Sony Centres closed as company goes into liquidation

10:20am Thursday 31st January 2013 in News

The Sony Centre in Bournemouth The Sony Centre in Bournemouth

THE two local Sony Centre shops have shut down after their company that owned them went into liquidation.

A printed notice inside the door at the Poole High Street store says: “After many years of trading we have had to close our store here in Poole and in Bournemouth as a result of the entering into liquidation of the operating company DVID Ltd. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.”

A contact number has been provided for outstanding uncollected orders and repairs.

Bournemouth's Sony Centre, in Westover Road, has been shut for just over a week, although with no sign outside to say what is going on.

Graham Summers, acting manager in the neighbouring Michael Matthews jewellery store, said it was bad news for the other businesses on the road.

“Someone, perhaps an area manager, went in there on Wednesday last week and told them the store was closing and they were out, and it has been shut ever since,” he said. “We have had quite a few customers in asking what's happened to them.

“It is a bad time for businesses, and it is not attractive to have empty shops along here, but if a business isn't viable it can't stay open just to fill a shop.”

DVID's registered office is in Cecil Avenue, Bournemouth.

Comments(38)

Hessenford says...
10:24am Thu 31 Jan 13

Another one bites the dust, Bournemouth will be a ghost town while Councillors sit jibber jabbering about how to improve the town centre and what new attractions to have, it will be too little to late.

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Dr Strangelove says...
10:34am Thu 31 Jan 13

Could the echo find out what their rents were. I bet it's high which in today's climate is unsustainable.

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The Renegade Master says...
10:38am Thu 31 Jan 13

Great. There goes the five year warranty on my TV that I bought there recently.

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mikeba says...
10:43am Thu 31 Jan 13

The Renegade Master wrote:
Great. There goes the five year warranty on my TV that I bought there recently.
I trust you did he normal thing and register your purchase with Sony for protection???

Report this post »

funkyferret says...
10:54am Thu 31 Jan 13

The Renegade Master wrote:
Great. There goes the five year warranty on my TV that I bought there recently.
If it cost over £100, and you paid a part of it on a credit card, you could get S.75 Consumer Credit Act protection from the card issuing company.

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InkZ says...
11:08am Thu 31 Jan 13

Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.

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jobsworthwatch says...
11:25am Thu 31 Jan 13

In the old days people used to blame out of town stores for the demise of the high street now its Internet shopping that's the culprit. The solution I suppose is to have all out of town stores demolished and uninvent the Internet because we owe the high street shop keepers a living?
Hasn't Mary Portas gone quiet lately.

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Ivan Opinion says...
11:53am Thu 31 Jan 13

InkZ wrote:
Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.
Think of the job losses involved chap... Thats where the real unfortunate pain is -- bad times -

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nigggel says...
12:20pm Thu 31 Jan 13

As one of the very few independant retailers left in Bournemouth the real reason why shops close down are
1. Rents fixed several years ago before the recession and which cannot be reduced
2. The very high business rates which increase every year
3. The rates surcharge for the BID

Yes the internet can be blamed but you just have to keep offering good service and fair prices

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dobrojoe says...
12:30pm Thu 31 Jan 13

The problem here is that the Sony stores are just showrooms that you go to look at something you are interested in - then you actually buy in online where it is considerably cheaper. I don't know how they lasted so long.

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Baywolf says...
12:32pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Personally I feel that Castlepoint would have been better built in the town centre and the bus station rebuilt, the attractions at Tower Park could have been incorporated within as well..of course it would mean rebuilding the town centre but just where are the stores apart from Debenhams and Primark? I went to buy a DVD at HMV the only cd DVD store in the town..and they didn't have it in stock. No wonder I prefer shopping in Southampton.

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master plan says...
12:51pm Thu 31 Jan 13

. I did once try to buy a hifi from Sony in poole a few years ago but the snob behind the till said I couldn't afford the unit I was after. I later bought it online for £200 less than it was in the poole store (£749.99) which i was willing to pay as i wanted it there and then. so I never ever went in there after that day

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fedupwithjobsworths says...
12:59pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Dr Strangelove wrote:
Could the echo find out what their rents were. I bet it's high which in today's climate is unsustainable.
.. and find out what their business rates were!

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noggath says...
1:04pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Its not this shop that failed to pay its business rates, remember

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cheeriedriteup says...
1:34pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Question, when a shop closes down it blames the Internet, do the shops not have internet connection to sell their goods to attract a wider audience?

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The Renegade Master says...
1:41pm Thu 31 Jan 13

I have to disagree with a couple of posters here who said the Sony Centres were always more expensive. I bought a large tv from the Bournemouth shop just over a year ago and they gave me a free blu-ray player and five year warranty as well as delivering it and setting it up for free. The same tv was for sale for the same price in Currys but the blu-ray player, extra warranty and delivery would have added about another £500 on top. The staff were all knowledgeable and helpful and I have to say I'm very sorry they've gone.
I wonder if there is any chance of another company taking them over? Hope so.

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stevobath says...
2:05pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Baywolf wrote:
Personally I feel that Castlepoint would have been better built in the town centre and the bus station rebuilt, the attractions at Tower Park could have been incorporated within as well..of course it would mean rebuilding the town centre but just where are the stores apart from Debenhams and Primark? I went to buy a DVD at HMV the only cd DVD store in the town..and they didn't have it in stock. No wonder I prefer shopping in Southampton.
HMV were in trouble, so I'm not surprised there was little in stock.

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Acidly Hoe says...
2:11pm Thu 31 Jan 13

cheeriedriteup wrote:
Question, when a shop closes down it blames the Internet, do the shops not have internet connection to sell their goods to attract a wider audience?
They may well have an internet connection, but how do high-street stores compete against the likes of Amazon who won't be paying high-street rates and have an interesting arrangement with corporation tax

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Tripod says...
3:40pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Why are people surprised, the company has had financial problems for several years, they had a round of shop closures not too long back to try and reduce the losses.

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politicaltrainspotter says...
5:19pm Thu 31 Jan 13

When are we going to say goodbye to Roger Parker, Bournemouth Town Centre Manager on £50, 000 per year ?

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Dr Strangelove says...
5:42pm Thu 31 Jan 13

fedupwithjobsworths wrote:
Dr Strangelove wrote:
Could the echo find out what their rents were. I bet it's high which in today's climate is unsustainable.
.. and find out what their business rates were!
It will be their rent that killed them off not the business tax or corporation tax.

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Mikeyunibournemouth says...
7:23pm Thu 31 Jan 13

politicaltrainspotte
r wrote:
When are we going to say goodbye to Roger Parker, Bournemouth Town Centre Manager on £50, 000 per year ?
He's probably been installed to oversea the decline of the town centre...

It is with great regret that I am soon to be leaving the Bournemouth area and the reason being is that it is just not the town I knew when I holidayed here as a young boy or the town that I came to university in.

When I look around at the businesses here, the architecture, the location and the people it is heart-breaking to realise just what potential the town could have in competent hands.

I will start in Pokesdown; I so remember the joy of visiting all the antique and collectible shops just a few years ago and now they have all but disappeared leaving an inescapable feeling of decay.

I then move further west toward Boscombe and I think to myself what a fantastic area of the town this could be. The underused Victorian shopping arcade and the old Opera House building could really be something special but are sadly blighted by the incredibly high concentration of addicts and dealers in the area. Just around the corner I stumble upon The Crescent, Walpole Road and Churchill Gardens and, with a bit of vision, I see how special these places could be but instead they have turned in to slums whilst in the hands of the great slum lord himself Dave Wells.

Moving on, I move past all the now empty and abandoned offices in the central business district of the Lansdowne and arrive in an equally desolate town centre. Old Christchurch Road sticks in my mind for its stench and scruffy pavements.

The only district unscathed seems to be Westbourne; perhaps it should be a model for the rest of the town.....

What has and continues to happen to Bournemouth is horrifying and should require the many people to hold their heads shame. This town could be an amazing, vibrant, prosperous and upmarket holiday resort and it is this that makes the plight of the town all the more worse.

There are some brilliant people in Bournemouth and some fantastic talent and it is time that the dregs who have run the town in to the ground step aside and let the capable have a go at turning things around!

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West moors 1 says...
7:32pm Thu 31 Jan 13

I have brought 2 items from this shop in Westover road, both times I didn't have a great deal but I did get a great product. The rents in town are rediculous and when combined with stupidly high business rates it's a wonder any shops keep going. The empty units will have to attract independent traders and to do this low rents will have to be offered.

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Munchkin01 says...
7:34pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Have a thought for the members of staff who received a phone call late Tuesday evening after closing the shop as normal, that the company was going into liquidation the following day, pay day! Shame on you who knew it was going to close and the staff were not going receive their wages for this month.
Good luck lads, hope you find employment elsewhere.

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corozin says...
8:42pm Thu 31 Jan 13

It's a shame the Bournemouth store has closed. I found them very helpful when I bought my TV there.

We're just fortunate it's a small shop otherwise it would become another bloody Tesco mini-mart.

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Munchkin01 says...
9:16pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Ivan Opinion wrote:
InkZ wrote:
Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.
Think of the job losses involved chap... Thats where the real unfortunate pain is -- bad times -
Actually they were good value for money and offered a lot more than other electrical companies do. And yes, think about the job losses.

Report this post »

Munchkin01 says...
9:18pm Thu 31 Jan 13

mikeba wrote:
The Renegade Master wrote:
Great. There goes the five year warranty on my TV that I bought there recently.
I trust you did he normal thing and register your purchase with Sony for protection???
Your warranty should still be valid with Sony as long as you completed the correct paperwork when purchased

Report this post »

Munchkin01 says...
9:18pm Thu 31 Jan 13

mikeba wrote:
The Renegade Master wrote:
Great. There goes the five year warranty on my TV that I bought there recently.
I trust you did he normal thing and register your purchase with Sony for protection???
Your warranty should still be valid with Sony as long as you completed the correct paperwork when purchased

Report this post »

Acidly Hoe says...
9:27pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Munchkin01 wrote:
Have a thought for the members of staff who received a phone call late Tuesday evening after closing the shop as normal, that the company was going into liquidation the following day, pay day! Shame on you who knew it was going to close and the staff were not going receive their wages for this month.
Good luck lads, hope you find employment elsewhere.
Where does it say they got a phone call late Tuesday evening? Or do you know that from a personal experience?

As for saying 'shame on you' as pay day was the next day?

If a business is going into liquidation, there is a good chance there would be no money to pay wages, hence the closing.

If a business is insolvent, money they don't have should not be spent.

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Jetwasher says...
10:44pm Thu 31 Jan 13

dobrojoe wrote:
The problem here is that the Sony stores are just showrooms that you go to look at something you are interested in - then you actually buy in online where it is considerably cheaper. I don't know how they lasted so long.
Indeed, just like many other shops with high ticket prices. I always view the product at the big stores and buy online iv saved hundreds of pounds on tvs, computers etc etc

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cherrylightning says...
12:18am Fri 1 Feb 13

This is a shame, but I can't say I'm surprised. If I want to buy something electrical I'll look online or go to a department store etc to find the best price. How can we support small businesses like these when there prices and services don't match up to competitors?

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benjamin says...
9:34am Fri 1 Feb 13

Mikeyunibournemouth wrote:
politicaltrainspotte

r wrote:
When are we going to say goodbye to Roger Parker, Bournemouth Town Centre Manager on £50, 000 per year ?
He's probably been installed to oversea the decline of the town centre...

It is with great regret that I am soon to be leaving the Bournemouth area and the reason being is that it is just not the town I knew when I holidayed here as a young boy or the town that I came to university in.

When I look around at the businesses here, the architecture, the location and the people it is heart-breaking to realise just what potential the town could have in competent hands.

I will start in Pokesdown; I so remember the joy of visiting all the antique and collectible shops just a few years ago and now they have all but disappeared leaving an inescapable feeling of decay.

I then move further west toward Boscombe and I think to myself what a fantastic area of the town this could be. The underused Victorian shopping arcade and the old Opera House building could really be something special but are sadly blighted by the incredibly high concentration of addicts and dealers in the area. Just around the corner I stumble upon The Crescent, Walpole Road and Churchill Gardens and, with a bit of vision, I see how special these places could be but instead they have turned in to slums whilst in the hands of the great slum lord himself Dave Wells.

Moving on, I move past all the now empty and abandoned offices in the central business district of the Lansdowne and arrive in an equally desolate town centre. Old Christchurch Road sticks in my mind for its stench and scruffy pavements.

The only district unscathed seems to be Westbourne; perhaps it should be a model for the rest of the town.....

What has and continues to happen to Bournemouth is horrifying and should require the many people to hold their heads shame. This town could be an amazing, vibrant, prosperous and upmarket holiday resort and it is this that makes the plight of the town all the more worse.

There are some brilliant people in Bournemouth and some fantastic talent and it is time that the dregs who have run the town in to the ground step aside and let the capable have a go at turning things around!
Did you actually buy anything? we all love these things but they have to be trading and making a profit.

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Avengerboy says...
10:42am Fri 1 Feb 13

But we still have the wave machine ...... ahem.

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LornaBournemouth says...
4:25pm Fri 1 Feb 13

InkZ wrote:
Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.
Well said InkZ,They fiddled me once by delivering a TV which was the store display model. I never bought a sony product again after that. Good riddance!

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LornaBournemouth says...
4:29pm Fri 1 Feb 13

Munchkin01 wrote:
Ivan Opinion wrote:
InkZ wrote:
Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.
Think of the job losses involved chap... Thats where the real unfortunate pain is -- bad times -
Actually they were good value for money and offered a lot more than other electrical companies do. And yes, think about the job losses.
Who cares about the job losses!They were smarmy salesmen in there try to con with the gift of the gab!

Report this post »

Shame on you people says...
10:26pm Fri 1 Feb 13

LornaBournemouth wrote:
Munchkin01 wrote:
Ivan Opinion wrote:
InkZ wrote:
Another company I don't care about because they charge £100's more than everywhere else.
Think of the job losses involved chap... Thats where the real unfortunate pain is -- bad times -
Actually they were good value for money and offered a lot more than other electrical companies do. And yes, think about the job losses.
Who cares about the job losses!They were smarmy salesmen in there try to con with the gift of the gab!
LornaBournemouth obviously has nothing better to do

Report this post »

bobsworthforever says...
1:16pm Sat 2 Feb 13

The Renegade Master wrote:
I have to disagree with a couple of posters here who said the Sony Centres were always more expensive. I bought a large tv from the Bournemouth shop just over a year ago and they gave me a free blu-ray player and five year warranty as well as delivering it and setting it up for free. The same tv was for sale for the same price in Currys but the blu-ray player, extra warranty and delivery would have added about another £500 on top. The staff were all knowledgeable and helpful and I have to say I'm very sorry they've gone.
I wonder if there is any chance of another company taking them over? Hope so.
Yes i bought a tele and a camera from a Sony Centre not as cheap as internet but installed free next day also gave me useful advice on my laptop which i didnt even buy from there.Its not always the cheapest price but is it the best value

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bournemouthlad01 says...
9:20pm Sat 2 Feb 13

Yes i found the staff really helpful and always brought from there. It's a shame that they wern't supported by local customers as commented by other people, just think where will people go to get professional advice and service, and the older generation!! where will they go?? Can you see Currys/PCworld, Argos or John Lewis offering to help???
And where will you ever get the chance to see such a large selection of sony products. I never found them expensive and i also got a free 5 year g/tee and free installation. As for LornaBournemouth, with an attitude like that i'd imagine they wouldn't have wanted your custom anyway. Lets also think of the staff who have lost their jobs just like the thousands already out there.

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