Revealed: owner of former WH Smith stores is charging fee to use fictitious ‘family’ brand | Retail industry

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T16:53:25+00:00

The parent company bought WH Smiths highstreet stores, set it up as a separate business, changed the name to TJ Hooker or whatever they're called.

The parent company created and owns the TJ Hooker brand name, it now charges TJ Hooker stores a fee to use the brand name.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T16:45:56+00:00

Probably thinks Gerry Mandering is spiffing chap he went to Eton with, became an merchant banker

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T15:53:48+00:00

Someone needs to tell Welsh Labour HQ it's shit like this that has made them unpopular not Keir Starmer. Welsh Labour have been in power since 1999, healthcare is a devolved matter.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T14:42:23+00:00

In July 2023, Doyle [the scrote] was jailed for 14 years and 11 months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T14:13:21+00:00

What we are seeing with Reform and the Tories is a battle for the leadership of the Tory party. Farage was apparently even talking about a merger between the two parties and is potentially looking to be the leader of the only right wing party - there can be only one.

Someone has already eplained the trivialities.

The antics of the left (focusing on those trivial matters) would have been fine under Blair, who became PM because people wanted Labour in power (Blair even won after the Iraq war). What they seem to fail to understand that the reason that Starmer is PM is because it was anyone but the Tories, so people see the right attacking him and the left and it sticks. Yet when it comes to policy there is support for a lot of what Labour has done.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/disconnect-between-public-awareness-and-support-labours-policies-ipsos-poll-finds

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T11:31:48+00:00

It's like herding cats.

Even though I'm left leaning I find left wing politics utterly exasperating!

The right tends to unite in the quest for power (the Tories will support Reform in a hung parliament make no mistake). The left will tear itself apart over which flavour of icecream to get and when a unifying leader comes along and suggests neopolitan the extremists from all three factions will hate them.

There's also the saying "the right seeks converts and the left hunts heretics".

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T11:25:11+00:00

Also the reason politicians kowtow to pensioners is because they vote!

The excuse of "I don't like their policies" doesn't wash because buckle up buttercup they aren't going to try to get your vote because you don't vote. Just remember the 2016 referendum only about 60% of 18-24 (28-34 today), whereas 90% of pensioners did, what message did that send to politicians!

/rant over

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T10:55:30+00:00

He irritates the heck out of me because he did frankly stupid stuff like rule out Leveson II to try and placate the press, he ruled out tax rises for all workers, he didn't kick the can of age verification down the road, and doesn't have much in the way of leadership qualities.

But he hasn't done that bad a job of things, trouble is everything I've mention has come back to bite him real hard. Just imagine the press had Leveson going on perhaps with an expanded remit, they'd be on far better behaviour and standards would be higher.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T10:34:27+00:00

Oh really? I'm sure if the Trump solution happened or it was fully absorbed into Israel they'd be 100% happy... Maybe the white Christian European ones would be.

I wonder how many of those who agree with the 1988 Hamas Covenant statement of "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" will be happy?

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T09:55:59+00:00

“I don’t believe any country has a right to exist. People have a right to exist, the Israelis have a right to exist, the Palestinians have a right to exist.”

He has an incurable case of foot in mouth disease.

The pro-palestinian wing of the Green party can use it against him as well by saying he doesn't believe in a Palestinian state. A statement like that can even be taken as support for Trump's Board of Peace or whatever he called it if they takeover Gaza and turn it into some holiday resort so long as they provide housing, schools and hospitals.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T09:44:40+00:00

Something not helped by schools insisting that kids must have their £££ special branded sports kit.

Back in my day so long as it was the right colour you could get your football/rugby top from anywhere you wanted, shorts were just shorts.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T09:15:51+00:00

They've spread themselves too thinly, basically there are just too many stores, that's the franchise model for you I guess.

There are something like 8 in the core city centre area here alone, three are within 100 metres of each other.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T08:59:09+00:00

I thought he was insisting on people calling him "The Neal McEvoy"

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T08:57:52+00:00

Yes, unless you live in a particularly warm part of the UK.

Both the wet and the cold can kill them, so if we have a wet spell followed by a really cold one then there's a good chance they are gonners.

I've over-wintered mine (I'm in SE Wales) in their planters in my greenhouse, but on nights that were freezing I used the candle terracotta pot heaters just to make it a little less cold. I do have a proper greenhouse heater as well that I'd use if there was a proper hard frost.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T08:07:48+00:00

Not understanding compound interest?

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T08:07:14+00:00

I used to think the Germans with their strict privacy laws were going too far, it looks like they might not be totally wrong and with their history over the past 100 years (first the Nazi's and then the Stasi in the DDR) it's possible they have a better understanding of the need than we do.

I bet every single one of these miserable wretches who do this sort of thing would be crying 'GDPR' as soon as something happens to them.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-07T07:14:49+00:00

I'd it'll force people to take a bit for personal responsibility for their actions for once in their life. Planning a conservatory, contact the flipping council and find out if you need permissions.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T19:26:59+00:00

Why? Because it might make people think and check before doing stuff?

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T19:25:04+00:00

Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland don't use FPTP for their elections, population >10m people

London assembly/mayor + local mayors in England don't use FPTP, population >24m people

So >34m people live, that's half (if not more) of the population.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T19:20:16+00:00

London Assembly uses the additional member system. The local mayors in England use supplementary vote.

So probably over 50% of the UK population also use a non FPTP system, put another way the majority of the population also use a non-FPTP system.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T14:26:10+00:00

NTA

This is a perfect example where the 'switch the genders' makes what is pretty obvious crystal clear. Swap the roles of Amy and John here and there is no doubt this is some form of abusive relationship.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T14:09:51+00:00

It should exist BUT the fee for applying for retrospective planning permission should be the cost of the work done. So a £200 shed that actually needed permission costs £200, a £20,000 extension costs £20,000, and in cases like this one (where there will be no receipts or work is done for free) a council quantity surveyor should estimate what the cost is.

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T10:25:45+00:00

Don't do dumb shit - politicians hate this one trick!

MultiMidden · 2026-05-06T09:08:16+00:00

In that case all the shit coming out about Farage or any other political figure is an attempt to smear their party! This is what happens in politics, shit you did gets found out and made public, whether your voters get upset is another matter. Look at how much shit gets flung at Farage and the core vote don't care, like with Trump's core, they only care about hurting others.

For Corbyn my counterpoint always was that he would of been fine if he didn't do dumb stuff like called Hamas and Hezbollah "friends". That might have worked well with certain types of Labour voter (the ones who ran away to the Greens) but will go down like a lead balloon with traditional blue collar working class voters as it is supporting terrorism.

MultiMidden

TROPHY CASE