GPR gone bust. - Page 4

midgetman · 10 Jan 2009, 06:27 (Ref:2368711)

>>>>>>>>>Let's hope DT keep going or we'll all be in trouble.

No you won't Rich, me'n'Eddy'll keep you going........joking aside, there's enough smaller retailers, it'll open the market up a bit. Cloud, silver and lining comes to mind, the minnows will be there to do deals.

andy97 · 10 Jan 2009, 06:55 (Ref:2368720)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Just had a talk to Jason and he said there is no connection with Tweeks !

No connection with Tweeks or no connection with the Minshaws? Rumour is that Alan Minshaw bought a majority stake in GPR in march 2008 but my info is second hand!

andy97 · 10 Jan 2009, 06:58 (Ref:2368721)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FISCracer

Let's hope DT keep going or we'll all be in trouble.

Taken from another forum:

"Just looked up DT's accounts. Latest filed is Dec2007 and in the 3 years to then, they lost £863k after tax, having paid (deep breath) £4.8m in interest. They had £14m of goodwill in the balance sheet (hmm, what's that worth?) and annual turnover (which hasn't grown in 3 years) of £20m."

At least with GPR gone, there is more chance of them being able to protect the DT business.

**Tim Falce** · 10 Jan 2009, 07:03 (Ref:2368722)

Quote:

Originally Posted by midgetman

>>>>>>>>>Let's hope DT keep going or we'll all be in trouble.

No you won't Rich, me'n'Eddy'll keep you going........joking aside, there's enough smaller retailers, it'll open the market up a bit. Cloud, silver and lining comes to mind, the minnows will be there to do deals.

But the dark cloud in that is I doubt you or Eddy could match their prices or supply such a wide range of goods.

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy97

At least with GPR gone, there is more chance of them being able to protect the DT business.

Only if they teach their sales staff some business sense and basic arithmetic.

terence · 10 Jan 2009, 08:09 (Ref:2368730)

Quote:

Originally Posted by midgetman

>>>>>>>>>Let's hope DT keep going or we'll all be in trouble.

No you won't Rich, me'n'Eddy'll keep you going........joking aside, there's enough smaller retailers, it'll open the market up a bit. Cloud, silver and lining comes to mind, the minnows will be there to do deals.

How refreshing that is,good to see that there are some who refuse to ware the "Recession Blinkers!.

Al Weyman · 10 Jan 2009, 08:46 (Ref:2368737)

Funny enough as a small player myself I agree with MidgetMan, I run a very tight ship with very low overheads (I own the premises and do some subletting and the bank owes me money not the other way round!) and I do feel those small businesses that can hold in will survive this and maybe come out stronger, I remember the amount of business i picked up when another local company doing similiar stuff went tits up, still have regulars from then and that was 6 odd years ago. I have been quite encouraged that a bit of work has started to come in this week because at the end of the day recession or not life goes on and people do need stuff like van signwriting, they may put it off but sooner or later it will have to be done. Heres hoping, lets get in and signwrite that van now!

terence · 10 Jan 2009, 09:01 (Ref:2368741)

Good for you Al,its all too easy to just go with the flow.As peter started the thread "Recession or Opportunity" it seemed to convey that most were just willing to sit back and let it happen.Good that that mind set does not affect everyone otherwise there would be no busness surviving at all.I had wondered about GPR,I had a rather strange episode with them a few months ago,up untill then we had had a very good business relationship.It is a shame when companys such as this do fold,but life does go on.

Eddy V · 10 Jan 2009, 12:11 (Ref:2368819)

Quote:

Originally Posted by falcemob

But the dark cloud in that is I doubt you or Eddy could match their prices or supply such a wide range of goods.

The range of goods we offer is the same as DT, prices will always vary. Sometimes we were even cheaper than DT or GPR. But as a small retailer we do not stock much, can get goods quite quickly however, as we have a good supplier.
Guess it will be the same for Midgetman and others.

But UK sales for me are near impossible with the current £-€ state. The other way round is very interesting at the moment.

Al Weyman · 10 Jan 2009, 16:54 (Ref:2368915)

About time we started manufacturing more in this country instead of relying on imports for so long, I knew this was going to come sooner or later. Maybe some opportunities for some home grown businesses now.

PTRACER · 10 Jan 2009, 19:10 (Ref:2368959)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

About time we started manufacturing more in this country instead of relying on imports for so long, I knew this was going to come sooner or later. Maybe some opportunities for some home grown businesses now.

I've been saying that for ages. If only we made our own stuff....but then people said it's still cheaper to buy from aboard than make our own. That may not be true right at this moment in time though.

Al Weyman · 10 Jan 2009, 19:19 (Ref:2368963)

Maybe never again who knows.

Eddy V · 10 Jan 2009, 19:41 (Ref:2368974)

But the odd thing is that a lot of items we sell are made in the UK.
Maybe they (GPR) have been too keen on Sparco, OMP, Stand 21 and many other things from "superstore" Sparco.

midgetman · 10 Jan 2009, 22:25 (Ref:2369059)

Clive, don't beat about the bush, say it straight will you :-)

Show had rumours today about the stability of at least one Italian brand. Names were mentioned, but as I don't like horses heads, least of all in my bed, I'll not pass them on. If the rumours are true, no doubt we'll find out soon enough....

**dtype38** · 11 Jan 2009, 23:35 (Ref:2369656)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy V

But the odd thing is that a lot of items we sell are made in the UK.
Maybe they (GPR) have been too keen on Sparco, OMP, Stand 21 and many other things from "superstore" Sparco.

Bit confused by the last bit. Isn't Sparco just a rebranding company anyway. Might be wrong on some stuff, but I do know for sure that my Sparco harness came with Sabelt FIA approval labels on it!

RF_Racer · 12 Jan 2009, 10:48 (Ref:2369837)

Well I am a fan of the Italian products, Sparco, Momo, OMP, Alpinestars? The quality and design is second to none. Who do we have here in the UK that can rival them? I have seen some race suits by Jays and a few others and they look plain and boring!

Clothing just isnt something that the British are good at and we have to accept defeat on that front. Engineering and the technical side is where we do well at!

Al Weyman · 12 Jan 2009, 11:13 (Ref:2369852)

Are you sure, some of the finest fashion houses have roots in Britain, its one of our biggest exports or was.

**Tim Falce** · 12 Jan 2009, 14:17 (Ref:2369946)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RF_Racer

Who do we have here in the UK that can rival them? I have seen some race suits by Jays and a few others and they look plain and boring!

Clothing just isnt something that the British are good at and we have to accept defeat on that front.

AWS for one, they make their overalls in house, you can have them made to your own design if you wish and they are not like the Sparco or OMP clone suits. They are also very reasonably priced and should be a lot cheaper than imported European stuff.

JamesH · 12 Jan 2009, 14:34 (Ref:2369957)

I've been well pleased with my AWS suit. Three layer Nomex for the price of a two layer Sparco. Also did my helmet gloves undies etc. Got the whole lot of £700 or something like that.

And with the pound as it is, they should get a load more business!!

James

midgetman · 12 Jan 2009, 16:12 (Ref:2370007)

Actually, from a "professional" point of view RF_Racer has a point. THe Italian suits have a certain style about them that we just can't match in the UK. It's not the colour layout, it's the cut and the feel.

It's also true that they often don't truly fit UK drivers, short legged and just a little too tight where it counts. Especially those of the more mature stature. AWS tweaked the sizes to take into account the changing English shape a few years back, it doesn't look so good but it's much more comfortable. Their suits represent sound value, and some retailers even sell them at under the RRP.

We've just taken on a German brand of high end stuff, and they have two styles to match your body shape - one quoted as "body scan optimised" for those of you that can wear figure-hugging stuff, and one that isn't for those of us who can't!

brickkicker · 12 Jan 2009, 19:58 (Ref:2370153)

I was having a look on the AWS stand at the ASI, the only disapointing thing I thought was they had no nomex undies at all. As I needed to get a full set I headed straight to them only to be told 'We havent bothered to bring any of that this year'. Which is a shame as I remember last year they had loads of them in baskets.

RF_Racer · 12 Jan 2009, 20:19 (Ref:2370171)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Are you sure, some of the finest fashion houses have roots in Britain, its one of our biggest exports or was.

When it comes to clothes, I make 3-4 trips to Italy a year to buy clothes and suits for work. Prices as well as the design is second to none. The shirts in the UK are designed for the average male, as a result the fitting is baggy and puffy. If you find a fitted Italian shirt the fitting is very good and looks like a shirt.

Also their suits are much better than what you can find at places such as TM Lewin etc..

Al, can you name some British fasion houses? I cant think of any, but Italian ones I can think of plenty!!

Al Weyman · 12 Jan 2009, 20:29 (Ref:2370180)

Stella McCartney, Mary Quant, the Emmanuels, Galliano, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood etc. etc etc.

Clive Brown · 12 Jan 2009, 21:14 (Ref:2370208)

.... Marks and Spencers .... errr ....

terence · 12 Jan 2009, 22:11 (Ref:2370239)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

.... Marks and Spencers .... errr ....

TNS, Fashion Wave,Primark.

MGDavid · 12 Jan 2009, 22:31 (Ref:2370255)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RF_Racer

Well I am a fan of the Italian products, Sparco, Momo, OMP, Alpinestars? The quality and design is second to none. Who do we have here in the UK that can rival them? I have seen some race suits by Jays and a few others and they look plain and boring!

Clothing just isnt something that the British are good at and we have to accept defeat on that front. Engineering and the technical side is where we do well at!

I can't think of any item of clothing that *needs* to be as technical as racewear. It's not a fashion show, it's to stop you burning to death.

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