Chris Hodge & Judane's

[Foords_Chocolates]

I feel I should just make the point here that when I spoke of cheap crap in my last post I was simply quoting Sheltie Celt.

There are many times when these two words can be split - crap is not always cheap, and just because something is cheap it does not mean it is crap or not up to the purpose it was designed for - it should also be noted that anyone buying cheap should not expect the item to last a lifetime and I think we are all sensible enough to realise that you get what you pay for in life.

For example, I get my son to send me parcels of Tesco jeans at £3 a pair. I don't expect them to be fashionable, or to last more than 6 months, but it sure beats paying £40 for a pair of jeans to dig the garden in.

 

As far as I can see, SIC have been very unfair to Chris and there has been some mis-judgement in products on his part, but at the end of the day he tried and that is worth a round of applause. NO-one who posts here knows the full facts, only what they read in the paper so therefore no-one is in a position to judge, but as someone who has bought stuff from Chris before I too will be sad to see the store close. They might not always have the things you want, but when they do it is always a bargain.

[johnny-no-name]

Things are seeming a bit quiet on here now... Has everybody realised that Chris was doing a good thing by coming up to shetland??? or has all your beliefs changed??

[Pooks]

I agree entirely. He was a plus to Shetland, I just don't think he had his business model quite sussed out.

 

Shetland has quite possibly the hardest scranners in the world. Most would go to Primark, buy a job-lot of socks and then make sure they will last the persons lifetime. A discount store can't work in Shetland. Not enough people and those that do shop tend to make the stuff outlast their lifetime anyway.

[north]

I think Chris may have had a sound business model, but his property issues impacted the viability of the business. By his nature, he seems a pretty determined fellow, and I would not be surprised to see him back in some form or another in the future - perhaps bigger and better and answering to no-one, and dependent upon no-ones blessing. He could essentially set up anywhere in the central mainland and run a booming business.

 

I have a lot of respect for him. None of us can pass judgement on his business, because it was obviously popular with a large number of customers - so he is obviously doing something right! He demonstrated that this kind of business can succeed in Shetland, something that I am sure other entrepeneurial individuals will have paid close attention to. In a community like Shetland, there is no reason it cannot support a large (ish) department store, which would capitalize on the latent demand currently being satisfied by shopping through Catalogues, Internet or physically travelling South.

 

I think the retail business in Shetland is about to undergo a major transformation - and the Customer is going to be the winner. Fancy that!

[Medziotojas]

Hodge really will be closing down after he is ordered out

[umph]

A lot off the blame lies with Chris Hodge himself for his failure as quoted in the shetland times today 18th July..Mr Hodge said he initially had a gentlemen"s agreement with Mr Miller to buy the building for £600,000

what kind off business man does"nt get that on paper??

[Claudias]

^ ^ ^

 

A gentleman's word used to be his bond,before 'gazumping' became the norm.

Breech of promise cases were prevalent when people failed to honour promises. Now one can simply fold one business,write off losses and begin a new business without any penalty. Some are even applauded for such actions.

[johnny-no-name]

if you think about it though chris wouldnt have know what frank miller was like thought wen they made there "gentlemans agreement"

 

it was a really bad judge of character on chris' behalf but thats life for you. we all make bad mistakes in our time

[Stirrer]

if you think about it though chris wouldnt have know what frank miller was like thought wen they made there "gentlemans agreement"

 

it was a really bad judge of character on chris' behalf but thats life for you. we all make bad mistakes in our time

 

We could look on it from the other side of the argument though:

 

Say Mr Miller held to the 'gentlemans agreement' to sell at a set price - do you really think Chris Hodge would have been able to pay up.

 

It was a business that was going to fail from day 1. Huge building, massive overheads, staff costs, heating, insurance, rates etc - and all he was selling was 99p crap.

 

Was never going to last, but the funny thing is that some people think it is the fault of the SIC / Mr Miller that the business folded !

[tom thumb]

i could be wrong but was the hodge building built with grant money that has as yet been paid back?

if this is the case what has happened to the 5k a month he has been paying

was it given to the workers of the now defunct factory in redundancy pay?

 

if the quote in this weeks times is correct that hodge was told to fxxk him self by trading standards what chance has anyone from outside of shetland got to make a go of it up here.

 

on the subject of cheap crap i pay £££ for my snap on tools as cheap tools can let me down, other folk will not even think of paying that much and will choose to buy other brands at a cheaper price but to me a rug for £20 at hodges is a good deal, what i am trying to say is you pay your money you take your choice when he has gone the only choice i will have is the internet or being riped off... i know were i will shop www. or may be tesco

[Colin]

if you think about it though chris wouldnt have know what frank miller was like thought wen they made there "gentlemans agreement"

 

And you do I suppose?

 

Obviously Frank's No1 fan..

[WiiMan]

You got to question the wisdom of spendin half a million as Hodgey claims on a buildin you don't own! What did he spend half a million on? Floor paint? Illuminated Santas? A bad workman blames his tools. A bad retailer it would seem, blames everybody, his landlord, planners, trading standards, shoppers etc. etc.

[breeksy]

if the quote in this weeks times is correct that hodge was told to fxxk him self by trading standards what chance has anyone from outside of shetland got to make a go of it up here.

 

Anyone outside Shetland... hmm, what about McKays? Boots? Tesco?

 

I know David, and he is a really genuine, even-tempered guy - I highly suspect there is a lot more to the news story than has been reported. David is very unlikely to snap like that unless seriously pushed.

 

I agree with stirrer - the shop was never going to be a major success story. One of the major reasons I have only been there about four times is the fact that the car park is wholly inadequate. A pot-holed road leading up to a car park where it is almost impossible for one car to leave as another enters.

 

The other major reason is that anything worth buying is no better value than I can buy on 'da street' or online, so why bother going out of my way?

[umph]

I agree Breeksy i ken David ina dats joost whit i thought da best thing i got oot o hodges wis saucer meat rolls

[Guest posiedon]

Chris Hodge = trash= made in China by children working 16 hour shifts, it was never going to work!

As others have already said, you can't hope to cover the cost of such a huge outlet (and make a profit) by selling tat and bling, and in a small community (where word soon gets round, that you're selling rubbish.)

If he had stuck to coming to Shetland 3 or 4 times a year, hiring halls etc for his sales, he would have done much better.

 

 

 

 

 

In my opinion anyway.