Very short item in the business bit. Blacks group entering administration with much of the business being sold in next few days. Downside - job losses, never good for those involved Upside - maybe some closing down sales (but I suspect there isnt much left as this closure has been so well predicted and the pre-christmas sale)
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 I heard that item too, GOF I feel really sorry for the staff. It must be shitto face such uncertainty during and after Christmas. But, as you say, it's an ill wind so I shall nip into Millets over the weekend.
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Someone posted thst there are two or three groups interested in it so we can onlyhope for those who work for the company that some kind of pheonix arises from the flames of administration. I know from past that business fold only to get bought out from the administrator for a low price (better to get 20p in the pound for creditors than nothing) only to arise a viable business under new (or even old) management. Also potentially get divided up among multiple suitors. However this is hard since both Blacks and Millets are in the same sector. If there had been two sectors then a division could be justified. Anyway, it is the way of things now. Wasn't there accessorize gone just before Xmas and another one too?? Someone did say there was Mike Parsons ( Sportsdirect) and JD Sports and one guy from something called Dragon's Den were sniffing around Blacks. Never heard of that last company though.
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Someone did say there was Mike Parsons ( Sportsdirect)
Ashley. Mike Parsons is founder & ex of OMM
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 Worrying time for the staff but could be good news for smaller, more specialist independent outlets in the long term. Blacks and Millets have never figured in my gear shopping itinerary, so if they disappear I won't miss them. I'd far sooner deal with the specialists, many of whom have undoubtedly suffered when the likes of Go Outdoors, Blacks etc have opened in the same town. Such is life.
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 According to the Financial Times, Blacks is going into "pre-pack" administration, which is when a company goes into formal insolvency but then emerges under new ownership following a pre-arranged asset sale. Apparently there are four bidders showing interest in the company's assets, including Dragons' Den Peter Jones, Sports Direct and JD Sports. The FT reports that the business made a £16 million pre-tax loss in the six months to August 27, and is £36 million in debt.
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In ambleside I find the independants get more footfall than Blacks and Millets which are both there, side by side. However Ambleside is unusual in that it has the likes of the CLimbers Shop which IME has good prices and good gear with award winning customer service (some organisation voted one of it's sales staff the sales assistant of the year in the outdoor sector a year or two ago).
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In ambleside I find the independants get more footfall than Blacks and Millets which are both there, side by side....... In Ambleside it would be fair to expect that! There was, once upon a time, two or three excellent independent shops in Leicester and Loughborough..... ....Then Go Outdoors arrived and Blacks & Millets expanded.
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 Where I live there is only one independent outdoor store - Great Western Camping, which also has a store in Dorchester. However, we also have Blacks, Millets, Cotswolds, Oswald Baileys, Rohan and a new Tresspass. Go outdoors is only half an hour away. This competition (and extortionate rents) means that we don't get many independent shops.The thing is, the small, independent shop is excellent - great range, competitively priced and excellent service! I've found Blacks OK, but Cotswolds offers a much better variety, often at no higher cost, whereas Millets annoyed me - the prices were hugely inflated and it wasn'r run well as a business. I hope that they don't close down, but they need some major changes to stock and how they run the business.
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"Where I live there is only one independent outdoor store - Great Western Camping..." Not any more. The Great Western Camping store in Salisbury appears to have shut down. Peter
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 This is the downside of internet shopping. The trouble is, if these shops keep closing where can we go to see stuff in the flesh before we go home to buy them? These shops really did loose their way. They sold stuff not good enough for real outdoors enthusiasts but too pricey to compete with supermarkets.
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"Where I live there is only one independent outdoor store - Great Western Camping..." Not any more. The Great Western Camping store in Salisbury appears to have shut down. Peter
It has unfortunately. It means that Cotswolds is the only place to get higher end gear - whilst it has excellent service and a good range of goods, it lacks the personal feel of an independent shop.
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 I was in Blacks yesterday and talking to the sales assistant she said that they have been saved and are not shutting up now.
Quite a relief for us on the Island as we have a Blacks, Millets, Trespass and some Mountain shop which sells very cheap stuff. None of them sell decent gear but at least you can get gas and socks from Blacks.
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 "Where I live there is only one independent outdoor store - Great Western Camping..." Not any more. The Great Western Camping store in Salisbury appears to have shut down. Peter
It has unfortunately. It means that Cotswolds is the only place to get higher end gear - whilst it has excellent service and a good range of goods, it lacks the personal feel of an independent shop.
Just seen this - very sad, though relieved to see the Dorchester shop still seems to be going on. That may be because we only have a Blacks and Millets there otherwise so there's no competition for those who want decent kit. GWC is a great shop.
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Dropped by my local Blacks to return a birthday gift. Despite appearances (empty shelves, dismantled racks, completely barren tents area upstairs,"50% off" signs everywhere), the sales bloke was at pains to convince me that they were just getting new stock in and would be back up to steam soon.
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 Have to admit passed Blacks in the MetroCentre Newcastle and it seemed empty with very little stock, cant see JD doing any better, hope they don't end up like the sports soccer chain with mainly sports wear with a few low end outdoor lines
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Great Western Camping may be a great store but not so great with staff. Shut the shop on Sunday 8th January, phoned the chap who ran the Salisbury store ON HIS WAY TO WORK on the Monday morning! No warning, no notice period, a load of empty promises about pay until the end of February and now will not give out details of the administrator so that ex-employee can make claim, claiming "My accountant is dealing with all that, I don't know any of the details" Yeah right! Doesn't deserve to be well thought of and I can't wait to see the Dorchester shop go down the toilet too! What goes around comes around.
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ex-employee needs to get sensible advice and not go jumping about. Do a search on company's house, go to the CAB and stop wishing ill on those who havent lost their jobs (yet).
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Visited the Blacks in Deansgate- Manchester today and contrary to the post from Phil Dorn it was fully stocked with a range of different brands but not at any significant discount to the RRP. Having said that a limited number of items which I assume to be "old" stock was on "sale" at greatly reduced prices. Bought a Columbia stretch beanie hat made of the new "omni-heat" material that was recently reviewed on OM. The original price was shown as £18 reduced in the sale to £5. A further 20% reduction was applied to the sale price so it cost me £4.
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The Blacks in Peterborough is still going (since Millets died a while back, I assume that its unlikely to close), but its pretty bare, with only some stuff 'up to 50% off'. I assume that once the other stores have closed, much of the remainered stock will flow into the remaining stores. On the other hand, perhaps there are fewer lines simply because many suppliers have been scared off? I'm having a look tomorrow, and hope it has lost its gloomy atmosphere.
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