate of the company. Several of the shops were holding their own and believe it or not the website was proving to be quite fruitful along with eBay.

Had the rents been addressed the company would have survived and we would have seen the recession out. I'm afraid upward only rent views were the biggest factor in our demise and I would hope that this issue which was promised to be tackled by the current government only for them to rescind on their promise is looked at before it claims other small Irish businesses.

Paparazzo

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Before people throw the blame around can they honestly say they never went into an electrical store to try things out, only to go home and buy it online?

Yes, I can honestly say I've never done that.

I can give a reason I wouldn't buy in peats. If I'm buying a TV, laptop, speakers, stereo etc I like to do my own research online. Find out what suits me better. Then when I know what I want, I shop around for prices. Peats selling point was their customer service. You can go in and ask the assistant what you need and he'll tell you. I prefer to find out myself.

Dublin_Gunner

Paparazzo wrote: »

Yes, I can honestly say I've never done that.

I can give a reason I wouldn't buy in peats. If I'm buying a TV, laptop, speakers, stereo etc I like to do my own research online. Find out what suits me better. Then when I know what I want, I shop around for prices. Peats selling point was their customer service. You can go in and ask the assistant what you need and he'll tell you. I prefer to find out myself.

And I think that point is even more prevalent in recent times with the advent of the internet. People now can educate themselves on such thing, relatively easily these days, whereas before, you may have been educated by the sales assistants.

To come to the determination of what your requirements are yourself, leaves you to only find the last piece of value in purchasing the item - price. For a lot of people, sales assistants knowledge doesn't give any additional value, as you're going in to the store pretty much knowing exactly what you want beforehand.

Paparazzo

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

And I think that point is even more prevalent in recent times with the advent of the internet. People now can educate themselves on such thing, relatively easily these days, whereas before, you may have been educated by the sales assistants.

To come to the determination of what your requirements are yourself, leaves you to only find the last piece of value in purchasing the item - price. For a lot of people, sales assistants knowledge doesn't give any additional value, as you're going in to the store pretty much knowing exactly what you want beforehand.

Yeah, there's not enough people left that will pay that premium price for sales assistant knowledge.

Lelantos

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Paparazzo wrote: »

Yes, I can honestly say I've never done that.

I can give a reason I wouldn't buy in peats. If I'm buying a TV, laptop, speakers, stereo etc I like to do my own research online. Find out what suits me better. Then when I know what I want, I shop around for prices. Peats selling point was their customer service. You can go in and ask the assistant what you need and he'll tell you. I prefer to find out myself.

And I think that point is even more prevalent in recent times with the advent of the internet. People now can educate themselves on such thing, relatively easily these days, whereas before, you may have been educated by the sales assistants.

To come to the determination of what your requirements are yourself, leaves you to only find the last piece of value in purchasing the item - price. For a lot of people, sales assistants knowledge doesn't give any additional value, as you're going in to the store pretty much knowing exactly what you want beforehand.

Anyone who has ever worked for an av or pc store worth its salt will tell you that 80% of its custom come in for advice on a purchase. Mainly because they have no real idea of the product they're purchasing. The customer who knows his onions & just wants to haggle over the eventual price are a pleasure to meet, but they're few & far between.