What's Wrong With Buy Bermuda

Royal Gazette Opinion, Thursday 11 August 2005

Last Friday I returned from a four-day trip to Boston. Staggering back through the airport with bags bursting with my purchases, surrounded by Bermudians similarly laden down, I began to wonder just how effective the Buy Bermuda campaign really is.

Its biggest problem is that vague appeals to patriotism just don’t have much sway in today’s materialistic society. They’re trumped by the greater selection, lower prices and friendlier service of US stores.

The ads that I’ve seen also never really explain why I should shop at home, or what will happen if I don’t. Perhaps they’d be more effective if they were more like AIDS ads, with black and white images, gloomy music, depressing statistics, and a doom-laden slogan like “Remember Triminghams: Buy Bermuda”.

It doesn’t help that the campaign is confined to the last two months of the year. If people are accustomed to shopping abroad the rest of the year, it seems a little optimistic to expect them to change their behaviour at Christmas.

Another problem with “Buy Bermuda” is that there’s no way to measure its success. However, the fact that less than ten per cent of retailers support it financially suggests that most have doubts about its efficacy.

No, if you want to persuade people to shop in Bermuda, you’ve got to make it worth their while.

The first step is for retailers to do a better job explaining why it’s usually impossible for them to compete on price. Because of our geographical position, it costs more to transport goods to us. Because of our tax system, duty must be paid on almost every item, even if the retailer doesn’t manage to sell it. Because of our high cost of living, our shop workers must be paid more. Because of our small size, our retailers cannot order in the quantities required to get the same discounts from their suppliers as the likes of Wal-Mart.

Their next job is to find ways to make us happy to pay those prices. The best way of doing this is to offer service that’s second to none.

It’s almost impossible to step into a store in the US without a smiling sales assistant greeting you and asking if she can help. Here, surly, disinterested service often seems the norm. Speaking in January 2002, Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling acknowledged that bad service was a recurring problem, more important than a lack of choice or high prices.

Poor service goes beyond a bad attitude, however. Some stores just seem uninterested in satisfying their customers. A local computer retailer once refused to exchange a rewritable CD I bought from them, even though it had been improperly manufactured, because it wasn’t their policy to accept returns of such items. The same store would not give a refund when a new PC purchased by my mother-in-law turned out to be afflicted with an intermittent display problem. Instead, they insisted on trying to repair it. When they couldn’t, they told her she’d have to buy a new monitor from them to resolve the problem. With customer care like that, you may as well buy online. Even if the service isn’t any better, at least you’ll have paid less.

Then there’s the resistance to opening on Sundays. Although the Government recently changed the law to make this possible, the reception from most retailers was frosty. Yet polls suggest that most of us would like to have this option.

Sometimes the stores are not flexible enough to satisfy their customers’ demands. When I wanted to buy a new digital camera, I first went to a local store to ask it they could get it for me. I was told that their next order wasn’t being delivered for another six weeks, and that I’d be better ordering it online myself.

Bermuda’s retailers must exceed their customers’ expectations, not just meet them. Doing so will require them to devise more innovative ways of selling their products and building customer loyalty.

Some already are. Pricebusters will get you any item from the IKEA catalogue. The Phoenix’s Bookmart allows you to order books online, often for less money and with quicker delivery than Amazon.com. When will someone offer a similar service for CDs, DVDs and video games?

Another innovative idea with the potential to change Bermudians’ spending habits is the Payback! reward card. Loyalty programs are common elsewhere in the world, but Bermuda’s retailers have been slow to recognise their value. The Payback! card will reward customers of participating stores with between one and five per cent of the value of their purchases, which can be spent with any participating retailer. In addition, a select group of merchants will offer “mega rewards”. The card was first unveiled last year but will be officially launched next month.

It’s ideas such as these that will keep the dollars in Bermuda. The Buy Bermuda campaign, however, is redundant. If Bermuda’s consumers are offered good reasons to shop here, those reasons will speak for themselves. If they are not, no advertising campaign will make any difference.

Comments

[Monkeyman on 11.08.05 at 09:31]

Not having finished your new Book Dr. Phil, I will have to have a six pack and get back next week. The intro is good, falls apart midway.

At the rate Bermuda is going, no thanks, I would rather buy more stock in Moblie Oil, than Buy Bermuda.

[save d cut on 11.08.05 at 11:07]

Good Morning All,
Making small strides to save gas I took a shared ride this morning. In doing so I actually got to read the daily before lunch. Limey....your column was smack on!

Shopping is one of the biggest challenges I have here in Bermuda. It is not that I do not like shopping for it is one of my passions. However a purchase should make you feel good. After I make a purchase in Bermuda I am super depressed and feel somewhat violated.

Now get me out to Bean Town and leave me for the day. Calvin Klein bra and panty set..Under $20. Bra alone in Trimminghams
$45.

Out in the States...."Mame did that fit ok, would you like me to get you antother size?"

Here..."get it yourself...I am busy talking to my baby daddy and he says he loves me"

The thrill of shopping for me is not the fact that I am going to blowing $100. Its how many quality items you can get of for that $100. So you feel you have won. Is winning not a great feeling?

I work hard for my money so when I spend it I would like the establishment to at least appear the appreciate me and my money.

As for value for you $$$$ I would like to show an example. I recently bought a top from a Hamilton Boutique. It was one of those "I need something asap and it cant wait for my next trip thing". It was cute and the name was a never heard of chic European name. For the cost, it must be a designer I have not heard of yet. The very same night I wore it the botton seem started to unravel. One wear....$85. No real quality. Heck, it didnt even have sleeves. When returned...it was my fault.

I have spent less than that on more than that and I still got that!!!!

Did I cry when Trimmingham's closed after all those years?...Heck no. I said good, they have been violating people for all those years.

It didnt bother me much at all I never shopped there anyway. I go to Bermuda International Airport and look for the closest sale.

[save d cut on 11.08.05 at 11:14]

Sorry about all the typos. I was on a roll.

[Monkeyman on 11.08.05 at 11:39]

Save d cut, you seem very upset. You must be an ex-pat or a veryy pissed of Onion.

You say Triminghams has been violating us for years! Hell every bussiness has, with a few exceptions. There were many Mom and Pop stores in Bda. until Interbational, thats right, interbational bussiness got the bigger piece of the Mussel pie. NOw I read in todays Royal Gazette about that guy that owns the other part of Hamilton, another PHIL, Phil Barnacles saying he ain't gonna pay overtime and the prices will go up, and shorter hours because and so he needs to make a profit!!!!! Hello. These ex's are all my ex's.

Buy Bermuda, hell I did not know it was for SALE.

Apparently there is a lot of SELLING OUT.

[Two Cent Charlie on 11.08.05 at 12:07]

Limey,

Your article makes some very valid points and in some ways by stating the obvious, hopefully people will think a little more about why Buy Bermuda is necessary. As far as Buy Bermuda being redundant, maybe it is but then again it needs to be.

Bermuda is effectively a consumer tax driven country. The duties collected on products imported to the island pay for the infrastructure. People who shop abroad do not declare all their purchases and therefore duties are not collected.

Yes to all what the USA has to offer, yes to local shopping being limited and relatively expensive, yes to issues of customer service and yes to the fact that Bermuda needs more creative ways to invigorate local spending. Buy Bermuda should be a national campaign all year round and funded soley by the government, not retailers.

Government should also look at increasing duty on items purchased abroad by individuals and lowering duty paid by retailers. Duty could be collected as a sales tax instead of up-front at the port of entry. Bermuda is what it is and especially with cheap flights to the US people will continue to travel abroad to spend their money. It just makes sense.

But Bermuda needs the Buy Bermuda campaign as well and in fact it should be taught as an economics class in all the high-schools.

[Lost in Flatts on 11.08.05 at 12:18]

Two Cent Charlie,

I agree with some of your points, particularly the importance of duty to government income, but think the economics class on Buy Bermuda would be pretty amusing:

Prof: Alright class, so by shopping in Hamilton, you increase Taxes leading to an increase in Government expenditure, which through the multiplier effect results in a growing economy.

Student: But Prof, doesn't my utility decrease when I can't buy as many goods because of higher prices? And how does the multiplier effect change when the expenditure is on flights for MPs? Or shiny new cars and homes? Or kickbacks?

[automatic on 11.08.05 at 12:28]

Buy Bermuda...I think not.

Sorry, but I've had far too many experiences of slovenly, pathetic and damn-right rude service in Bermuda stores to back this campaign. Limey is right on the money with that point.

I could name them all, but will just give you one example that sums it all up.

About 18 months ago, I wanted to buy a laptop computer. I decided I would buy locally just because it would be easier. Cost was not a factor in that decision.

So off I pop to Gateway to see what they have available.

automatic - "Good afternoon, I'm interested in buying a lap top"

gateway man (GM) - *stares blankly at me*

GM - rolls eyes, "can I help you?"

A - *repeats first comment*

GM - *points at laptop in window, saying nothing*

A - after looking at it, "is this the only model you have?"

GM - "looks like it doesn't it"

A - "well can you tell me what the specs are please?"

GM - "website"

A - "I beg your pardon?"

GM - "look on the website - they're on there"

a - "can't you tell me now?"

GM - "no, website"

a - "I want to spend $3,000 in your shop, and you can't be bothered talking to me"

GM - *shrugs shoulders, looks decidedly uninterested*

A - *walks out of shop, buys laptop elsewhere, and tells all of friends never to shop at Gateway*

Until stores in Bermuda give us the impression that they actually want our money, rather than seeing us a nuisance, then I'm not going to support them - why the hell should I?

Most people I know will happily pay the extra money that comes from shipping and duty - it's part of the cost of living on a small island and most people understand that.

But we do not have to suffer rude and disinterested service, and sadly that is all too common, if not pervasive, in Bermuda stores

[Two Cent Charlie on 11.08.05 at 12:28]

Lost in Flatts,

Trust me, you're right. I think we could write a comedy about the whole thing.

However, as Limey points out, no-one really points out the underlining issue of why Buy Bermuda is important in a clear concise method. The real benefit of a class about Bermuda's economy would also touch upon how the money is spent.

Unfortunately the down side is that a lot of kids are going to want to get into politics. :)

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 12:47]

Not all the blame can be put on the existing tax structure. I agree that in instead of duties the Bermuda merchants should be able to add a sales tax and settle the duty amount after the sale of the item. However, the retailers, especially the clothing retailers, should think in terms of low prices to generate higher volume rather than price gouging on each item.

The average mark-up on clothing items is in excess of 300%.

I disagree that the individual travelling consumer should pay a higher duty rate because at the end of the day the retailers can be comptetitive, if they so choose.

If I buy something in a large department store in the U.S. and pay 22.5% duty upon arrival in Bermuda, my savings over what the Bermuda retailer is charging should be minimal because I would have bought retail and would have paid U.S. sales tax (except if it was a clothing item in N.J.) in addition to paying Bermuda duty.

The Bermuda retailer would have bought the good wholesale at a first dollar cost significantly less than than the U.S. retail (which also includes a high mark-up), plus he would not have paid U.S. sales tax on the exported items.

I agree the retailer has overhead, salary, utilities, etc. but if his price were more competitive he would be able to cover these costs with volume rather than extraordinarily high prices. As it currently stands even with the high prices many are not covering these costs because they are not moving merchandise.

I'll bet when these merchants have "sales" they move more merchandise and are able to cover costs. Just think of the volume that could be generated if the sales price was the normal retail price.

[Phil on 11.08.05 at 13:39]

Guilden

The Bermuda retailer would have bought the good wholesale at a first dollar cost significantly less than than the U.S. retail

That's incorrect.

My in-laws run a hardware store, so I'm speaking from personal experience here. The price at which they are able to purchase goods from their suppliers is often more than the US retail price. That's because they are so much smaller than, say, Home Depot, that they're not offered anything like the same discounts. I suspect that what is true for hardware is true for clothing and other goods too.

Two Cent Charlie

Understanding why prices are higher here and understanding the potential consequences of not shopping at home may increase sympathy for the retailers, but it won't change behaviour.

I understand why prices are more expensive here, but at the end of the day my attitude is "too bad" - if you want me to pay that price, give me a reason to do so.

I understand that by buying an item abroad instead of from a Bermuda retailer I am increasing the chance of that retailer going out of business. But the increased risk is so tiny it has no impact on my thinking (even though I understand that if everyone else behaves the same, the risks add up). Moreover, I also think - well, if that retailer did go out of business, so what? A few people might lose their jobs, but they'd find other ones and I wouldn't miss the products the retailer was offering because I was buying them elsewhere anyway.

So I don't think that the Buy Bermuda campaign would be any more useful if it were more educational.

Automatic

I'm with you 100% on Gateway. I never bother going in there anymore as I've had too many experiences of disinterested service or them not having what I'm looking for (and seeming like they could care less).

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 13:43]

Limey,

Are you saying the Bermuda retailer is buying retail in the U.S.?

If a Bermuda retailer buying retail int he U.S. even a tax break would not help his cause.

Spend a day in the NYC fashion district and you will see many of the buyers for Bermuda retailers.

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 13:49]

Limey,

Gorham's does not buy retail, the car dealers do not buy retail, Triningham's did not buy retail, neither did The English Sports Shop, nor A.S. Coopers, etc.

The hardware store your in-laws manage is a very small store and you may be correct that they cannot buy at wholesale prices but please do not equate that to all retailers in Bermuda.

[Phil on 11.08.05 at 14:01]

Guilden

I can't speak for any stores except my in-laws', however I would be very surprised if any Bermuda store is able to buy from its suppliers for the same price or less than the huge US chains. They're just not buying the same quantity of product. Even Bermuda's biggest stores are tiny by US standards.

Even if they are buying for the same prices, shipping, duty, and the higher salaries they must pay their staff conspire to make competing on price almost impossible. It's unrealistic to expect them to be able to do so.

[Lost in Flatts on 11.08.05 at 14:11]

A lot of Bermudian stores seek out the manufacturers directly, and can get lower prices than US consumers, but they're still not as low as what larger US chains can get, simple economies of scale. So you're both right!

[hotspur on 11.08.05 at 14:12]

I went into Stuarts to look at a Canon Digital SLR that, at the time, retailed for $799 in the States. A surly lady told me it was $1,800 (and didn’t know anything about it). I was laughing my bollocks off as I walked out the shop. The camera was in my hands via B&H (New York) 36 hours later.

[Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired on 11.08.05 at 14:18]

I have to agree with 'automatic'. I wondered into a local Reid Street shoe store recently to purchase a pair of "Trendy" loafers which were $199 despite knowing that I could get a similar pair in the U.S. the following week for half the price. There were approximately four other customers and three sales staff lingering around he cash register. None of the sales staff even bothered to assist or even acknowledged my presence despite my waiting for 5 minutes. Needless to say I now own a pair of loafers from the U.S. In fact I brought a brown and a black pair. Everytime I attempt to do my bit for the Buy Bermuda campaign, lazy sales staff discourage me from doing so. They could take a lesson from the American sales attitude thats for sure.

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 14:21]

Limey,

I have never disputed the cost of labour in Bermuda but you stated Bermuda retailers do not buy wholesale, i am tell you that you are wrong.

I also never said that Bermuda retailers could buy wholesale at the same prices as the large U.S. retailers. I simply said they could buy wholesale at prices that were significantly lower than U.S. retail.

You stated from your personal experience (your in-laws) and I am stating from mine.

Prior to her current occupation my wife managed a Bermuda retail outlet owned by one of the "larger" retailers and she was also a buyer for the store.

Buying trips were made to the NYC fashion district, which only sells wholesale to retailers. When the items were priced for sale in Bermuda the mark-up was in excess of 300%.

My wife obviously knew the total cost of the items, including shipping and duty, and she knew the operating costs of the store and she knew at what margin the store could turn profit. It was much, much lower than 300%. Thus the store collected income on high priced items but she knew that income could have been increased had the items been priced more for volume than the few high priced sales.

My point was if retailers priced for volume they could actually be more competitive with U.S. prices plus thhe cost of duty to the individual purchaser and they could operate on a higher volume of sales rather than being unable to turn inventory over.

[Tiger Bay on 11.08.05 at 14:40]

Most Bermuda retailers suffer from lack of management experience, trained buyers and capital...

However the largest problem is that there ain't no volume in Bermuda since the tourists went away...

[Lost in Flatts on 11.08.05 at 14:56]

I no longer buy bermuda because I don't like to disturb the people working in the stores. They clearly have much more important things to do than help me, and seeing how annoyed it gets them when I come in my questions, I feel bad and leave.

What I find really strange is that the people work in stores in America actually seem happy to see me, ask ME if I have questions and smile a lot. Stupid Americans, can't that see that makes more people come into the store, which means they've got to do even more work!

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 14:58]

Lost,

Don't you know that in Bermuda those who work in retail stores are doin you a favour by just being there?

[Oscar on 11.08.05 at 15:06]

I have a suggestion.... if all those persons in retail stores worked on commission I guarantee their attitude would suddenly become:

Yes Sir, No Sir, Three bags full Sir....

Guilden is right, most of those persons in the retail industry in Bermuda think they are doing you a favour when you come into their stores. They will still get a paycheck regardless of whether you buy anything or not! If they had to work for it I guarantee it would be different!

[save d cut on 11.08.05 at 15:20]

Oscar,
That seems to the wrok trend ia a bunch of areas.

[Raptor on 11.08.05 at 15:25]

My favourite: a family member went to buy a fax machine in Bermuda--$800. The exact same machine was $199 in the U.S. (where we purchased it, of course). The catch? The Bermuda retailer offered to INSTALL the fax machine!!! Just think, an extra $600 to plug it in to an electrical outlet and a telephone outlet.

Lots of people would probably pay a little more for the good of the island and if they were getting good service. But no one likes to be ripped off, and nobody likes to be ignored and treated poorly when they show up with money to spend.

[Bill Cook on 11.08.05 at 15:27]

The fundamental reason one starts a business is to make as much money as they can with as little risk and headaches as possibly.

Having been involved in some of the most successful businesses in Bermuda I was always aware that if making money was easy there would be no poor people.

Unless one has a monopoly they will face competition,and how successfully they compete will determine whether or not they survive.

The unrealistic notion that any company can dictate how much they can charge by marking up goods as much as they want is just plain stupid.

You can only mark up goods as much as the customer will pay,not what you would like to get.

The reasons why buy Bermuda will not meet with much success are many, some well illustrated on this post already.

Primarily service stinks.

Incompetent staff who probably feel they are underpaid could care less and dont have the ability to find a better paying job.

Incompetent staff plus incredible theft by staff puts up the cost of doing business combined with the cost of importing goods the cost of shop space and warehousing taxes and being such a tiny place are major obstacles.

The traffic situation as far as parking has cost retailers considerable lost sales.

The truth is that you can order from a catalogue and have less difficulty collecting from your local post office than going into town to shop.I often do it.

As for purchasing ability I can say that in many instances when I supplied the major hotels I had to compete with their own purchasing offices in the US.

It all depends on ones skills and knowledge and sense of economy and hard work ergo low overheads and the desire to give premium service often at all hours and days of the week.

It is also from the retail consumers viewpoint hard to get service for mechanical items purchased locally.

To be fair there are some older Bermudian staff that gave sterling service but they are dying out sadly and the pleasure of going in to buy from them a pleasure we are now denied, it was a social occasion quite often.

I could phone up Smiths or Triminghams and inquire if they had Doeskin Slacks in dark red in size so and so and they would if they had them have the leg finished to your length and all you did was pick them up.

I would happily pay extra for this type of service rather than buy overseas but it has dissappeared.

[Souvenirs on 11.08.05 at 15:41]

Limey,

PLease give Gateway another try. You may be surprised. I do know that in the last year they've gone out of gaming which may have been the source of your frustration though. Otherwise, they have some great stuff in there and a new, retail friendly manager called Shannon.

[loki on 11.08.05 at 15:47]

"I have a suggestion.... if all those persons in retail stores worked on commission I guarantee their attitude would suddenly become:

Yes Sir, No Sir, Three bags full Sir...."

Maybe not, actually. My wife worked for Triminghams when the new management took over about three years ago. Sales targets were brought in for sales associates. What actually ended up happening was that the young, surly women dispensing 10,000llbs of attitude, who did nothing but stand behind tills became the top sales associates; the sales associates that were actually helping people, actually being friendly (generally ladies that had worked for the store for 20-30 years) weren't ringing up as many sales as the associates who stood behind the tills waiting for customers to stumble across them. Many of the older staff got written warnings. Some were fired. Nice.

[Two Cent Charlie on 11.08.05 at 16:20]

Fundamentally Bermuda will always have a serious problem with retailing. Retailers really have a no-win situation unless they are in a commodity type or licensed business, ie: t-shirts, gasoline, groceries, liqour etc..

The retailers that offer goods as described in many of these posts are always going to be the bad guys. Aside from terrible customer service, retailers are behind the eight ball from the start.

The ability to offer variety and at competitive prices is based on volume. Bermuda has no volume. If all you sold was white socks maybe you could have enough volume to buy quantity but the only variety you could offer is in size.
Imagine then a shoe store that wants to bring in a relatively expansive line of shoes, sandals, sneakers etc. How many brands do you carry, how many styles? How many of each size? Mens, womens, children. Now throw in a season change to boot! (Pun totally intended.) If it doesn't sell, you lose.

Your competion is the ability for someone to either go online and bring whatever they want in or take a plane ride to Boston and hit 15 stores in 1 day. Try on what you want, buy one get one half price.

Some retailers "hook up" with the likes of Federated Stores (Macy's etc.) and purchase trend items through their re-sale programs. I believe Triminghams did this. Up-side is you get a little variety and savings in handling costs but you still have their up-charges. If you go it alone you have multiple vendors, higher first costs, multiple shipments and tons of costs associated with it.
You would be surprised at the logistics side of getting all the stuff to the stores, and your customers still won't be satisfied.

Would I buy a spec. computer in Bermuda? Probably not, but I would work with a local company if they could order the system for me and handle the warranty etc. at a reasonable mark-up. Items such as cameras etc. are just a dying business unless they can be duty free.

The big picture is that Bermuda needs it's customs duty and it also needs people to have jobs in the retail sector. Both generate income for the islands infrastructure needs. Finding the right balance is the hard part. Unless the country starts really cutting down on the way it spends it's money and instead looks at supporting the retail sector we will soon end up with having to re-write the islands tax structure and all that implies.

In a nutshell, unless you are set up to sell to the cheap trinkets to tourists, retailing in Bermuda is a very tough place to be.

Just read between the lines on Triminghams. The building and real estate holdings were worth more than the business. So they sold it off. The bank, which probably held their loan, weren't going to take any further risk with the retail sector so they've decided to make it a "retail banking" establishment. (Which I personally think is a really bad mistake.) They didn't seem to even try to see if anyone else was willing to take over the company and come up with a creative way to re-structure it. So unless it was purely a land grab, then the vote of confidence for the retail sector is pretty low.

So at the end of the day, all the little trips to Boston add up to just banging nails in the coffin. Bermuda is a wealthy island and it has a high standard of living. As I stated earlier, people will always continue to travel and spend money. I just feel it's important for the everyone to look at the future and imagine where the island is heading. Educating the young Bermudians is a start.

And I really mean the Bermudians because the foreign workers will continue to shop abroad as it is something they are used to. They may only be in Bermuda for a short while and the concern for Buy Bermuda will naturally not be as great.

[lickinalong on 11.08.05 at 16:32]

If it was possible to make really good money in retail in Bermuda, we would all be trying to get into the business. But I know of no-one who is truly interested in entering this business at this time and with good reason:

1. With Bermuda's overemployment and the fact that retail can afford to pay only low salaries, retail businesses often end up with the least qualified and motivated workers, hence the poor service.

2. Bermuda is a very small market and it is impossible to provide the variety of products that you can find overseas.

3. In the past retailers had a captive market (no mail order or internet sales were possible and travel was very limited). Now they have overseas competition. Some retailers are responding but others like Triminghams never quite broke out of the "captive market" state of mind.

Some retailers particularly in clothing are now selling items at the US suggested retailers price. The problem is that they do not have the variety of items and sizes. It is really sad. They are trying but it must be really difficult.

There is probably some good money to be made in retail but who needs the hassles. On the other hand we can only hope that some budding young retail entrepreneur is in the works to turn things around. If that doesn't happen, Bermuda will be a pretty boring place to live and our city streetscape will be dominated by grey and uninteresting office buildings. That is already happening. Take a look at the corner of Reid and Burnaby streets where only one corner now has retail. A failing retail sector can only mean a lower quality of life for all of us in Bermuda.

[Martin on 11.08.05 at 16:42]

I recently bought a new car...its a Skoda.

Many years ago (given my age) we used to laugh at Skodas, Lada's over in the UK, but since VW bought them, it's a new ball game and a pretty good car NOW.

Why did we buy Skoda?

Well - we went to the Ford showroom first - looked around - shouted to the Sales guy who was sitting at his desk..."What colours you got"?

"Red"...he said.

"Any others"?....I enquired.

"No", said A mouth full of sandwich in return.

So we gave up - and went to HWP. Nice guy there....offered my wife a seat...started chatting....no pressurised selling.

Looked at a few cars, and bought a Skoda.

Simple really. The problem is, nothing will change - lost sales or not. There is no real competition here which we desparatly need to kick people out of the BDA blues.

[Bill Cook on 11.08.05 at 16:49]

Triminghams and Smiths demise was long in the planning in my opinion.

Both had become employers of people and never made the return they should have and had they been paying rent to someone other than themselves they would have long since folded.

Exactly just what actually transpired I do not know but I suspect that the owners were not too broken hearted and could quite easily have rented out the space to several smaller stores or dept within the buildings and continued the retail business with better individual management etc.
but my guess is they wanted to close the stores and it will be illuminating to see what the Bank does with the vacant building.

[SmokingGun on 11.08.05 at 16:55]

"I recently bought a new car...its a Skoda."

Martin you are truly a brave man. Either that or you are a mechanic.

[Souvenirs on 11.08.05 at 17:18]

I have it on good authority that the Bank is measuring up new the new Trims offices as we speak.

Now if we can just get them to knock down the ugliest building in town - at Point Pleasant.

[Phil on 11.08.05 at 17:44]

Guilden

I think either you misunderstood me or I didn't explain myself very well. I did not say that Bermuda retailers do not buy wholesale, I said that the discounts they get (from whoever they buy from) are often not as great as those obtained by big US stores. In some cases (not all) this means that they may be buying from their supplier at a higher price than a US store can sell for.

Now, I agree that some of Bermuda's retailers slap huge markups on top of that, making an already expensive item even more so. But that's not always the case. Just because an item is more expensive here than it is in the US, don't assume that the store is trying to rip you off.

[read on 11.08.05 at 17:59]

All,

Please snap out of it.

This is a global economy.

Bermuda is no longer a closed retail market. Unless we see the advantages of joining large chains in the US, UK or Canada, we are not going to see the price or product variance we keep complaining about.

And please stop crying about Triminghams. We decided we did not like what they had to offer so we took our money elsewhere.

Supply and demand. It is working in Bermuda, like everywhere else in the world.

If you don't like the service, feel free to shop elsewhere.

Gone fishing,
read

[SmokingGun on 11.08.05 at 18:17]

Gone Fishing?

The fish have all gone.

And that's the whole point.

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 18:57]

Limey,

"Just because an item is more expensive here than it is in the US, don't assume that the store is trying to rip you off."

Please stop insinuating. I never said anyone was ripping anyone off. What I said, and I'll repeat it for you is, "The retailers should price their products to achieve volume sales rather than trying to cover all costs in the sale of a few items."

The tactic currently used by a large number of retailers causes them to continue to carry old inventory rather than trying to move the inventory they have.

A case in point, Sports R US. They have sets of golf clubs in their store that have been there since about 1995 or 1996 and they yet to reduce the prices to get them sold. This is the case with many stores in Bermuda.

[SmokingGun on 11.08.05 at 19:03]

Guilden, lazy is what lazy does. If you have a hankering for a nice set of Tommy Armours "circa 1995" make them an offer. If they're not too lazy to figure out cash flow you might get a sweet deal. Maybe not a long drive though.

[Phil on 11.08.05 at 19:15]

Guilden,

My apologies. I wasn't trying to insinuate anything, I just misunderstood your position.

I agree with you about the old inventory. I remember when Leisure Time used to stock computer games - they had games that were several years old still selling for their original price. Eventually, they decided to stop selling games altogether. Shame - if only they had made sure to stock the new games and mark down the old ones I think they could have done a roaring trade.

[read on 11.08.05 at 19:58]

Limey and Guilden,

If you wanna see a little bit of price gouging go into The Complete Office then go to Leisure Time then check online... it surprising what thing real cost. I can accept a little markup, but cut don't make so obivious you are there to rip a whole in my pocket.

read

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 20:06]

Limey,

Apology accepted, no harm done.

Aside from lousy service I think that is the biggest thing preventing retailers from being successful.

[Bill Cook on 11.08.05 at 20:07]

Sports R us frequently have sales esp with footwear and are hughely successful just as their entire company is a real success story like MM another part of the hard working Portguese family.

Not sure about the golf clubs but as i still prefer the Taylor Bubble Burner over these big overblown styles maybe they feel we dont subscribe to the theory of constantly changing styles ? How many golfers have seen a drop in their handicap with all these bullshit new clubs ?

There is not much chance of volume sales with a Lilliputian market like BDA
while I agree half a loaf is better than no bread how long can you survive selling goods below your break even point ?

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 11.08.05 at 20:52]

Bill,

Actually, you're correct about the handicap. Mine has only dropped 3 shots from 9 to 6.

I don't think anyone is talking about selling below break even. However, the longer inventory remains on the sales floor the less likely it is to sell, especially if it has been there for 9 or 10 years, unless it is marked down sufficiently enough to make it a attractive purchase.

Further, with regard to Sports R US, I never stated they were not successful, I simply used there golf section as an example. One section of a store does not determine its success or failure.

[Bill Cook on 11.08.05 at 23:15]

Guilden,

My point was SR US seem to be doing ok doing what they are doing so if it aint broke why fix it ?

On the clubs if you dropped 3 strokes when already in single digits maybe I better re evaluate changing my clubs then I could give my 16 yr grandson a run for his money as I have a 16 handicap and he 12 !!

[Bandit on 12.08.05 at 06:36]

Obviously there is a great attraction to going to Beantown and to the outlets and Malls. There are some real bargains to be had. I will miss Trims when I next visit. My wife and I have spent thousands in there in the past. The thing we have always found with the items they sold is they are of very high quality and that cannot eb said of the cheap outlet clothes in the US.

If you go and buy a cheap pair of Levys from a Levy outlet they are usually seconds The fit is never the same. Look at the CK clothing at TK Maxx and you will see very poor quality stiching and items ready to fall apart. Then look at the real thing in Trims and you will see a quality item. I still have a pair of CK jeans I bought in Triminghams in 2001 and they are like new.

I think the problem is that many people in Bermuda are getting the current british attitude which is buy cheap, it used to be buy things that are value for money.

In life you get what you pay for. Quality costs regardless of location.

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 12.08.05 at 08:38]

Bill,

Its not the equipment. As the saying goes, "Its the Indian to blame not the arrows."

Even with new technology you have to hit the sweet spot with a square close face.

[hotspur on 12.08.05 at 09:17]

Bandit...
"I think the problem is that many people in Bermuda are getting the current british attitude which is buy cheap"

Why is it that I always miss out on these wicked new fad!? Care to tell me what it’s all about? It sounds really, really British and lots of fun too!

Cleary everyone has been missing this very clever point all along. The demise in retail wasn’t due to all of the aforementioned reasons. No, it was because the Brits are cheap and through sneaky Expat infiltration we have brain-washed the Bermuda into buying shit. Excellent, that clears that up then.

[denning on 12.08.05 at 09:37]

I'm surprised that no one in Bermuda has yet latched on to the 'catalogue outlet' concept. Back home in small town Canada, we had a similar problem - supply and variety in the big city made small town stores obsolete. When it suddenly became easy to drive to Toronto for a day of shopping, our local dry goods store nearly went under. Then they came up with a brilliant idea: a Sears Outlet venue. Instead of driving to Sears in Toronto, you could go into the dry goods store, sit in a comfy chair and have a tea, look through the book, order what you want and everything would be taken care of for you. People preferred this to getting the catalogue and doing it themselves because the dry goods store did all the work for you. Just point at what you want, tell Gail what colour, and she'd call you at home when it arrived. No internet paranoia. No problems with returns. Lots of selection. No 3 hour drive. If someone here would open up something similar - but with catalogues from 10 major US stores, say - people (particularly people who are scared of the internet or don't want to mess with calculating duties) would use it. But again, it would all come down to service, wouldn't it?

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 12.08.05 at 09:43]

Bandit,

"I think the problem is that many people in Bermuda are getting the current british attitude which is buy cheap, it used to be buy things that are value for money."

I think you got the wrong nationality with this one. Look at your post and tell us where all the outlet malls are? Where the TJ Max's, etc. are located?

The USA is the country of buy cheap and replace. Case in point, cars, lease a car for 3 years then change it for a new 3 year leased car. Use to be you bought a car and it would last for years, now because of the spending habits of Americans, cars only seem to last through their warranty, usually 3 years. Could that be by design?

[Bandit on 12.08.05 at 09:45]

Hotspur,
That is an interesting interpretation of what I said. Having been an expat for 37 years I have seen a lot of change in the attitudes of people in the Colonies. Their attitudes have changed. I'll bet you do it too. You see a tin of brand X coffee for $5.95 and the same size can of brand Y for $3.95; you, and most people will buy brand Y because it is cheaper, regardless of the reasons why it is cheaper. It happens everywhere. And by the way, many third world countries are in the state they are in because of this situation.

Anyway, I stand by what I said. Quality costs.

[Martin on 12.08.05 at 09:55]

Smoking...

What worries me about what you put is that it might be right!!

Sadly - I don't know one end of a screwdriver to another either.