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danny.

Toy shop Dominoes goes into administration

By danny., in General Chat

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Alf Bentley

Alf Bentley

Posted
Posted

A great shame. Didn't grow up in Leicester myself, but always end up buying my daughter 1 or 2 items from Dominoes for Xmas.

 

It'd be interesting to see a proper analysis of why they seem to have gone down the pan....

- On-line competition (Amazon/E-Bay)?

- The hollowing out of Leicester's shopping streets in favour of places like the High Cross?

- Competition from big chains like Toys'R'Us?

- Kids switching to electronic gadgets, which Dominoes didn't seem to go in for?

- Trying to deal in too many sectors of the toy/model market, instead of specialising more in high-turnover, high-profit sectors, thereby ending up with too much capital tied up in slow-turnover stock?

 

In a similar vein (1): Wandering around near the old Phoenix building the other day & my missus commented on how much that area has lost in the last decade: the Phoenix cinema, the Charlotte for music, the Magazine pub....and yet millions are spent setting up a soulless new "Cultural Quarter"...why couldn't the council have just done a bit more to support existing, organic "cultural institutions" like the ones that have closed?! Governments and councils of every colour boast of the importance of small businesses, but just end up promoting the interests of the mega-corporations and chains, destroying the soul of our cities.

 

In a similar vein (2): Was chatting to the bloke in Rockaboom again the other day (now in Malcolm Arcade, if you're looking for them). He reckoned his sales are similar to what they were at the old shop, but with lower overheads (rent)...even so, he reckoned it was just a case that the move would keep him trading a bit longer. Would hate to lose that place on top of all the others....and was glad that I'd ended up buying more than expected in there (went in for 1 album, not expecting them to have it, and ended up buying about 9 albums for £40 (he's expanded his 2nd hand stock - probably a good move; seems quite a shrewd bloke, so I hope he can keep his head above water...)

absolutelegend

absolutelegend

Posted
Posted

Sad news.  It's hard for a company like that to keep their costs as low as the Amazon's and Tesco's of the world.

I often looked in their for my nephews presents, but 9 times out of 10 I'd end up getting it somewhere cheaper.

promised land

promised land

Posted
Posted

Anyone remember Zodiac Toys? I loved that place.

Yes and Hobby Toys, IIRC they were on Belgrave Gate opposite Abbey Street, I think in the years after it closed it was a pub of some description. The building is still there now.

Sign of the times really with Dominoes, just like Jessops, Cecil Jacobs, the Internet has a lot to answer too for retail but on the other hand you browse around and get the cheapest deal you can find. Shops can't compete due to overheads and lose out.

I was surprised to see it had only been going since 1983, I thought it was a lot older than that.

Rincewind

Rincewind

Posted
Posted

Are the travel shops going too? Looked in a couple and the choice of brochures was poor.  got one for Christmas and a Walking one. Both the prices were well out my range. The Himalaya one looked dangerous anyway. Got a passport renewal form anyway.

Guest MattP

Guest MattP

Posted
Posted

Are the travel shops going too? Looked in a couple and the choice of brochures was poor. got one for Christmas and a Walking one. Both the prices were well out my range. The Himalaya one looked dangerous anyway. Got a passport renewal form anyway.

Do it straight away, I left mine until the last minute and ended up having to go to Peterborough to get a next day one and you pay through the nose.

jonthefox

jonthefox

Posted
Posted

Shame they didn't make it until xmas. That might have seen them through. 

 

A real shame. Both my kids looked forward to going there.

  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...
davieG

davieG

Posted
Posted

Dominoes toy store to reopen at Fenwick in Leicester

By I_Griffin  |  Posted: November 20, 2014

  • 8180349-large.jpg

    Fenwick department store, in Market Street, Leicester

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    Steve Sansom, owner of Dominoes, at the previous store in High Street, Leicester

  • 8180349-large.jpg

    Fenwick department store, in Market Street, Leicester

  • 8180348-large.jpg

    Steve Sansom, owner of Dominoes, at the previous store in High Street, Leicester

 Comments (0)

The much-anticipated city centre site of the new Dominoes toy store has been revealed.

The award-winning shop will reopen inside the Fenwick department store on February 14 next year.

Owner Steve Sansom said the business, which closed last year, would occupy 1,000 sq ft on the first floor of the landmark Market Street building.

“It’s a good fit for Fenwick because it gives them a toy department, which they haven’t got,” he said. “A lot of people who go into the store have either children or grandchildren, so it’s a good fit for us too.

“There are a lot of advantages. The biggest one is that my expenses, which were the problem with the other store, will be less.”

Dominoes, then based in High Street, was forced into administration in September last year after suffering major financial losses which it blamed on competition from supermarkets and online operators. It closed three weeks later after failing to secure new investment.

Mr Sansom, who owned the previous business, has bought the Dominoes name from the administrators. He revealed plans to reopen the toy store two weeks’ ago, but was unable to say where it would be.

Mr Sansom has been running an online toy retailer, Toys On Your Screen, for the past year. He said customers will be able to drop into the new store to pick up toys they have ordered online.

In 2011, Dominoes, which was the biggest independent toy store in the Midlands, was named best independent toy store in Britain at the Toy Industry Awards. The original business was founded by Mr Sansom’s father, Leonard, in 1983.

Mr Sansom said the new store would employ five to six people and jobs would be offered to some of the 28 made redundant when the original shop closed.

He said the much-loved train track, a major feature of the original store, would also be making a comeback.

David Illingworth, Fenwick director, said: “We are very, very excited about Dominoes coming to Fenwick.

“We have agreed to give them space on the first floor and we will see how it goes from there. We may look to expand it at a future date.

“It will bring a different clientele to the store. Negotiations have been long and protracted because we had to get it right.”

Mr Illingworth said the products sold in the space Dominoes will occupy will be transferred elsewhere inside the five-storey building.

“No departments will be closing down because of this,” he said. “This is just a win, win.”

He said the store previously opened a toy department each Christmas until about 16 years ago.

It is hoped the arrival of Dominoes will provide a much-provided boost to Market Street following the closure of a number of stores in recent years.

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Dominoes-toy-store-reopen-Fenwick-Leicester/story-24561961-detail/story.html#ixzz3Jbnwo4k7 

Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook

  • 8 months later...

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