High Street Stores & Other Businesses At Risk | Page 10 | Vital Football

High Street Stores & Other Businesses At Risk

Fulford said:
The demise of Thomas Cook is a disgrace.

Too many hopeless fat cats lining their pockets with millions.
Click to expand...

I don’t know that much about Thomas Cook, are you talking about the Directors? Or hedge fund managers who make money from the short positions?
 
I heard they were over a billion in debt. How the hell is a company allowed to run up a debt of more than a billion pounds. Think heads should also roll at RBS who have only now decided to pull the plug.
 
JuanPabloAngel said:
Well, the news reported that the CEO of TC has taken home over £8m since 2014...
Click to expand...

I’ve only read a few paragraphs of an article but it said he turned the company around, and I can see the company went from being worth a few pence in 2012 to a few pound in 2015. Were the shareholders and staff complaining then? My pension valuation wasn't hard hit at this time.

In general I believe that capitalism dictates in these things. I’ve nothing against big salaries for CEO’s - they often work ridiculous hours and sacrifice a lot to keep tens of thousands employed. They have unimaginable responsibility and one bad move could see them locked up.

The company was no doubt hit hard by macro economic factors it may not have be able to do lot about, whilst consumers have quicker and easier ways to buy holidays. In the “interesting” thread I was reading posts about booking holidays at 11pm - a shop is high cost and isn’t open all hours. I use travel republic because it’s got a top quality interface and offers cheap, flexible packages.

Stereotypical bricks and mortar companies really struggle with their online shop window - every major supermarket website is crap. The likes of ASOS and Travel republic have built their company where the website is the shop window. I hated using the Thomas cook website, it was crap.

It’s survival of the fittest for me, sad for the workers who aren’t going to be paid - plenty of people live month to month. We as consumers all want better holidays and to pay less for it. The silver lining is I suspect the travel industry will create more jobs in the lost space if it hasn’t already.
 
Last edited:
Maybe a bit sadistic, but it’s quite interesting to see where the fat cats are placing their bets in which company will go next.

I usually have a look here before I buy shares. These companies are spending tens of thousands analysing these companies, if they’re short selling they know something I don’t :grinning:

https://shorttracker.co.uk/companies/?sort=2&d=desc
 
JuanPabloAngel said:
Well, the news reported that the CEO of TC has taken home over £8m since 2014...
Click to expand...

Almost £3m was a bonus payment made in 2015. As Danvilla mentioned, he had improved the share price considerably at one stage.

That means he was probably earning approximately £1m a year.

To put this into perspective, that's probably a lot less than Jack Grealish!!
 
TheQ. said:
Almost £3m was a bonus payment made in 2015. As Danvilla mentioned, he had improved the share price considerably at one stage.
Click to expand...

It sounds like £3m they perhaps could not afford to pay, with hindsight.

I have no beef with Thomas Cook or the CEO. It's just sickening that thousands of people will suffer for this, be they holidaymakers, TC employees, other creditors of the company etc. while the board members are generally insulated from it.

The world we choose to live in I guess.
 
207billion debt I believe - the company goes bust.

He has a good wage. Why does he have a bonus? Maybe if the Board took their wage and the bonuses had gone on debt, the company would still be operating?
 
On the news last night they said, despite being told it was not advisable the Board overvalued the the brand name Thomas Cook and this then went onto the balance sheet. Smoke and Mirrors to make it look better than it actually was.
 
The Fear said:
Bit of good news ...

All 555 Thomas Cook shops are to be bought by rival Hays Travel in a move that could save up to 2,500 jobs.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49985369
Click to expand...


That is indeed great news and I'm pleased with at least 2,500 Thomas Cook employees to have retained a job.

Well done Hayes Travel but doesn't it go to show how ridiculous the British press is when they are far more focused and give more coverage on 2 stupid English wags (Ronney & Vardy) having a public spat.

Just about sums up the gutter level that most of them operate on.
 
Noticed this morning that the old Villa shop in New Street that was empty for well over a year eventually became a Thomas Cook outlet.

I bet the landlords are happy !!!
 
BodyButter said:
For how long? Surely that industry is dead?
Click to expand...

As they don’t have to run an airline or pay corporate shareholders they might be able to operate longer. Some families or the older generation want that comfort in a shop apparently knowing what they’ll pay. Perhaps it’s part of the excitement and experience going to the high street to book a holiday. I bet most of the activities are cheaper when you’re out there than the soft sell in the UK.

I don’t think they can rely on the 2.4 family looking for a week in Benidorm experience, I could book that quicker than it takes me to walk to my local Thompson so they’ll need to evolve.

I’d personally rather do it all online including the research, getting a cheaper deal without the costs of a shop and my own flexibility of flights, hotels or where I choose to eat.

Ticking time bomb I guess with that many stores in that field. I’d be closing unprofitable stores the moment they become unprofitable and focus on the 80% that work.
 
Plenty of people not internet savvy and I would imagine a good few who even though they have internet, wouldn't know where to start when it comes to a holiday.

As dan says, they will need to evolve, it isn't that difficult to book a standard package holiday, but I do remember when I did the South Africa safari thing, Deano and me went to a specialist travel agent in Solihull for their experience and guidance.
 
The Fear said:
As dan says, they will need to evolve, it isn't that difficult to book a standard package holiday, but I do remember when I did the South Africa safari thing, Deano and me went to a specialist travel agent in Solihull for their experience and guidance.
Click to expand...

We could’ve told you not to pet the lions.

That’s the evolution for me, the niche experiences will be where the money is at for income rich millennials of the future looking for tailored safari trips, amazon rainforest for tours of Asia or South America. Kids aren’t going to Zante in their droves as much these (apparently) - they don’t know what they’re missing ?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.