Merchants closing Accounts

[matthew]

I went in to our local CF / CW store to pay the account yesterday and the yard looked ..... bare.
I'd heard that stocks were low to non existent on certain products. Blackleg vax was one, but there was only a handful of field gates, and very few stakes. Where usually they would be piled high.

This store had, apparently, the highest turnover per sq. ft than any CF store. But not if they haven't got stock to sell.

 

[Still Farming]

So much for a "co-op" for Farmers their fore fathers started ???

 

[An Gof]

I went in to our local CF / CW store to pay the account yesterday and the yard looked ..... bare.
I'd heard that stocks were low to non existent on certain products. Blackleg vax was one, but there was only a handful of field gates, and very few stakes. Where usually they would be piled high.

This store had, apparently, the highest turnover per sq. ft than any CF store. But not if they haven't got stock to sell.

Looks like you'll have to travel to Maunders ........

 

[ffukedfarmer]

I never could understand how Countrywide could justify such high cost stores with the margins available on farm, pet & equine products.

Unfortunately I was right.

 

[matthew]

Looks like you'll have to travel to Maunders ........

MVF or Mole Avon, often cheaper on some items and more choice. Even done some smaller items on line.

 

[bankrupt]

MVF or Mole Avon, often cheaper on some items and more choice. Even done some smaller items on line.

Same here, matthew.

Interesting times.

Countrywide's error seems to have been to get big in retail far too late to clean up on the old model, yet a bit too soon for the new.

 

[matthew]

Same here, matthew.

Interesting times.

Countrywide's error seems to have been to get big in retail far too late to clean up on the old model, yet a bit too soon for the new.

Plus a very expensive IT system, which meant centralised buying, rather than local need. Or so I was told. Local managers no longer able to order what they know their customers want, and when they want it.

 

[icanshootwell]

I bought a machine from Tallis Amos a few days ago and they still have me on their books from Alexander & Duncan days. Fair play

Our vets are owed over 40k from one local farmer and 24k from another and that's from one of the partners. 40k from a big farmer and the 24k from a smaller farmer who enjoys criticising everyone else.

I know vets are expensive but thats big bucks, i thought my 2 k bill last month was big.

 

[icanshootwell]

As a student I worked for a country merchant. It was amazing how much cash was outstanding to farmers, who for some reason didn't think it was up to them to pay for stuff on the day. I'm not talking about pallets of chemical or tonnes of fert. But if you need a tub of rat bait, and you drive to the store to buy said rat bait, is it not beyond the realms of logic to take some means of payment? I remember the ignorant farmers who would come in to settle their bills, and literally chuck their cheque book at you. You would have to fill in the cheque and pass it back for them to sign.

You have just described my dad, god rest his soul. Joking aside you must love farmers really, as your a grain steeler, i mean grain buyer

 

[icanshootwell]

Yes that really ticks me off. They go paperless but we still have to print and keep a paper invoice for records / VAT. I'm sure there's a few receipts that either don't get sent or I forget to log and print. That's probably more annoying than accounts closing. Vodafone seem to change on a whim and without me even requesting; sometimes a text to say my bill is ready on line) , sometimes an email .......

It took me 1 hour to print a couple of invoices off, phone co was one, power the other, because of slow broadband.

 

[Grain Buyer]

You have just described my dad, god rest his soul. Joking aside you must love farmers really, as your a grain steeler, i mean grain buyer

Don't worry. Unless your father was a customer of Farmway (remember them??) I wasn't talking about him. Thankfully the way I am set up I am in a very fortunate position to only deal with people I get on with, many of which I now class as friends.

 

[Condi]

Plus a very expensive IT system, which meant centralised buying, rather than local need. Or so I was told. Local managers no longer able to order what they know their customers want, and when they want it.

To be fair, all retail environments are like that these days. One of CWF's problems was that there were god knows how many computer systems which hardly talked to each other so moving to one system made sense, just it was a lot more expensive and complicated than they imagined. It should, in theory, set them up strongly for the future, if there is a future.