- Mobile site
- E-Newsletters
-
- News feed
- Find us on Twitter
@Dorsetecho
Follow us for the latest news
- Find us on Facebook
Dorset Echo
Like us on Facebook
UPDATED: Blockbuster store in Weymouth and Millets in Dorchester to close (From Dorset Echo)
When news happens get involved. Send your pictures, views and video to us by text and email
UPDATED: Blockbuster store in Weymouth and Millets in Dorchester to close
2:43pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News
Blockbuster store in Weymouth to close
STAFF are facing redundancies after another Weymouth store is set to close its doors.
The Blockbuster store on St Thomas Street will close down, it has been announced today.
Millets in Dorchester has also announced it will be closing at the beginning of next month.
The move comes after administrators Deloitte were brought in a month ago, who kept some stores open whilst a buyer was found.
The DVD and game rental retailer is the latest store to struggle against internet competition.
But they announced today that Weymouth is one of 164 stores across the country which will be shut down as part of a phased closure.
The Bridport branch will remain open.
Lee Manning, Joint Administrator, said: “We have continued to review the performance of individual stores since our appointment a month ago and have concluded that further closures are necessary in order to restructure the Company for sale.
"We would like to thank the Company’s employees for their support and professionalism during this difficult time and we are also grateful for the continued support of customers.
"We are in discussions with a number of parties interested in purchasing all or parts of the business and will update on progress in due course.”
Deloitte confirmed that staff at affected stores will be facing redundancy, although it is not known how many employees in Weymouth are affected, or when exactly the store will close.
Closing stores will remain open for business as usual and customers will be notified in advance of closure so that they can return their outstanding rental items beforehand.
The standard rental terms and conditions remain in place during this time.
Incoming president of the Weymouth Chamber of Commerce Mark Blunden said the closure could be as much to do with a change in society’s habits as a downturn in the economy.
He said: “I think we are all guilty of using online services for DVD rentals, and it is perhaps a demographic reason why the Weymouth store is closing and the Bridport store is staying open for now, because maybe people are more likely to download.”
But he said more could be done to support businesses.
He added: “Parking costs are always an issue. If you want to pop into town, but would have to pay a couple of pound to do so, you are going to look for another place to go.”
Weymouth businessman Shaun Hennessy added that any job losses are ‘disastrous’ for the town.
He added: “Empty spaces in the town are not going to help the image we are trying to project.
“But we have to remember we are a seasonal resort, and this is a good opportunity for independent stores to come in.
“That is Weymouth’s future, rather than big chain stores.”
Millets in Dorchester is set to close on March 9.
The outdoor clothing store in Cornhill is part of the same group as Blacks, which has a shop in Tudor Arcade.
Comments(22)
jmc1
says...
5:48pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Surely the only thing stopping you move abroad is you
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
niceonecyril
says...
6:04pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Not sure why the Government restrict your travel, but please, please try again, because the sooner people like you leave the town, the better.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
banknote
says...
6:26pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Suggest you learn how to spell before moving away from Weymouth - the sooner the better.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Proudtoliveindorset
says...
7:41pm Wed 13 Feb 13
shootingthru
says...
7:48pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Get a grip
says...
8:15pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:There is a train leaving Weymouth in the morning please get on it.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
JamesYoung
says...
10:54pm Wed 13 Feb 13
This from June last year:
http://www.express.c
o.uk/finance/city/32
8941/New-Look-wins-1
bn-debt-pact
And this from today:
http://uk.news.yahoo
.com/look-hires-bank
s-tackle-1bn-debt-pi
le-112617667--financ
e.html
If their facility runs until 2015, why are they looking at this now? Are the banks threatened to renege on the agreement made last year? If so, it could be curtains.
high68
says...
11:32pm Wed 13 Feb 13
mark@greenhill
says...
5:53am Thu 14 Feb 13
Unless you never leave Weymouth, you cannot fail to notice that all towns are suffering closures & empty shop units.
As for the writer of the opening letter, I think you will find that you are completely free to leave for any part of the world at any time, but having seen your spelling, I'm guessing the application form for a passport may have defeated you?
satisfecho
says...
8:56am Thu 14 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Why are Game ripping you off? Is it because they are trying to make a profit to pay for rates, rents and staffing the store?
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
If that is the case every business in the world is ripping you off as they are all trying to do the same thing.
As for Weymouth town centre dying, yes it is.
It's all well and good when posts appear on here saying we shall shop in Dorchester, Poole & Bournemouth etc - but if you take the wool out of your eyes you will also notice stores in those towns closing left right and centre.
Donkey Oatty
says...
9:15am Thu 14 Feb 13
stench
says...
9:38am Thu 14 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:you may have offended a few, but you are not far from the truth.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn. Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals. The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots. He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things. Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den. I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Think you let the rant run a bit too far ;)
Weymouth is a dead end town and only getting worse. Yes, we are proud to be from such a beautiful town, but we also let the governement and local council walk over us and treat us like the numbers we are!
Get up, stand up!
Or sit on this forum, telling people to leave when they tell it how it is... hehe!
ksmain
says...
8:42pm Thu 14 Feb 13
stench wrote:I do get a laugh out of some of these comments on this site.
Tactical wrote:you may have offended a few, but you are not far from the truth.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn. Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals. The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots. He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things. Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den. I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Think you let the rant run a bit too far ;)
Weymouth is a dead end town and only getting worse. Yes, we are proud to be from such a beautiful town, but we also let the governement and local council walk over us and treat us like the numbers we are!
Get up, stand up!
Or sit on this forum, telling people to leave when they tell it how it is... hehe!
Firstly, as someone who has lived here all of his 50 years, Weymouth has never been the place to get a shopping experience. If you wanted that you would go to Poole/Bournemouth, Exeter or even Yeovil.
Secondly, Weymouth's biggest employer is tourism, followed by the Public Sector. There has never been much industry other than that. And, while a slump is happening nationally, I reckon the simple reason failure is more likely here is that successive administrations have cut the Public Sector areas (and this one is particularly savage). The MOD has gone from the area and been replaced by nothing as substantial, and now I reckon a great many Local Government and NHS staff also face an uncertain future.
IMO the net result of this is that there is less and less money going into the local economy, therefore the casualties will be the local businesses. Simples!!
woodsedge
says...
9:53pm Thu 14 Feb 13
ksmain wrote:Careful ksmain, talking sense on this forum will get you a bad name. Particularly with the "flatten it and build a car park brigade"
stench wrote:I do get a laugh out of some of these comments on this site.
Tactical wrote:you may have offended a few, but you are not far from the truth.
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn. Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals. The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots. He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things. Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den. I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Think you let the rant run a bit too far ;)
Weymouth is a dead end town and only getting worse. Yes, we are proud to be from such a beautiful town, but we also let the governement and local council walk over us and treat us like the numbers we are!
Get up, stand up!
Or sit on this forum, telling people to leave when they tell it how it is... hehe!
Firstly, as someone who has lived here all of his 50 years, Weymouth has never been the place to get a shopping experience. If you wanted that you would go to Poole/Bournemouth, Exeter or even Yeovil.
Secondly, Weymouth's biggest employer is tourism, followed by the Public Sector. There has never been much industry other than that. And, while a slump is happening nationally, I reckon the simple reason failure is more likely here is that successive administrations have cut the Public Sector areas (and this one is particularly savage). The MOD has gone from the area and been replaced by nothing as substantial, and now I reckon a great many Local Government and NHS staff also face an uncertain future.
IMO the net result of this is that there is less and less money going into the local economy, therefore the casualties will be the local businesses. Simples!!
leo210856
says...
11:31am Fri 15 Feb 13
Donkey Oatty wrote:As they say Donkey nail on head.
Blockbusters were going anyway....they are NATIONALY going bust....this is not just a Weymouth thing. This has naff all to do with rates but the fact the "product" is now obsolete. Just as the modern concept of town centres...we use out of town supermarkets, online distributors and commercial parks such as the one Matalan/B&Q is on. We no longer require to go to town if we choose. So please could the Echo stop sensationalising this scenario...it's just evolution
The whole shopping experience(for want of a better word) is changing at a pace. The high street as we knew it will never return nor will councils , such as WDDC, be able to recreate the past no matter how much they committ of our money to develop sites that will never achieve what they, the councillors, promise us.
I used to live in Westham, Cromwell Road.Within 300 yards of where I lived there were 4 butchers, 3 newsagents,2 fishmongers, about 17 other foodshops, 2 cobblers,2 post offices, 2 bakers, 3 fish and chip shops. to name just a few. Many are no longer.These shops didnt close because people dont buy bread or meat any more (although perhaps they may stop for a while as we Brits dont like horse meat) they buy these products and services elsewhere. Other shops did close because habbitts or needs change for instance when was the last time anyone had a pair of shoes re heeled? Similarly how many of us rent Videos anymore?
There is a limit to the number of coffee shops or charity shops needed & it really is time that people realised that the days of the thriving high street are numbered and slowly but surely more and more shops will close and not to be replaced
marabout
says...
1:11pm Fri 15 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:It seems that education is not wasted in Littlemoor
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn.
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Jello Biafra
says...
9:16am Mon 18 Feb 13
born & interbred!
Jello Biafra
says...
9:17am Mon 18 Feb 13
cj07589
says...
5:22pm Mon 18 Feb 13
JamesYoung wrote:Yeap your probably not far from the truth there...especially given the incompetence of the directors and imported clueless ex-Matalan cronies. Spending money you don't have on refits and rebranding doesn't make any business sense especially in this economic climate.
Sadly i think New Look will be next. Hidden in the business news today was a reference to New Look seeking to refinance it's £1bn loan book. They are still making £62m a year profit, but profits and sales are down. All it takes these days is a sniff of a problem and those investors will take flight.
This from June last year:
http://www.express.c
o.uk/finance/city/32
8941/New-Look-wins-1
bn-debt-pact
And this from today:
http://uk.news.yahoo
.com/look-hires-bank
s-tackle-1bn-debt-pi
le-112617667--financ
e.html
If their facility runs until 2015, why are they looking at this now? Are the banks threatened to renege on the agreement made last year? If so, it could be curtains.
indieeddie
says...
1:47pm Wed 20 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.Japan 4
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn. Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals. The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots. He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things. Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den. I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
indieeddie
says...
1:47pm Wed 20 Feb 13
Tactical wrote:Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.Japan 4
GAME store will be next, as they have been ripping people off for years, they got bailed out luckily but its going to happen again , WHSmith will be another as whole top floor up there is over priced and crap, books magazines papers, dvds etc marked at a high price in WHSmith is a closure for definite. The works bookstore will follow suit. Weymouth is a Stagnant place to live better quality of life in Sudan and Afrika. These shops ive listed are there own faults due to over pricing and robbing the public now the tables turn. Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals. The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots. He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things. Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den. I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )
Tactical says...
5:07pm Wed 13 Feb 13
Charity shops are more exspensive than primark , all the novelty shops are just for tourists as there stock and prices are disgusting over priced for locals.
The Collwell Centre is a baron wasteland of unused bricks and cement. A complete waste of space and building the owner should be taken to court '' i heard it was an old bloke who doesnt care at all of the state or the general paying rented slots.
He should be taken to court on grounds of abusing a building in weymouth that could be used for other things.
Weymouth is a rust bucket , and its so sad, seems greed, and peoples disire not to want to fork out and make shops, and houses better has turnt it into a scummy place, only thing nice and credible to weymouth is a beach if that wasnt there, the place would be a tramps den.
I wish the British government would allow me to move to Afrika or some third world country, too much crap goes on in Britain , real hassle country ( born and bred unfortunately )