UKC

Looked at planetfears site and everything i looked at(loads) has no option to buy/view sizes/colours etc,tried with google/bing and my phone..still same ?

In reply to cliff shasby:

IIRC they are working on a new website so you have to phone shop. Heard a mate say something this week.

In reply to cliff shasby:

It's now owned by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JD_Sports so it's unlikely without some major financial catastrophe. In addition to all the brands mentioned in the article, JD also owned Tiso's and George Fisher's.

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:
Thanks for the info..

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:
When did it get taken over by JD sports?

In reply to goose299:

Probably at the same time as JD took over Ultimate Outdoors is my guess.

In reply to goose299:

A quick google throws this up

http://www.occoutdoor.co.uk/news/jd-achieves-ultimate-ambition/news

In reply to cliff shasby:

Shame. There's going to be no independent retailers left soon.
Long live the independents!!

In reply to goose299:

Yep it is a shame,and i think its pretty bad form keeping a website open that dosent actually work at all for the customer,they were bad enough at keeping stuff on the site that was already out of stock to start with.

The independents cant always offer as good a deal but at least you know where your up to with them.

In reply to cliff shasby:


But the advise they give is invaluable

In reply to goose299:

The independents will only survive if we are willing to pay more to shop there. If we're not it'll be the same as the supermarkets.

FWIW, I get better service at Go Outdoors than The Outdoor Shop, though. They seem not to care about their retail store now it's moved out of Stony. Last time I went in there I was ignored by the staff (who weren't wearing any sort of uniform so you could barely tell who they were), so I gave up and went to Go Outdoors instead.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

If Go Outdoors has what you want, I find generally they don't. I didn't realise Ultimate Outdoors had been taken over, it would explain a distinct change in what the shop is selling that I have experienced last couple of times I have been in.

Proper indepenent shops like Stephen's, particularly Stephen's are great, but we will lose them if we are not careful.

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Looks like you are going to have to compete with them offering a massive bag for a quid

In reply to Neil Williams:

Which shop do you mean? The Outdoor Shop at Stony ? Not sure where that is, or the old Outside shop at Calver (near Stoney)?

Alan

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:
You need to keep up with your advertising customers . The Outdoor Shop, until recently, used to be at Stony Stratford Milton Keynes

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:
The Outdoor Shop at Stacey Bushes (was Stony Stratford), Milton Keynes. It was good when it was at Stony but more recently (and I'm not the only one I know to think this) they seem to have lost interest in the retail shop. Which is sort-of fine as mail order is their main business (though it does make me wonder why they don't just close the shop if they aren't interested in it), but as I like to buy outdoor kit in person it does disappoint me a bit.

I'm led to believe the situation is something like the shop had a partial different owner to the mail order business at one point, and there was some kind of buy-out involved in the move from the mail order side, but I could be remembering wrong.

Neil

In reply to cliff shasby:


Is it? They have to compete in the marketplace, and if they can't offer something over and above what other stores or online outlets do, then they will go out of business. If they are successful, like Ellis Brigham's or Cotswolds, then they open up multiple outlets and fall afoul of threads on UKC complaining that there are no independent shops any more. Seems they can't win.

In reply to planetmarshall:

We are still here and independent...

Recently started selling climbing gear also - a team of well trained staff that actually go out and climb, a showroom just off the M1 and online store.

Jay
(Alpkit)