Author: |Posted: 9:40 am on 27/11/08
Category: Design & Style, Uncategorized, credit crunch
So, MFI is joining the league of companies not to ride out the credit crunch. It’s more obvious to me – from a very bland point of view – why MFI has not managed to stay afloat. It used to be known as a very cheap kitchen company, but worked recently to smarten up its act and produce much more inspirational kitchens. However, I’m not sure the general masses ever caught on to that.
What’s more, the competition at the cheaper end of the market for good looking (if not good quality) kitchens is really, really fierce. Far better, some would think, to brave the aisles and kitchen planning department of Ikea, and to bag a kitchen for just a couple of grand, than go somewhere like MFI, where the perception of the quality of the kitchens on offer was much the same as Ikea’s, and to pay over twice the price of those at the Swedish giant.
And, sadly, I think the atmosphere of the store itself didn’t help. Unlike Woolies or Ikea, which have always been packed (to the point of hysteria) when I’ve gone in there, MFI has only ever been deserted. I’d far rather choose a kitchen in a quiet, calm atmosphere like MFI’s, but who wants to buy where no one else is? It’s like passing an empty restaurant on a Saturday night in order to stand in a queue at another one up the road. The food might be just as good in the first one, but if no one else thinks it is, why should you?
Author: |Posted: 9:31 am on 27/11/08
Category: Uncategorized, credit crunch
Woolworths’ administrators are working on a bid to rescue the store – if their efforts fail, it will disappear from our high streets, no doubt forever. This morning, it’s been called ‘a lame duck’ by many commentators. But why is this? I have a local Woolies in my high street and (mostly because I have young kids and Christmas is coming), I’m in there almost daily buying toys, hair grips, school uniforms, socks, dvds and cds, even paint brushes. And every time I have to go in, there’s a giant queue of people all similarly laden. I don’t know the ins and outs of the business and why it’s going under – other than it’s had to face intense competition from supermarkets, DIY stores and website businesses. Maybe it’s a symptom of our dying high streets… What I do know is that if it does disappear from my high street, it will leave an enormous hole – both literally and as a destination for people who like to shop locally. I’d like to know what you think about the demise of Woolworths – why do you think it has failed? Let me know.
Author: |Posted: 10:20 am on 25/11/08
Category: Buying & Selling, House Prices, Property & Money
‘Net new mortgage lending is likely to fall to less than zero next year, according to a report commissioned by the Treasury from Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, owner of the Halifax.’ All this and more in Robert Peston’s (the BBC Business Editor’s) blog. There’s not much good news to be had there, but it’s always worth a read – and it does look like the Chancellor has a plan – of some kind – up his sleeve…
Author: |Posted: 3:28 pm on 20/11/08
Category: Architecture, DIY & Self Build, Design & Style, On TV, Style, expert advice
Thanks everybody who’s left comments on this thread asking how they can apply to be on The Home Show. If you’d like to have George’s help transforming your house then read more…
Author: |Posted: 9:32 am on 20/11/08
Category: Buying & Selling, House Prices, Property & Money
Checking out the BBC business pages, I find some good(ish) news for the first time in months – property sales have risen for the second month in a row, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). Its survey showed that the average estate agent sold seven properties last month, up from just six in September.
The NAEA said sellers were finally beginning to realise that to clinch a deal, they had to cut the asking price on their home. Average prices have fallen by about 15 per cent in the past year, with sales falling off by more than half. ‘Sellers are beginning to face up to the reality that their houses are not worth as much now as they were 12 months ago,’ said Chris Brown, president of the NAEA. ‘They are ripping up last year’s price tags and beginning to come to terms with the new economic reality.’
Author: |Posted: 5:24 pm on 14/11/08
Category: Buying & Selling, On TV, Property & Money
I met Jeff Stelling last year while visiting a villa and apartment development he was promoting near Estepona. And given that he is (as well as a Sky TV football anchor) to present Countdown he didn’t strike me as a tea-and-biscuits TV host or someone keen on maths or spelling. But perhaps being just a shade over 40 and bad at maths (but hopefully OK at spelling) I might not have a true appreciation of the Countdown audience. Read my interview with him gleaned from our Spanish meet.
Author: |Posted: 4:16 pm on 14/11/08
Category: Uncategorized
Well, not quite. In a deal that sounds somewhat complicated, Jackson has relinquished ownership of the infamous California estate, but transferred the deeds to a company he part-owns.
Author: |Posted: 5:34 pm on 07/11/08
Category: Buying & Selling, House Prices, Property & Money
Today’s Telegraph reported that houses lost an average of £923 per week in the past month, quoting the Halifax House Price Index as a source. Alarmingly, this rate of decline is steeper than at any point during the last crash in the early 1990s, and a depreciation rate of 15 per cent a year has not been seen since as far back as 1931, when the effects of the Great Depression really started to bite. read more
Author: |Posted: 12:17 pm on 06/11/08
Category: House Prices, Property & Money
As the dust settles on the US election and we have a new President-elect, Hamptons International reckon that US voters choosing Barack Obama over John McCain will have a positive impact on UK house prices. read more
