Emzed the reason HG are still trading in Europe is they are a seperate entitiy within the "group". The Group itself is ok its only the UK arm thats in difficulty...when this happens u chop off the arm to save the rest.
And the euro may be at an all time low against the US dollar but against sterling its not quite as badly off....which seems to suggest sterling isnt doing great either despite what seems to be a myth that we are somehow protected from all the mess in the euro - we arent! we are very very exposed - if the euro goes down so will we.
Spoke with one of the guys in my local shop and the whole thing revolves around the fact that the current "investor" has to pull out and wants some financial return Whether its down to not making"enough profit" or he wants to finance another project i have no idea The guy in the shop seemed confident that he WASN'T going to be out of a job and that if a UK buyer wasn't forthcoming then the "parent company" would step in
Did treat myself to a new helmet in the Maidstone branch, found an AGV that fitted nice so 10 % of was a bonus as i find it difficult to get a helmet with a good fit. Colin
I think they are just moving stock around the country Andy
To places where they think it will sell
There's a lot less unemployment in in your area
And folk are more affluent generally speaking
So "new stock" isn't in itself, an indicator of a recovering business
YOu spot on there, it is stock from underperforming branches..
But shows Maidstone shop doing fast trade huh.
Just got some summer gloves reduced from£60 to just £25....
Daytona boots are great value there too...couldnt get near the prices anywhere...
My last Daytona boots are now ten years old and still very useable if a bit scruffy. Still watertight though..
Looks as if there was a rescue a few days ago, though details are sketchy. Nothing on the MCN werbsite as far as I can see, but there was this on the BBC not long ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshi...e-19415706
and the HG website has a bit more:
http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/
Compared with the list on an old catalogue, it looks as if about two thirds of the former HG shops have been closed.
Last time I was in the Liverpool shop a few days ago, staff said they'd been told that HG Germany were stepping in to take over fully. The former Hein Gericke UK operation was only part-owned by the German business, and the shops themselves were oftern franchise operations, too.
Can't really say I'll be making the trek to the only north-west survivors in Preston or Manchester, especially when the new J&S operation is so close. But it all depends on their pricing.
I went passed the Bham shop on Sunday afternoon and it was closed. so looks like when there is a J's shop near they are moving on. Now the closest shops to Bham are leicester and oxford
This from the BBC News website:
A buyer has been found for the motor bike clothing and parts retailer Hein Gericke which went into administration, affecting its 49 UK stores and about 200 staff.Administrators Moorfields Corporate Recovery said an offer had been accepted.Officials at Moorfields said the sale of the business was expected to be completed by early September.
Some of the stores have apparently already reopened.
In my experience, the new owners will need to improve product quality to the levels of a few years ago if they are to survive in a competitive market place. I've bought 3 complete riding suits from HG over the years, and the older one has certainly worn better than the newer ones.