Well, our local B&Q here in Lincoln is having a hard time by the look of it.
Their plumbing/heating range has been 50% missing for 3 months and when I
enquired as to why there was virtually no stock of toilet valves/parts I was
told that their supplier had gone bust. Sounded like a tall story to me.
The one thing that jumps out at me every time I go in there is a lack of
customers. Midweek, you're lucky if there are three (of 14) checkouts
going. The demoralised attitude of the staff - and the frequency of staff
turnover - is there for all to see. How they pull it round is anyone's
guess. I would imagine the sales of the big ticket items has gone seriously
tits up and they won't make money selling packets of woodscrews. I was in
there a couple of days ago on a Thursday late morning and the car park was
10% full. Desperation hangs heavy in the air.

One of the things that grates with me is that I have been going there three
times a week on average for small plumbing bitrs - mostly toilet but a
number of showers/trays/low level toilet suites - and there is no regular
customer recognition. The staff are not trained or geared for it. They're
not there long enough anyway. When is someone at high level going to
recognise that to pull themselves out of the deep deep mire that they are
in, they are going to have to hire - and pay for - better quality staff who
dig in and who will stay longer than 3 months. They have built a business
on nothing other than perceived price with poor staff and now they are
reaping what they've sown. It is not enough to post a greeter at the door
with a rictus grin trying to shove a leaflet at you and hoping they'll ride
this out. They have lost sight of their core business and now the internet
operations are hovering like vultures. 22 closures and undoubtedly more to
come. A good example of greed once again. The size of the stores tells you
that.

I hope screwfix don't go down with them.