{"id":31013,"date":"2018-03-01T09:24:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T13:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=31013"},"modified":"2018-03-01T09:24:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T13:24:55","slug":"maplin-goes-into-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/maplin-goes-into-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"Maplin goes into administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:<\/p>\n

While it can be useful for picking up components at short notice, sells kits, and has a small amount of CB \/ licence free radio equipment, it seems to be a peculiar mixture of computer cables, battery powered children’s cars, overpriced PC parts, chargers, disco lights, tools, and a few electronic project items.<\/p>\n

Always nifty to have around, sadly there are often better options online.<\/p>\n

Maplin has finally gone into administration. They were roughly equivalent to Radio Shack.<\/p>\n

(Source: WIRED<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Farewell, Maplin. One of the last remaining tech stalwarts of the UK high street is going into administration, putting 2,500 jobs at risk across its 200 stores. So how can it be saved, if at all? And is it even worth trying?<\/p>\n

There was an inevitability to Maplin\u2019s demise, but there needn\u2019t be. While Blockbuster famously lost out to Netflix and Toys \u2018R\u2019 Us (seemingly) to Amazon, Maplin does meet a need that is otherwise neglected. Yet the numbers beg to differ. Maplin had hoped to find a buyer, but talks failed. It is now up to administrators at PwC to sell off what they can. Stores will remain open for now.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it wasn\u2019t the internet that killed Maplin. It was Brexit. Sort of. \u201cThe business has worked hard over recent months to mitigate a combination of impacts from sterling devaluation post Brexit, a weak consumer environment and the withdrawal of credit insurance,\u201d CEO Graham Harris said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Online shopping definitely played a part, but it wasn\u2019t the fatal blow. That\u2019s a view shared by administrator PwC, which blames \u201ca slowdown in consumer spending and more expensive imports as the pound has weakened\u201d rather than Maplin\u2019s outmoded business model. But now, if it is to have any chance of surviving, Maplin has to belatedly change.[…]<\/p>\n

Click here to view the full article at WIRED.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Thank you for the tip, Mark.\u00a0 When I lived in the UK I would frequent Maplin for various components and parts but as you suggest, it truly catered to generic consumer electronics. Like RadioShack here in the States, I imagine they will be missed as a convenient local source of some components.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: While it can be useful for picking up components at short notice, sells kits, and has a small amount of CB \/ licence free radio equipment, it seems to be a peculiar mixture of computer cables, battery powered children’s cars, overpriced PC parts, chargers, disco […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[3043,380],"class_list":["post-31013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-maplin","tag-radioshack"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-84d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10027,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/maplin-stocks-the-tecsun-pl-660\/","url_meta":{"origin":31013,"position":0},"title":"Maplin stocks the Tecsun PL-660","author":"Thomas","date":"June 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If you live near a Maplin retail store in the UK\u00a0you'll be happy to note that they now sell\u00a0the excellent Tecsun PL-660 portable radio. 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Though I've never held an Intek PL-660 in my hands, I'm pretty certain\u00a0it's simply a rebadged\u00a0Tecsun PL-660. (Readers, please correct me if I'm wrong.) 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This decision was initially reported by Paul Walker earlier this week. 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