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Whats your favourite defunct retailer?


John Matrix

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Not that i miss it, but all branches of Kwik Save seemed to smell the same, mostly of raw meat

We used to have a Wilko type shop by the name of Winners which would have the most random selection of tat, another was Clovers, which they converted the upstairs of into a Pokemon zone when it the cards were doing their first round, the only issue being the upstairs was also the 'adult' section, so amongst your shiny squirtles were dildos and pvc nurses outfits

Edited by The British Bushwacker
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43 minutes ago, cobra_gordo said:

I used to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the Warner Bros Studio Store in Meadowhall. That place was massive, loads of awesome merchandise and art prints and ad a play area that we would go in to mooch about at. 

See the source image

They used to have one of these at the Metrocentre too. You’d think they’d be worth a comeback, considering the amount of Harry Potter merchandise they could shift in them.

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51 minutes ago, cobra_gordo said:

Jolly Giant seems to be something that nobody ever remembers. A toy superstore but never quote on the scale of Toys R Us.The_Jolly_Giant_Toy_Superstores_Logo.jpg

Was only talking about Jolly Giant the other day — was one in Lenton in Nottingham, think that the Big Toys 'R' Us did it in. Seems about 300 years ago.

I miss Fords, always seemed like a place from another time, half expected to find a ration book or Musso the Wop comic in a drawer with the shirts. Also, got a kick out of finding a supermarket chain here called Fine Fare.

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Do you know what's depressing? We can now include Toys R Us into this discussion :( I walked around our closest Toys R Us days before it shut down and it was really sad seeing it empty- a trip there when I was a kid was always exciting. Riding up and down on the bikes, having Mallet's Mallet fights down the soft toy aisle, queuing up outside on a Saturday morning when a new batch of Tamagotchi's were delivered. So many memories of that place.

Woolies would be my other favourite. It was by far the biggest and best shop in my town for many years and was the go-to place for videos (and then DVDs), toys, video games and the 2nd best place for CDs (behind the local record shop). I bought my first WWF figure from there, Hulk Hogan, from two or three weeks' worth of pocket money. Everyone has nicked pick & mix sweets from a Woolies in their youth, right?

John Menzies holds a special place in my heart as I bought Wrestlemania 6 from the Cheshunt branch when I was 7 years old.

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Just now, PunkStep said:

Everyone has nicked pick & mix sweets from a Woolies in their youth, right?

'member? When your mum left you there so she could go in ironmongers for brass 'and polish, and the Woolie security bulldog chased you out the front door with a string of fondant sausages hanging out of your short trousers, and savaged you into a coma in front of the lady mayoress. EY?! 'MEMBER!?

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3 hours ago, Ricc1PW said:

INTRO1.jpg

This one for me.

Every few weeks I'd go in and spend hours looking through all the racks, seeing if any of my favourite bands/singers had come out with anything new. Nothing like emerging with a new cassette, sticking it in the Walkman and listening to it on the bus home.

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The Warner Store At Meadowhall was ace. I bought a Johnny Bravo record bag from there, and a really nice Superman hockey Jersey. They had great deals on WCW merchandise right before the buy out as well. Between that, Last Picture show and Game I must have spent the half my student loan that didn't go on booze and porn. 

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This is a store that'll only be known to those from Cov or maybe Nuneaton (I think it moved there, albeit as a tiny stall) but Press Start up in Cathedral Lanes, it was the main computer and video game shop in the city up until around the PS1 era when major stores really took over and they were on every corner. The guy who ran it was a grumpy old shit but if you weren't a little prick and he thought you might actually buy something he'd stick on any old game for you to try.

Probably the only game store I didn't shoplift from as a kid..

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10 hours ago, tiger_rick said:

Used to love Toymaster but i think that was just because the one on Newland Ave in Hull used to have an incredible subbuteo selection back in the early 90s. Like most of these things, it had gone by the time I actually had income.

Rick, was that the old "At Cost" toy shop near the railway bridge? 

I use to love that place.

 

in other shops I really miss the first one that springs to mind is Sydney Scarborough (one for the Hull locals) that really was one of the best music shops in the area, 3 floors of greatness!  I remember getting some quite rare CD's from there as well. I cannot help but think that place would do fantastic business now due to the Vinyl revival.  

I also miss Woolworths,however that is maybe more to do with the fact I worked there, rather than shopping and had probably the best 4 years of my working life (up to now) met some great people, some of which turned into very good friends that I still see on a regular basis and it was the place I met my girlfriend. 

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What Everyone Wants was the best, it was like an entire shop dedicated to the middle aisles of Aldi. A treasure trove of absolute crap that no one needs but it’s so cheap you convince yourself you want it anyway. 

We called it What Everies, I have no idea is this was just a local thing though.

Only downside is whenever I think about the place I end up with the hook from that Status Quo song stuck in my head for days. 

Edited by stumobir
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2 hours ago, Merzbow said:

This is a store that'll only be known to those from Cov or maybe Nuneaton (I think it moved there, albeit as a tiny stall) but Press Start up in Cathedral Lanes, it was the main computer and video game shop in the city up until around the PS1 era when major stores really took over and they were on every corner. The guy who ran it was a grumpy old shit but if you weren't a little prick and he thought you might actually buy something he'd stick on any old game for you to try.

Probably the only game store I didn't shoplift from as a kid..

I'm guessing you were a Rowfers guy as well?  Fuck Blue Banana!

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32 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

More into Bubbles myself, I do often wonder what happened to the woman who owned it..

Elizabeth.  She once tied a lad to her settee and kept him there for about three days, he was never the same after that!

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