Empire Direct - In receivership

[who?]

As title. They've gone bust.



Mark Firmin and Richard Fleming, both of KPMG LLP, were appointed in the High Court as Joint Administrators of Empire Direct Plc on 19 January 2009. The business is unable to trade in administration due to low stock levels and operating losses and accordingly the stores have been closed. The administrators are working hard to assess the position for customers who have made payments and not received goods. We will endeavour to contact these customers over the next few weeks.

Anyone interested in acquiring any part of the business should contact the administrators forthwith.

If you are a customer then please call the helpline on 08714729000. If you are a supplier then please call the helpline on 08714729001. Alternatively you can send an email to orderqueries@empiredirect.co.uk.

Please note that emails will be responded to as soon as possible, however this may not be on the same day that we receive your query.

The affairs, business and property of Empire Direct Plc are being managed by the Joint Administrators

The Joint Administrators act as agents of the company and contract without personal liability

Mark Granville Firmin is authorised to act as an insolvency practitioner by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Richard Dixon Fleming is authorised to act as an insolvency practitioner by the Insolvency Practitioners Association.

 

[Marc]

Is this the same company which produces the big clothing catalogues?

 

[TheBionicDan]

No. Online electrical supplier. Quite a biggie at that!

 

[Orange Peel]

I was only in there (Derby) yesterday lunch time. No real sign of any problems as the stock levels were high. They did have a small discount area but I've seen that before.

Kinda glad I didn't buy a compact from there now. If it died before I go away on Sunday I'd be in a right mess.

 

[Marc]

No. Online electrical supplier. Quite a biggie at that!

Cheers, wasn't sure.

 

[TheBionicDan]

No probs.

Just another sign of how screwed things are

 

[a1ex2001]

Not really a big surprise for me, they've always been a volume retailer relying on fast turnover and small margins which isn't a grea business plan when nobody is buying. Never delt with them as the website always felt a bit shady even though the prices were generally pretty good.

 

[mrgubby]

I bought my 30D kit from them a couple of years back. They had accidently priced the New camera the same as refurb stock & honoured the price.


Brand New 30D kit for £599 + cashback

 

[johnb]

where does this leave the likes of Maplins?

 

[TheBionicDan]

Maplins may do well as people look to repair rather than buy new. The bulk of Maplins business is components I believe

 

[alexkidd]

aye, i'd be well peeved if maplins went it's one of the few stores that sells electrical components and even basic av stuff that currys etc just don't bother with

 

[sadie]

I was in Derby too last Monday as our Fridge/freezer packed up whilst we were away in Cyprus over the New Year the sales people did not seem too interested in selling they had the attitude 'well thats the price and delivery charges take it or leave it' so I left it!! Came home and bought on line from Comet - cheaper with a quicker delivery which was also free -Empire wanted about £2o Had a lucky escape - Elizabeth

 

[Bob]

I bought a few things from them and now wonder if the 3 year warranty I got will be any use to me. They use to let you buy a membership card then all you bought automatically got 3 years cover my lcd tv is only 5 months old so now I am worried it has no cover
Bob

 

[Marc]

I bought a few things from them and now wonder if the 3 year warranty I got will be any use to me. They use to let you buy a membership card then all you bought automatically got 3 years cover my lcd tv is only 5 months old so now I am worried it has no cover
Bob

Your TV will be under the manufacturer's warranty so you are covered. Any extended warranties will be with a third party insurance company so agin you will be covered.

 

[losixxx]

I bought a few things from them and now wonder if the 3 year warranty I got will be any use to me. They use to let you buy a membership card then all you bought automatically got 3 years cover my lcd tv is only 5 months old so now I am worried it has no cover
Bob

NOPE
Empire like a few other smaller electrical retailer's buy the warranty from the manufacturer and then get third party repairers out...so if you've got an extended warranty your pretty much shafted...a lot of empire's stock was also Grey imports not covered by uk manufactures warranty, that's how they sold a lot fo stuff really cheap
i work in the industry...know a few Empire sale's staff. they were still trading as normal at there 14 Retail outlet's at 4pm yesterday...4.30 on the dot every store was closed by the administrators and sign's put up in the window. shop staff didn't have any prior knowledge until the admins walked into store's and closed the door's....

 

[Bob]

Wow that hurts looks like Ive been shafted both ways one by a grey import and second by a third party I didnt even know.
Cheers Bob

 

[Marc]

NOPE
Empire like a few other smaller electrical retailer's buy the warranty from the manufacturer and then get third party repairers out...so if you've got an extended warranty your pretty much shafted...a lot of empire's stock was also Grey imports not covered by uk manufactures warranty, that's how they sold a lot fo stuff really cheap
i work in the industry...know a few Empire sale's staff. they were still trading as normal at there 14 Retail outlet's at 4pm yesterday...4.30 on the dot every store was closed by the administrators and sign's put up in the window. shop staff didn't have any prior knowledge until the admins walked into store's and closed the door's....

Not heard of retailers buying manufacturers' warranties before. What would be the point? Extended warranties don't normally start until the manufacturers' warranty ends.

 

[losixxx]

Not heard of retailers buying manufacturers' warranties before. What would be the point? Extended warranties don't normally start until the manufacturers' warranty ends.

they do, most extended warranties start from the day you purchase the appliance, most cover more than the basic manufacture's ie accidental cover, lost/theft etc....

manufacturer give the product's to these company's cheaper as they take over the warranty...or if its a grey import they have no uk warranty anyway

 

[Moos3h]

I can't say that I'm hugely surprised by this, although it's sad for those who will lose their jobs. Volume retailers like this that don't really offer anything that the Supermarkets don't undercut are going to struggle anyway - the fact that they have gone down so quickly only highlights that their business was not well run enough to insulate against this.

No retailer is safe from economic trends and markets, but the smart ones are able to predict as best they can and plan for all outcomes - we're going to see that over the coming years.

The plus side to all this is that there is a small benefit to the smaller stores with lower overheads, whilst it's over-simplistic to say that they benefit from the change in consumer spending there is a potential upside in that people look to repair items, buy better quality in the first place and put more emphasis on service to back the product(s) up. One can only hope that this is the case.

Cheers,
James

 

[Slipper-one]

I bought a few things from them and now wonder if the 3 year warranty I got will be any use to me. They use to let you buy a membership card then all you bought automatically got 3 years cover my lcd tv is only 5 months old so now I am worried it has no cover
Bob

If you paid by credit card or finance then you should be ok, as they become liable for the product.

 

[losixxx]

i was under the impression most CC's had stopped there purchase protection/extended warranty offer's, and it usually only covered the first 90 days after purchase

 

[Marc]

they do, most extended warranties start from the day you purchase the appliance, most cover more than the basic manufacture's ie accidental cover, lost/theft etc....

manufacturer give the product's to these company's cheaper as they take over the warranty...or if its a grey import they have no uk warranty anyway

The extra parts like theft and accidental damage start from date of purchase but breakdown cover starts from the end of the manufacturer's warranty. I should say that my last 3 years were spent working in Extended Warranties for a retail chain.

 

[scoff]

Warranties and Extended Warranties are shops SELLING you your statutory rights!!! nowhere in law is there such thing as a 12 month warranty, its all bull, a product needs to be durable and fit for purpose which could be 1, 2, 3, 4 years etc...
Your contract of sale is with the shop, not the manufacturer, so if the shop goes bump... unlucky from a legal perspective.

 

[losixxx]

not exactly 100% accurate but along those line's, however you try and take something 18 months old back and get it replaced, see the shop staff struggle to hide there

 

[Marc]

Warranties and Extended Warranties are shops SELLING you your statutory rights!!! nowhere in law is there such thing as a 12 month warranty, its all bull, a product needs to be durable and fit for purpose which could be 1, 2, 3, 4 years etc...
Your contract of sale is with the shop, not the manufacturer, so if the shop goes bump... unlucky from a legal perspective.

It's called a manufacturer's warranty for a reason. If you return a product to a shop within the warranty period, they will send the product to the manufacturer for repair. If the shop goes bust, you are still entitled to return the product to the manufacturer yourself.