Karrimor, bust and bought

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/3186786.stm reports...

Outdoor equipment firm sold

An outdoor pursuit equipment firm has been sold within 24 hours of it going into receivership.

Karrimor is one of the UK's leading companies in the design, supply and retail of this type of
equipment.

It employs 60 people at its headquarters in Clayton-le-Moors and another 190 in retail outlets
across the country.

Corporate rescue and recovery firm Begbies Traynor was appointed administrative receiver and has
since sold most of the business as a going concern to Lonsdale Sports.

T.

 

Just called in at the factory shop at Clayton-le-Moors. 50% off everything sale. A lot of the
rubbish they had before but half price. Some good deals on footwear, some going from a tenner.

They are supposed to be getting a delivery on Wednesday morning (25th) but they don't know what will
be in it!!!

Cheers

Andy

"Tony Buckley" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/3186786.stm reports...
>
> Outdoor equipment firm sold
>
> An outdoor pursuit equipment firm has been sold within 24 hours of it
going
> into receivership.
>
> Karrimor is one of the UK's leading companies in the design, supply and retail of this type of
> equipment.
>
> It employs 60 people at its headquarters in Clayton-le-Moors and another
190
> in retail outlets across the country.
>
> Corporate rescue and recovery firm Begbies Traynor was appointed administrative receiver and has
> since sold most of the business as a going concern to Lonsdale Sports.
>
> T.

 

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 17:19:52 -0000, "Andy Laycock"

>Just called in at the factory shop at Clayton-le-Moors. 50% off everything sale. A lot of the
>rubbish they had before but half price. Some good deals on footwear, some going from a tenner.
>
>They are supposed to be getting a delivery on Wednesday morning (25th) but they don't know what
>will be in it!!!

Might be worth a trip to my local Karrimor outlets then.

 

> Outdoor equipment firm sold
>
> An outdoor pursuit equipment firm has been sold within 24 hours of it going into receivership.
> Corporate rescue and recovery firm Begbies Traynor was appointed administrative receiver and has
> since sold most of the business as a going concern to Lonsdale Sports.
>
> T.

Bugger - it looks as if my 'lifetime' guarantee on my Jaguar sack has just bitten the dust, just
when I was toying with the idea of getting some niggly minor repairs done. It was either that or get
a newer, lighter pack. That seems to settle it then.

Steve Jones

 

Steve Jones wrote:

> Bugger - it looks as if my 'lifetime' guarantee on my Jaguar sack has just bitten the dust, just
> when I was toying with the idea of getting some niggly minor repairs done. It was either that or
> get a newer, lighter pack. That seems to settle it then.

Not really. Karrimor have been bought and sold at least a couple of times already, and one point of
buying up an existing name is keep a loyal customer base with you. That may well extend to customer
service being maintained as well, and it would be silly to at least not ask before you go and spend
a wedge of cash on something new.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

In message <[email protected]>, Peter Clinch
<[email protected]> writes
>Steve Jones wrote:
>
>> Bugger - it looks as if my 'lifetime' guarantee on my Jaguar sack has just bitten the dust, just
>> when I was toying with the idea of getting some niggly minor repairs done. It was either that or
>> get a newer, lighter pack. That seems to settle it then.
>
>Not really. Karrimor have been bought and sold at least a couple of times already, and one point of
>buying up an existing name is keep a loyal customer base with you. That may well extend to customer
>service being maintained as well, and it would be silly to at least not ask before you go and spend
>a wedge of cash on something new.
>
When I tried to get a repair done on my Karrimor rucksack I was told the guarantee was for the life
of the rucksack - not my life. And they argued that after ten years the expected lifetime of the
sack had expired.

--
Martin Richardson
216/284 Munros (34/34 'Furths')
217/89 Donalds 397/1552 Marilyns 439/439 Nuttalls

 

hmmm... interesting. From the way I heard it, the last company to buy Karrimor were South African
and only interested in getting currency out of the country (at least that was what the trade gossip
said...) Sounds like they've done the currency/tax dodge and run away laughing.

 

"Martin Richardson" <[email protected]> wrote

> When I tried to get a repair done on my Karrimor rucksack I was told the guarantee was for the
> life of the rucksack - not my life. And they argued that after ten years the expected lifetime of
> the sack had expired.

You're probably better off repairing it yourself anyway. When the stitching on my girlfriend's
Karrimor rucksack came undone and was sent off for repair it came back in a shockingly shoddy state
as I remember so that you could hardly use the drawstring.

 

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 17:51:10 +0000, Martin Richardson
<[email protected]> wrote:

>>
>When I tried to get a repair done on my Karrimor rucksack I was told the guarantee was for the life
>of the rucksack - not my life. And they argued that after ten years the expected lifetime of the
>sack had expired.

And that is not unreasonable? I would have thought a 10 year warranty period on a pack is pretty
reasonable.

Andrew

http://aushiker.com - Aushiker: Hiking in Western Australia 2003 Bibbulmun Track End to Ender
President, Perth Bushwalkers Club - http://www.perthbushwalkers.asn.au

 

>You're probably better off repairing it yourself anyway. When the stitching on my girlfriend's
>Karrimor rucksack came undone and was sent off for repair it came back in a shockingly shoddy state
>as I remember so that you could hardly use the drawstring.
>
>
I have had bad experiences with Karrimor repairs as well. As for Berghaus - the service was
unbeatable... Quick and ultra helpful. They even put the fear of God up the jobsworth delivery folk
who refused to deliver it to my work address.

Richard Webb

 

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:01:17 +0800, Aushiker <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>And that is not unreasonable? I would have thought a 10 year warranty period on a pack is pretty
>reasonable.
>

It would be, if they called it a 10 year warranty. But they call it a lifetime warranty instead,
implying it to be something that it is not.

 

Simon Caldwell wrote:

> It would be, if they called it a 10 year warranty. But they call it a lifetime warranty instead,
> implying it to be something that it is not.

This is very, very common: I don't think it's fair to single out Karrimor as being bad. In fact I
think the "lifetime warranty is the most common one out there, and they specifically state that the
warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship over the working life of the product. Stitching
coming adrift after 10 years is wear and tear, not bad stitching.

My Lowe just went back to Lowe after a little over 16 years as some of the stitching had come adrift
and I want it to be rock solid for an upcoming hut to hut trip to Norway. They did a very good job
(at least by the looks of it) and charged me a tenner, including return courier to my workplace. No
complaints there, either of the pack itself after 16 years hard labour, or of Lowe's customer
service, and it has a "lifetime guarantee".

As with all guarantees, you should read the small print to see what it actually means. The large
print giveth, and the small print taketh away... But Karrimor appear to do it the same as just about
everyone else in the market.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

In message <[email protected]>, Peter Clinch
<[email protected]> writes
>Simon Caldwell wrote:
>
>> It would be, if they called it a 10 year warranty. But they call it a lifetime warranty instead,
>> implying it to be something that it is not.
>
>This is very, very common: I don't think it's fair to single out Karrimor as being bad. In fact I
>think the "lifetime warranty is the most common one out there, and they specifically state that the
>warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship over the working life of the product.
>Stitching coming adrift after 10 years is wear and tear, not bad stitching.
>
>My Lowe just went back to Lowe after a little over 16 years as some of the stitching had come
>adrift and I want it to be rock solid for an upcoming hut to hut trip to Norway. They did a very
>good job (at least by the looks of it) and charged me a tenner, including return courier to my
>workplace. No complaints there, either of the pack itself after 16 years hard labour, or of Lowe's
>customer service, and it has a "lifetime guarantee".

It's probably worth noting too that Lowe Alpine were sold again last summer. Over the 16 years
you've had your pack they've had several owners while maintaining a good customer relations
reputation.

 

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 09:06:26 +0000, Peter Clinch
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>This is very, very common: I don't think it's fair to single out Karrimor as being bad.

Sorry I didn't mean to single out Karrimor, I know it's widespread.

I'd like to single out Terra Nova though, who have just replaced the inner on my 12 year old Qasar
FOC because some of the stitching was fraying.

q.

 

[email protected] (RJ Webb) writes:

[...]

> I have had bad experiences with Karrimor repairs as well. As for Berghaus - the service was
> unbeatable... Quick and ultra helpful. They even put the fear of God up the jobsworth delivery
> folk who refused to deliver it to my work address.

[...]

Strange. I had brilliant service from Karrimor with my decade-old Jaguar, which was little
distressed after falling off Tryfan. Came back quickly and well repaired, and free.

- Harry

--
Harry Newton harry_newton at telinco . co . uk www . gaudeamus . telinco . co . uk / html /
gpg . html

 

"Tony Buckley" <[email protected]> writes:

>An outdoor pursuit equipment firm has been sold within 24 hours of it going into receivership.

>Karrimor is one of the UK's leading companies in the design, supply and retail of this type of
>equipment.

Just received the following promoemail from Field & Trek:

<snip> We are proud to announce that as of today we are now operating from the following 5 former
YHA/Karrimor retail stores:-

Birmingham - 90-98 Corporation Street, B4 6SX. Tel: 0121 236 7799 Bristol - 10-12 Fairfax Street,
BS1 3DB. Tel: 0117 929 7141 Liverpool - 25 Bold Street, L1 4DN. Tel: 0151 709 8063 Oxford - 9-10
St. Clements Street, OX4 1AB. Tel: 01865 247948 Southampton - 14 High Street, SO14 2DF. Tel:
02380 235847

We are offering up to 70% Off* most Karrimor lines held in Our New stores - whilst stocks last. So
hurry down and check out what's on offer at your new Field & Trek store. </snip>

Roos

 

Roos Eisma <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Just received the following promoemail from Field & Trek:
>
> <snip> We are proud to announce that as of today we are now operating from the following 5 former
> YHA/Karrimor retail stores:-
>
> Birmingham - 90-98 Corporation Street, B4 6SX. Tel: 0121 236 7799 ..

Cambridge YHA is listed as one of the stores that were kept on. But it's got 'Closing Down, 50%
off' signs up.

-adrian

 

> Cambridge YHA is listed as one of the stores that were kept on. But it's got 'Closing Down, 50%
> off' signs up.
>
> -adrian

I might have imagined the 50% off .. don't hold them to it !

 

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 09:06:26 +0000, Peter Clinch
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Simon Caldwell wrote:
>
>> It would be, if they called it a 10 year warranty. But they call it a lifetime warranty instead,
>> implying it to be something that it is not.
>
>This is very, very common: I don't think it's fair to single out Karrimor as being bad. In fact I
>think the "lifetime warranty is the most common one out there, and they specifically state that the
>warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship over the working life of the product.
>Stitching coming adrift after 10 years is wear and tear, not bad stitching.

That seams reasonable to me. Surly folks don't assume the life warranty of a product is their life?
I think that is stretching the link a bit.

Andrew

http://aushiker.com - Aushiker: Hiking in Western Australia 2003 Bibbulmun Track End to Ender
President, Perth Bushwalkers Club - http://www.perthbushwalkers.asn.au

 

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:38:41 +0800, Aushiker <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>That seams reasonable to me. Surly folks don't assume the life warranty of a product is their life?
>I think that is stretching the link a bit.
>

Well both Terra Nova and Macpac seem to take it to be my life. They'll exclude things which will
obviously deteriorate in time, eg tent out fading, or rucksack getting damaged by dragging up
cliffs on the end of a rope, etc. But things which are due to faulty workmanship/materials -
fraying tent inner, internal stitching coming undone on rucksack - they will mend FOC without (so
far) time limit.