The death of high street Chandleries

Twister_Ken said:
Long gone. 10+ years. Don't think you could blame the internet for that. More probably, Mayfair rents.
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Distance from any significant centre of pleasure boating also probably contributed, you know!

"Oh, look at that, I need a new block for that line! I know, I'll hop onto a train and go fifty miles into central London to buy one!" :)
 
Talulah said:
Force 4 Chandlery have a mail order hotline. Well I won't be using them because that's an 0845 number.
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Babylon said:
I have their Burseldon store landline: I call them up in advance and ask them to get me what I need (if it isn't on their own stocks), then collect it on the way to the boat.
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Exactly. And the shop phone numbers are not a secret, they're on the website.

Pete
 
I think it's pertinent that every time someone posts asking which online chandlery to use the list is always topped by the same names

All of them being companies who successfully combine a mail order / online business with one or more retail outlets
 
But it's not just the internet is it?

For example you can buy the same screw/bolt/paint brush/thinners/sandpaper/etc. from even the most expensive independent DIY shop and it will still be cheaper than most chandlers.

W.
 
I worked at a high street chandlery for a while; the owner was a great guy but the manager delighted in ignoring customers or telling people who came in asking directions to F Off !

That place is long gone I'm not unhappy to say - but Force 4 are great, and Seateach are very good for stainless fastenings.

I don't have to pay through the nose to park at either, that is another thing killing high streets - greedy councils.
 
Talulah said:
Just a quick note on two of the online retailers.
Marine Superstore webs site doesn't work on my works PC. I only get the left hand menu.
Pointless saying I need to update the browser because work just isn't going to roll out new browsers. Hence no online ordering from them.
Force 4 Chandlery have a mail order hotline. Well I won't be using them because that's an 0845 number. Ofcom are trying to get mobile operators to include 0845 in the bundled minutes but until they do I won't be using them.
Now Gaelforce and Mailspeed plus some others still have a regular landline number so happy to use them.
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Well both Marine Superstore and Force 4 websites work fine on my PC and have delivered stuff to my home pretty quickly when requested. If there is something I want to inspect first before buying, both have outlets within reach and some helpful staff. Not much to complain about at all, but maybe I try to look on the positive side of things.
 
I tend to buy small stuff I need in hurry from a chandlery, but expensive stuff I'll almost always buy online. Partly it's because of the price but, even if that isn't a factor, I like knowing that I can return it without question under the distance selling regs.

It's not always a big deal, but with some things you're not 100% sure how suitable they are until you've got it. If shops allowed no question returns within 7 days then I'd happily buy from them instead.
 
richardbayle said:
Whatever happened to Capt. O.M. Watts of 49 Albemarle Street, London W1?

My first job
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They were taken over by Force 4 in a previous incarnation about 2001 or 2002 but I think that company went bankrupt.

I believe the original owner of Force 4 set up a company called Windward Marine which then changed their name to Force 4 and are the company that now exists.
 
I always enjoyed the OM Watts stand at Earls Court boat shows; also Ladyline at Bristol might not have been the best chandlery in the world, but they gave me my fix when visiting a girlfriend nearby instead of sailing.
 
maby said:
Prior to that, I purchased close to £2000 of navigation equipment - again they matched the internet price and I didn't have to pay postage.
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The thing is, you see this as a good thing while I and I'm sure many others read it as "When I wanted £2000 worth of nav equipment, my local chandler was considerably more expensive than their competition. So much so, I had to beg them for a discount just so I could justify shopping locally".

I don't want to have to ask to buy something at the normal retail price. If a local chandler wants business then the price on the sticker should be what they want for the item. If they can do it cheaper they should do it cheaper. It's like calling for insurance quotes - ask for their best price and they give you a number, quickly followed with "but call back if you get a better offer and we'll match it". Clearly the best price is not the best price then, business lost.

I almost never ask marine superstore for a discount because I know they are charging a reasonable amount in the first place. My previous local chandler was exactly the opposite, I knew they'd added at least 10% over normal prices and they expected people to ask for 10% off while hoping most wouldn't. I doubt many will regret their loss when they inevitably go.
 
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Twister_Ken said:
My recollection (probably dodgy) is that the Ablemarle Street lease ran out, but then it was in Dover Street for a few more years (or it may have been the other way around).
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My recollection is that Dover Street closed about ten years ago - there was a "re opening under new management" sign in the window for a while, but it never happened. Ocean Leisure under the Arches of Hungerford Bridge is good for a post prandial browse on a quiet say in the office, but I assume they do all their business (apart from selling me the occasional chart) with City types kitting themselves out for a corporate jolly and Arthur Beales in Covent Garden is still open although I read that it's under new ownership.

One of the (many) advantages of sailing on the Solent, to offset a few disadvantages, is that there are still a number of chandlers, 4 within half a mile of my direct route from home to boat, and there is a degree of competition as a result, especially if you ask.
 
Mark Turner said:
and Arthur Beales in Covent Garden is still open although I read that it's under new ownership.
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I was in there a few weeks ago. Hardly looked like dynamic new management. Laissez-faire new management perhaps? Good range of lines, blocks, shackles, etc. and a promise to get anything yachtie you want if they haven't got it in stock.
 
mainsail1 said:
I always like to visit a chandlery and see what I am buying and I usually buy there and then. I also think there are more instant requirements in sailing to fix this or that without waiting for delivery. Long live Chandleries!
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Only possible to buy there and then if they have it. If they order it you can expect at least a week and often the rider will be that they can only order form Barton or whoever in sums of more than X£100s. "So when we have a big enough order we can get that for you"

You go home and order on-line and receive it the next day, possibly even post-free.

The chandleries are not to blame. A single outlet cannot rely on economy of scale and cut any good deals with suppliers. Also, as in the case of Barton last year, the smaller size blocks were in short supply so the small chandlers were the first to get cut from the supply-chain, loading the dice in favour of the big outlets and on-line.

Everything is stacked against them. Unless they are in the business of supply-and-fit they may as well shut the doors.
 
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