Topic ID 657
Another independant and a stalwart of retail Hertford bites the dust. Whilst I'm sure the likes of Smiths and Woolies were tough competition, I can't help wondering if the surly shop assistant played a part.
Reply ID 6705
I was in there a few weeks ago and asked if they were closing down. The Ware branch had just bitten the dust and the Hertford branch had a sale on. They said they were not closing.
Reply ID 6707
I think it's the signs saying "Closing Down Sale - 20% of all marked prices" that gives it away [;)]. I couldn't believe it when I first heard [:(]
Reply ID 6708
no way! I thought they would stay forever - they really clung on those guys! Poor old Andy. And what's a shame is they really supported local bands too.
Reply ID 6709
quote:and Amazon too - I haven't bought a CD from a "real" shop for years. Shame about Tracks, though, I always enjoyed browsing - you can only do that at a dedicated record shop, browsing just ain't the same at woolies or smiths.
Originally posted by Steve
Another independant and a stalwart of retail Hertford bites the dust. <snip> I'm sure the likes of Smiths and Woolies were tough competition <snip>
Reply ID 6710
Surprise really after saying in press after the Ware shop closed that the Hertford one was safe. Sad that another independent has gone - not just an independent but a record shop - almost a dying breed. Even more disturbing is that there are many more independents on the brink. Never has it been more important to support your local store.
Reply ID 6713
Shame to see it go [V] I'd rather pay the little extra and get the service. Someone that has enthusiasm and knowledge. Next day service. Do you get that with the big boys [?] It's only us that can keep these guys in Business, let's use them [:)]
Reply ID 6718
Well anyone will a little bit of savy should buy it,cash in!!
Reply ID 6721
i agree its a shame that its closed and people should support independent retailers, but i thought that the shop was not up to much, of course its small and music is a specialist subject that differs in everyone, but a shop that size with the stock it had, and with internet record shops taking over, it was only a matter of time. Big shame though.[V]
Reply ID 6722
quote:And run it as a record, sorry, I mean CD shop?
Originally posted by del
Well anyone will a little bit of savy should buy it,cash in!!
Reply ID 6723
I wonder what it be instead - hopefully not left empty. What we really need in Hertford is an estate agent hairdresser foreign restaurant charity shop errrrr.... quality ladies shoe shop. Like Shelleys or Pied a Terre.
Reply ID 6724
Unfortunately, Tracks has not been customer friendly for a while. As I mentioned in my original post, one particular member of staff was particularly offputting, standing in the doorway smoking and generally being unwelcoming. Their selection was never in any particular order, so it was hard to find anything you were looking for. It was almost as if they didn't take the competition of Smiths, Woolies and latterly the internet seriously. A great shame and a loss to the town.
Reply ID 6802
I agree with most posts here, it is bad news for the town, and Tracks was always useful to me personally when I wanted something a bit different that the chains did not stock, but I never liked going in there due to the surly man who runs it. I never felt comfortable browsing in there. Over the last five years however, I have used the internet for practically ALL music I have purchased, due to great prices, vast selection etc, but had I had better service in Tracks, maybe I would have continued to use it. For example, I often use Albany Radio for items which I could buy cheaper online, but their service is great, very friendly and helpful, swift delivery and free fitting. I only go online for electrical items if the price is considerably cheaper. I am going off topic now, sorry! In this case, Tracks has probably sealed its own fate.
Reply ID 6807
The smaller guy's are often open to price negotation as its their's and they call the shots. Delivery, installation you can usually get when you want it not having to take a day off work and wait in all day. [;)]
Reply ID 6808
I remember buying my first LP from Tracks (not coughing to what it was! involved a helicopter though) It really felt like something walking home with that bit of vinyl, especially in a 'Tracks' bag and not just a Wollies one. Now it's just pop a cd into your bag or wait for the Postman [V][:(]
Reply ID 6814
yes and the amount of bargains that could be found in their 50p boxes!
Reply ID 6817
I think that's what I paid for the first album and it was No1 - the bargain boxes must have been about 10p then. Just about decimalised! Just off to polish the Zimmer Frame [:(]
Reply ID 6834
Maybe selling vinyl records would have been the way ahead for Tracks. There is still quite a market out there as vinyl sounds better the digital (IMHO).
Reply ID 6890
quote:But conversely the smaller retailers don't have the clout to negotiate the best deals with the suppliers. Not sure that there is a big market for staff from Tracks delivering the CD to your door and inserting it in your CD player either[;)]
Originally posted by Tigger
The smaller guy's are often open to price negotation as its their's and they call the shots. Delivery, installation you can usually get when you want it not having to take a day off work and wait in all day. [;)]
Reply ID 6898
Have I missed something - the 'phone shop has shut aswell. I prefer to look at the 'phone first not just a catalouge or the internet [V]
Reply ID 6902
Closed about three or four weeks ago I believe.
Reply ID 6903
Eye's closed again - I really must pay more attention [B)]
Reply ID 7027
I bought my first album there too! It was Tears For Fears, "The Hurting"! in 1983! What was yours tigger, Abba Arrival!?!?! I haven't shopped at tracks for years. The staff were simply rude, the prices went sky high and the selection was terrible (particularly singles). I've been buying my music on line for years now.
Reply ID 7071
It seems that there's an equal split between those who rue the demise and most saying the staff are to blame.. I will miss Tracks they weren't the cheapest but they never told me what music I should buy. I got on Saturday the limited editon Faithless compilation "Forever Faithless" and the lady who served me was great, she's been there since she was 18, must be in her 30's now.. I think its sad because another space won't be filled, if you walk around Hertford empty shops = untidyness and a vandals heaven.. I think there is a market for an independent CD/music store, but you've got to have a gimmick, love of music, love of the public and show it and make it worthwhile not to shop on the Internet. I bought my first LP in Tracks, when it was in the arcade where Bircherley Green is now. It was "Remember You're a Womble".. and I coloured in the wombles too.. happy days!
Reply ID 7093
Unfortunatley is the old thing of "if you dont use it you'll loose it" thats why we dont have a grocers or a butchers in the town centre.. Sad really.
Reply ID 7098
quote:Grocers in Town Centres - Not very practical is it? You have to battle into town on either an overpriced bus or your car then walk from the car-park or bus-stop to the grocers Do your shopping Carry your shopping back to the car park or bus stop before making your way home. I prefer the local grocers like the co-ops in Sele and Bengeo I can walk there leaving my car in the garage and walk back with my shopping. Much more convenient.
Originally posted by Stan
Unfortunatley is the old thing of "if you dont use it you'll loose it" thats why we dont have a grocers or a butchers in the town centre.. Sad really.
Reply ID 7100
I'm with Stan on this one. No one will mourn the pasing of MOCO but now there are two closed shops close to each other. As I have said before there are others 'on the edge'. Hertford used to be able to support more than one greengrocer and butcher and thankfully still has a wet fish shop and also a market trader six days a week selling fruit and veg. As shops close and there is less of a choice people vote with their feet and drive to the out of town shopping centres creating new patterns. They use the car more, shop out of town more and more shops decline with fewer customers. Having delivered many a letter I know there is a huge catchment area in and around the town centre to support a thriving local shop economy. I think we should all use our feet a bit more and if possible shop locally. I find myself in and out of all kinds of shops in town and can say that being able to have a chat with friendly, knowledgable staff is something that you will not find at Tesco's.
Reply ID 7101
Dude, You hve got it right. As for the Wombles I must have been lucky I had the whole boxed set and coloured in the poster aswell! Wish I still had it [:(]
Reply ID 7102
Grocers in town centres are highly practical. How do markets work then? And the guy most days on the market selling fruit and veg seems to be doing OK so a shop by definition would work. If we had a Butchers you could buy your meat, get the veg to go with it they would all work out together in harmony. It happens in Bengeo, Kingshill in Ware, why not Hertford. Let's hope that the way back can be the way forward [:)]
Reply ID 7103
I think the difference is that you can park in Kingshill and Bengeo. I know they are 'local' shops but I bet a fare few of the customers drive and park very close to the shop. However, i agree with Mr Sloop. Shop in town where and when possible. It's not about making local shopkeepers wealthy. It's about keeping the town alive.
Reply ID 7104
I would love to do all my shopping locally, but it's just not practical in a time-management way. Now if the local shops went back to delivering goods as they did 80 years ago, I certainly would take advantage of this service. Even as recently in the 70's, in our village there was a fish van, a bakers van and a butchers van making deliveries. To take the nostalgia one step further AND be environmentally friendly, a grocers-style bike delivery with the store advertised on the side would be a novelty and provide extra pocket money and excercise for teeneagers. Why don't the small independent stores get together and arrange a single local delivery service? I imagine I could even get my books delivered the same day from Methvens in Hertford - beat that, Amazon!
Reply ID 7106
Bring back Granville - all is forgiven [:D]
Reply ID 7127
quote:I am sure some people come to the Sele Farm Shops for the same reasons.
Originally posted by Ewoowar
I think the difference is that you can park in Kingshill and Bengeo. I know they are 'local' shops but I bet a fare few of the customers drive and park very close to the shop.
quote:Absolutely - we do have some fantastic shops in Hertford. But I don't think that there is a need for a grocers in Hertford Town Centre any more.
However, i agree with Mr Sloop. Shop in town where and when possible. It's not about making local shopkeepers wealthy. It's about keeping the town alive.
Reply ID 7128
For any business to succeed they have to offer something special. The first rule of any business should be "why should customers come to ME?". Tracks was a plain old independent record shop with high prices, unwelcoming staff and badly organised stock. If that's not enough of a reason for a failed business, add in cheap competition from chains and technological advances that threaten to make all physical sales of music and video obsolete. Complacency killed Tracks.
Reply ID 7129
... and I wonder if things might have been different if Bone had been working in the Hertford shop instead of Ware.
Reply ID 7137
Remember though, Hertford still has two record shops; the Oxfam on Maidenhead Street, and the Drum and Bass guys in Parliament Square (used to be called Parliament Music, but called something else now). I can fully recommend the Oxfam, and can pick up some proper bargains in there if you have the time to do a bit of crate digging.
Reply ID 7153
I've found, that between play.com (new stuff) and eil.com (rare old stuff), I haven't needed to go near a record shop since 1999.
Reply ID 7290
quote:Totally agree. The fact was highlighted when I popped in their to see if they had any "closing down" bargains and were still trying to sell CD's for £12.99
Originally posted by Steve
For any business to succeed they have to offer something special. The first rule of any business should be "why should customers come to ME?". Tracks was a plain old independent record shop with high prices, unwelcoming staff and badly organised stock. If that's not enough of a reason for a failed business, add in cheap competition from chains and technological advances that threaten to make all physical sales of music and video obsolete. Complacency killed Tracks.
Reply ID 7315
Another option I discovered today is that you can order more obscure CDs or DVDs (and many other things) on W H Smith's web site and get them delivered free to the shop in Birchley Green for collection. This is useful if you can't guarantee to be at home to receive such items if they get sent in the post.
Reply ID 7324
quote:WHSmith and Woolworths both do a fair approximation of Record Shops
Originally posted by Ray_by_the_Beane
Another option I discovered today is that you can order more obscure CDs or DVDs (and many other things) on W H Smith's web site and get them delivered free to the shop in Birchley Green for collection. This is useful if you can't guarantee to be at home to receive such items if they get sent in the post.
Reply ID 7358
Whilst I am very computer literate and don't mind buying on line and hoping its secure, my old ma and pa, who do like to buy the odd CD for their loving daughter (!) and others a) don't have a computer and b) wouldn't know how to use it if their lives depended on it! I like browsing, computers on a hot sunny afternoon are not as fun as walking around with your shorts on, icecream in one hand and a list of CD's to buy from a shop in the other! I spend all day at work on a computer, why do I want to do it in my leisure time too!!!!
Reply ID 7376
I do actually prefer browsing in the store myself, and would have normally asked W H Smith in Birchley Green to order the more obscure title I wanted for me. But as their ordering computer had been down for over a week and showed no signs of being fixed, going online was the alternative. Wolworth have a touch operated odering system, but that only delivers to your home. W H Smith delivers either your home or to the store of your choice.
Reply ID 9407
There is is a sold sign in Tracks now. Anyone heard any romours as to what will be taking over the premises?
Reply ID 9411
probably Jade Goodys place!!