Microsoft to Woolworths: Return the 360s we sold you; we'll keep your money
by Randy Nelson 
{ Jan 7th 2009 at 12:55AM }
UK retailer Woolworths is set to close the remainder of its stores today after being put into administration (what we in the States know as liquidation) back in November. Microsoft is one of many companies seeking to recover their products from the chain before they get sold off to repay debts, but, according to The Times, it's going a step further. Under British law, MS can sue to get its consoles back even though Woolworths has already paid for them in full.
Sound fishy? It does ... until you consider that the chain owes MS quite a lot of money despite having paid for the systems. MS is hoping to get the consoles back -- and resell them to cover part of what it was owed -- before the administrator of Woolworths' liquidation, Deloitte, can sell them on the cheap. In the meantime, Ubisoft is still out a decent amount of scratch thanks to the retailer's collsapse.
[Via 1UP]
Sound fishy? It does ... until you consider that the chain owes MS quite a lot of money despite having paid for the systems. MS is hoping to get the consoles back -- and resell them to cover part of what it was owed -- before the administrator of Woolworths' liquidation, Deloitte, can sell them on the cheap. In the meantime, Ubisoft is still out a decent amount of scratch thanks to the retailer's collsapse.
[Via 1UP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sora @ Jan 7th 2009 1:01AM
I hope all the game companies who lost money here can get it all back...
Markez (Anti-Panda Death Murder Squadron) @ Jan 7th 2009 1:06AM
Chef Ramsey: IT'S ROT-TEN!
DEEZNUTZ @ Jan 7th 2009 10:38AM
+1 I LOL'd
lawlersauce @ Jan 7th 2009 1:06AM
The real story is that another big company is closing.
Circuit City in the midwest US region has shut down, it will be closing in the rest of the country most likely, Blockbuster will shortly be going out (a few have already closed in my area), and Woolworths...
Times are gettin to be hard
Wiinterfang @ Jan 7th 2009 1:14AM
Here too...
God those a terrible times we are living in :(.
Mr. X @ Jan 7th 2009 2:45AM
Circuit City was already in trouble even before the economic situation
Rudolphe @ Jan 7th 2009 4:59AM
Blockbusters closing for more reasons than Economic hardship, blockbuster sucks, they should've moved faster to counter the online rental, streaming and on demand services.
Kye says: Why did no-one tell me Call of Duty 4 was so good!? @ Jan 7th 2009 5:33AM
And how exactly could they have countered it?
Breaking people's PCs?
Crashing people's internet connections?
KarlW @ Jan 7th 2009 11:36AM
The whole world's changing. You used to be able to pop down to woolies to get some sweets for the kids, stop at the bank on the way back, and get a movie for later that night.
Now you can do... none of that.
lawlersauce @ Jan 7th 2009 10:34PM
But these stores aren't representing just YOUR goods, it is also other people's jobs.
Internet businesses are run by fewer people and get more money...and you like it because it is just EASIER for you...
Selfishness brings about social change. When the rich horde their wealth...
Gun Barrier @ Jan 7th 2009 1:06AM
Wow, economy is getting pretty bad.
Soulcrux42 @ Jan 7th 2009 2:03AM
War...has changed
Alien Lord @ Jan 7th 2009 2:39AM
war... war never changes
ChiTownRuler23 @ Jan 7th 2009 3:28AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv5BYEOQYLo&feature=related
JoeTheBlow @ Jan 7th 2009 4:36AM
The only thing that got the world out of the last global depression was a global war.
Scary, huh?
borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Jan 7th 2009 9:03AM
"Scary, huh?"
Indeed, but consider that we also got rocket science, nukular power, an amazing boost in higher education, and a whole host of other goodies. Don't wish for death and destruction, but it does have it's benefits.
Oy, what doesn't turn the world into radioactive ash makes it stronger.
Lars @ Jan 7th 2009 1:03PM
I always suspected that was George W's motivation behind getting into more conflict in the middle east.
CaramelZappa @ Jan 7th 2009 1:15AM
It's not JUST that the economy is bad, it's a shift in how people buy their products. A lot of the time, if you don't need it RIGHT NOW, it's a lot more convenient to buy what you want online, and you usually get better prices. Not to mention if you buy from outside of your state you don't have to pay tax. It's also just a lot more efficient to run a website with warehouses than a retail store with so much more. Some people even buy their food online. Times are changing.
lawlersauce @ Jan 7th 2009 1:47AM
THe thing is, though, those retail outlets supply more than just goods to you. They are people's jobs. The economy is a whole network of threads made of jobs and goods basically, and when one thread gets loose, the whole thing starts to unravel. That is what is happening right now, and what has been happening for quite some time, actually. The pace is picking up
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2009 4:45AM
It's nothing new. The economy shifts, imbeciles complain about job losses in old sectors but always forget about the new ones. What about all those poor pony express workers displaced by the telegraph? Isn't it awful what refrigeration has done to the milk and ice delivery industry? How horrible, e-mail is ruining jobs in the mail delivery business. Trains are killing stagecoaches. Electronic banking is playing havoc on armored car deliverymen. Blah, blah, blah.
Research a term called creative destruction. When innovations displace older methods of doing things, it usually means the new method is cheaper and more efficient. Resources can now be shifted to other uses and we now get more with the same. There will always be transition pains, people lose jobs, go through the inconvenience of learning new skills, and maybe having to relocate.
The worst thing we can do is try and stop these shifts. It's tempting, especially in democracies, to try and "protect" jobs, but all we get are out dated labor and, in many cases, societal drains. Not all jobs are good, we can hire people to dig holes and hire more to fill them back in (known as government work programs), but we get nothing in the end. Retail workers are diggers and fillers now.
Maybe it's time they start preparing to work at UPS or FedEx, when online retail increases, more delivery people are needed to get the product to the door.
Rudolphe @ Jan 7th 2009 5:01AM
@laughingtarget Wow, very well said. I agree with you 100%.
G-Spin @ Jan 7th 2009 8:15AM
@laughingtarget
That was an amazingly insightful comment. I don't usually comment but I just had to throw that out there. Kudos!
xGeneral DEATHx @ Jan 7th 2009 11:56AM
Bravo, LT...Bravo. +1
Wiinterfang @ Jan 7th 2009 1:19AM
*Cries*
...Buaaaaaaaaaaaa.
PersonOfSorts @ Jan 7th 2009 1:32AM
Woolsworth... going the way of the WOOLLY MAMMOTH!!
www.instantrimshot.com
Wiinterfang @ Jan 7th 2009 1:49AM
More like.
http://sadtrombone.com/
Superstar90 @ Jan 7th 2009 1:36AM
We're taking our Xboxes back!
And keeping this money!
And we killed your cat!
Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Jan 7th 2009 4:41PM
...and you grandmother died. She had a heart attack after learning that your wife committed a suicide when she found a dead cat...
deanb @ Jan 7th 2009 2:22AM
We've lost Zavvi too(CD/DVD/Games retailer, same supplier as Woolies), as well as the better known name on here of Free Radical. Pretty bad over here I suppose.
Spent Xmas day listening to my parent's n grandparents reminiscing about Woolies. "It was were I got my first LP from" "They were really good for sweet's".
I suppose Woolies could be counted as a national treasure, which makes MS suing Woolies comparable to pushing The Queen over...
MarkHawk @ Jan 7th 2009 2:34AM
Doesn't Woolsworth owe Microsoft tons of money!?! Thus the going out of business... this makes sense.
Alien Lord @ Jan 7th 2009 2:43AM
They owe MS money, they have X number of Xbox 360s, yeah those 360s should go to MS.
ChiTownRuler23 @ Jan 7th 2009 3:26AM
see what microsoft ment to say was "come on woolworths give me a reach around"
Anticrawl @ Jan 7th 2009 4:04AM
Apple pie is by far the greatest variety of pie, especially with granny smith apples.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 7th 2009 1:01PM
I need scissors 61.
JoeTheBlow @ Jan 7th 2009 4:34AM
The 27,000 ex-Woolworths employees who find themselves out of work today couldn't give TWO FUCKS about how much Microsoft is owed.
Its dead Jim, stop poking at it.
Rudolphe @ Jan 7th 2009 5:02AM
Yeah but the microsoft employee's who's jobs depend on the xbox360 do...
justshovejayohbe @ Jan 7th 2009 8:17AM
MS Xbox division isn't going to be having lay-offs
BadassSailor @ Jan 7th 2009 9:21AM
That doesn't matter, MS is in the business of making their shareholders money, not insuring the job availability to the employees of one of their customers.
MarvinCandle @ Jan 7th 2009 4:38AM
It was the economic crisis which was the nail in the coffin for Woolworths. The way they used to pay suppliers was to take the goods up front and then pay them back via the money they made off that stock after several weeks.
The burgeoning economic crisis made the suppliers a bit more anxious. The majority of them now wanted the method changed to "you don't get the goods until you pay for them".
Admittedly the company was in a bit of a bind before that but this is what killed it off. They couldn't afford to do business this way.
I also don't see why Microsoft expects these consoles back. On the last day for these stores there was 90% off EVERYTHING. Do they really think there will be any left?
Some stores were even selling faulty ones for stupid prices.
LaughingTarget @ Jan 7th 2009 4:50AM
Woolworths was on shaky ground before this manufactured crisis. They died off decades ago in the consumerist Mecca, America and barely surviving in the UK. This is hardly a surprise. No well run, healthy business has yet to go under from an economic downturn.
justshovejayohbe @ Jan 7th 2009 8:16AM
UK retailer? Isn't the Woolworth building in NYC?
Raheem @ Jan 7th 2009 9:05AM
Originally an American company but then became exclusive to the UK retail market, thus they are a UK retailer but *NOT* a UK national treasure as some idiots keep saying (including the reporters on the news).
ScottG13 @ Jan 7th 2009 8:36AM
Stop linking to 1up, Randy. Not worth our time anymore.
Robotochan @ Jan 7th 2009 10:35AM
Good luck Microsoft, you'll need it considering there is basically nothing left inside the stores. I heard they sold Elites for £89 just to get rid of them
Cobra951 @ Jan 7th 2009 12:18PM
LaughingTarget, what you say would be all well and good, if there were conservation of jobs and income overall. The problem now, and since the 90s, is a steady *loss* of such in the civilized Western world. What is being lost by the increasing ability of the large corporations to choke off the trickle-down effect (in large part by moving so many jobs to countries without adequate labor standards) is not being replaced. This cuts across professions and all levels of education and skill now. It's no longer just lowly production getting shipped overseas. Good people lose good jobs, can only replace them with menial ones if any, then they can no longer afford what they need to afford. So they use credit and go into the hole. Banks keep acting as if everything is business as usual, and do stupid things that like mortgage-backed securities. That may have been wise once, but with so much loan defaulting inevitable, the whole economy begins to collapse like a house of cards. You can't have an economy where most people have lost the ability to make money. If the free market won't rectify that mortal blow, somebody else damn well better.
eNrique @ Jan 7th 2009 2:15PM
Well...
28M units sold worldwide + they get back another 2M=30M
they resold those 2M, and replace 1.9M after rrod
33.9M units sold worlwide!!!
j/k
Nick @ Jan 11th 2009 3:03AM
Well said LT.
I look at what's happening with some retailers going out of business as a natural selection of sorts. The strong/sound retailers are going to make it but the weak are folding. Personally, I'm okay with that. (It's unfortunate for those that will lose their jobs but like LT said there are more to be had.)
As for Circuit City and Blockbuster...
Like someone already mentioned Circuit City was already in serious trouble before the economic downturn. Before the downturn I read that Circuit City had planned on closing down 150 or more stores as apart of a restructuring attempt. http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/circuit-city-closing-20-of-u-s-stores-to-save-cash
I've never been fond of Circuit City though. Their carrot on a stick marketing approach years ago always left a bad taste in my mouth. (They'd advertise something in the paper then when you get to the store the advertised price is after a mail in rebate. So you then have to pay full price to get the sale price.)
Blockbuster is just a Dinosaur stuck in it's ways. They've made attempts to catch up with the times but it's too late. The latest nails in it's coffin are Gamefly,Microsofts partnership with Netflix and Redbox booths.
If you're not familiar with Redbox http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx