NCIX declares "Supreme Bankruptcy"

[.Ocean]

I can say living in Canada I would like to support NCIX by purchasing stuff from them but I have no reason to go into a brick and mortar store. Online retails are where its at for this market. With that being said, NCIXs online store sucks. It seriously needs a rework, its very difficult to find and search for products and is pretty dated. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a major contributor to business problems. To be honest Newegg has a strong Canadian presence and offers incredible deals and service. I have never had a reason to choose NCIX over Newegg and that should be something they should try to address.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, AshleyAshes said:

Amazon employs it's own logistics service 'Amazon Logistics' for Prime deliveries in most urban Canadian areas and they run 7 days a week now...

They haven't made their way west yet I guess. Amazon orders are still almost exclusively UPS for me.

[MoonSpot]

27 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

I uhh... Don't think you exactly understood Linus' idea...  He was talking about the REST of Canada.  You're likely too young to remember but Sears Canada ran a similar scheme; In many communities across Canada, sears operated locations that basically only had a desk, catalogue, order forms, and a warehouse.  It wasn't feasible to run a 'full fat' Sears location in these communities so you effectively would order what you want, pay, and wait for it to be delivered to the warehouse for pickup.  I grew up in Labrador so this is something I know full well about.  Of course Sears itself ENTIRELY failed to leverage it's entire logistics system effectively into eCommerce and that was a core element to it's demise but still, Linus premise is a modernized version of that concept with the addition of a 'Radio Shack Lite' like local selection.

Even then having Ontario get its stock from BC is far from ideal.  Waiting 2-3 days+ sucks, and shipping faster gets expensive.  Ideally you'd want your Parts Distribution Centre(s) shipments to arrive at satellite locations next day via the least costly ground method available.  So you'd need to have multiple PDCs across a country this size.

I don't know what the plan was for NCIX in Ontario, but if they were getting a fair amount of items from BC for the Ontarian market people wouldn't put up with that for long.

[AshleyAshes]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

They haven't made their way west yet I guess. Amazon orders are still almost exclusively UPS for me.

Honestly it KINDA sucks since ONLY Canada Post can legally access the parcel locker they installed in my apartment building lobby and you can't set a carrier preference in Amazon.  So for weekday deliveries Amazon Logistics will just leave stuff against my apartment door in the hallway (Since they have no 'post offices' where you could pick stuff up likd CP, UPS, FedEx or others) so now I -try- to schedule my Amazon orders so they'll be delivered on Weekends.  Which is handy in it's OWN right bu tit's kind a tradeoff.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, MoonSpot said:

Even then having Ontario get its stock from BC is far from ideal.  Waiting 2-3 days+ sucks, and shipping faster gets expensive.  Ideally you'd want your Parts Distribution Centre(s) shipments to arrive at satellite locations next day via the least costly ground method available.  So you'd need to have multiple PDCs across a country this size.

I don't know what the plan was for NCIX in Ontario, but if they were getting a fair amount of items from BC for the Ontarian market people put up with that for long.

Ontario has a warehouse/distribution centre. In the past, you rarely, if ever, had to wait for parts to come from BC. That was long before they rolled out the multiple Ontario retail locations too.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, AshleyAshes said:

Honestly it KINDA sucks since ONLY Canada Post can legally access the parcel locker they installed in my apartment building lobby and you can't set a carrier preference in Amazon.  So for weekday deliveries Amazon Logistics will just leave stuff against my apartment door in the hallway (Since they have no 'post offices' where you could pick stuff up likd CP, UPS, FedEx or others) so now I -try- to schedule my Amazon orders so they'll be delivered on Weekends.  Which is handy in it's OWN right bu tit's kind a tradeoff.

Depending on your work policies, you could get stuff shipped there? I know many of my employees (including the senior IT guy) gets their deliveries sent to the office.

 

Canada Post is annoying because when they drop off the delivery tag, it almost never is available later that day. So if something comes via Canada Post, there's a 99% chance I'll have to wait an extra day. And on top of that, they will not just hold the item for you at the Post Office. They apparently have to try delivering it first, and then hold it at the post office, even if you tell them no one will be home.

[MoonSpot]

5 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Ontario has a warehouse/distribution centre. In the past, you rarely, if ever, had to wait for parts to come from BC. That was long before they rolled out the multiple Ontario retail locations too.

That only works it they're stocked well.  I had to wait to get components from BC, normal stuff at that.  But it was just the one time and I concede it was likely the exception rather than the rule.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, MoonSpot said:

That only works it they're stocked well.  I had to wait to get components from BC, normal stuff at that.  But it was just the one time and I concede it was likely the exception rather than the rule.

Obviously if you've ordered lately, apparently they were/are having really bad stock issues.

 

But between 2007 and like, 2015, you could pretty much always get stuff shipped from the Ontario Warehouse, unless it was a really niche item.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Perhaps I'll have to check out their remaining Richmond locations soon before I have to migrate to Memory Express. 

[Damascus]

2 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

What are you talking about, exactly? NCIX and Canada Computers are extremely similar stores, when you break it down. They both operate large e-commerce websites (The two biggest PC Parts websites in Canada), and they both operate (heh... well... operated, at any rate) retail stores that provide similar products and services.

That was my point, MC seems to be in store only with close to no online presence.  For the past (wow, nearly half a year) ncix has had no on the ground presence in Ontario 

Quote

Granted, CC has a much larger retail footprint. They are able to do that by being a bit more "bare bones" in store, with less choices on product variety. (Eg: Instead of having 30 different toner brands, they carry the OEM and their house brand).

Really?  I've never noticed that, as a matter of fact all of the Canada computers in Ottawa were whupping ncix in terms of product variety/choice when there was competition on the ground.

[yolosnail]

So Basically Linus' idea was to basically turn it into a catalogue store similar to Argos here in the UK. They have a small store with a relatively large stockroom in the back with a couple of most things, and have a lot more that can be delivered to store or to your home. 

[Matt_Lefebvre]

10 minutes ago, yolosnail said:

So Basically Linus' idea was to basically turn it into a catalogue store similar to Argos here in the UK. They have a small store with a relatively large stockroom in the back with a couple of most things, and have a lot more that can be delivered to store or to your home. 

Pretty much 

But with the current climate, that model would have worked say, 5-7 years ago and would have made them a prime target for being aquired.... but in Today's economy - its just not viable. Amazon, Ebay, Newegg, and even Bestbuy now all operate as marketplaces and completely dominate the market - and places like CC, ME, Mikes (to a less extent, they're already listed everywhere and are primarally E-Tail), etc are going to really have to pivot their model to stay alive.

 

Before 2013, you could theoretically survive with a physical location and good marketing alone. Today, if you don't have a streamlined logistical solution, efficient warehouse ops and a killer E-Tail footprint, you wont compete, its impossible. Consumers will always choose the path of least resistance - and with NCIX gone, and pretty much every other option outside of Amazon and Newegg having broken e-tail sites that havent really been updated from 2005.... They're kinda screwed.
 

[ARikozuM]

I thought this was about NCIS, thank God it isn't. 

 

Anyways, what's Supreme Bankruptcy? Does it come with sour cream?

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, ARikozuM said:

I thought this was about NCIS, thank God it isn't. 

 

Anyways, what's Supreme Bankruptcy? Does it come with sour cream?

All it means is the Bankruptcy claim was submitted to the BC Supreme Court.

[Ryujin2003]

15 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

E-Commerce is the future specially to this kind of products.

Best Buy also had to restructure itself to compete against Newegg and Amazon as well as other online retailers. Had seemed to work out well for the most part for them. They still exist.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

Best Buy also had to restructure itself to compete against Newegg and Amazon as well as other online retailers. Had seemed to work out well for the most part for them. They still exist.

Best Buy has also heavily diversified their in-store retail experience, where you can buy a lot of very expensive and high margin appliances and other things that aren't necessarily traditionally considered as "tech".

[Ryujin2003]

12 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Best Buy has also heavily diversified their in-store retail experience, where you can buy a lot of very expensive and high margin appliances and other things that aren't necessarily traditionally considered as "tech".

Didn't think of that. So would looking at non existent stores like the original RadioShack and CompUSA be a better example? If so, that wouldn't bode well.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

Didn't think of that. So would looking at non existent stores like the original RadioShack and CompUSA be a better example? If so, that wouldn't bode well.

Well RadioShack in Canada was bought out entirely by Circuit City (No idea if they even exist still in the US), and the chain was rebranded as "The Source". The Source still exists (no idea how...). There's one in my local mall.

 

The store layout and what they carry is pretty similar to how RadioShack was before the buyout, but their selection of hobbyist/DIY stuff (especially electrical/connectors, etc) is vastly reduced.

 

Nowadays they're mostly just a mini Best Buy, with Phones, tablets, HDTV's, drones, and a small selection of adapters.

 

Best Buy is also capitalizing on the e-commerce platform. Their website has always been one of the better ones, with at least half functional filtering and search (Seriously everyone else, just rip off NewEgg's site). Best Buy also does a lot of B2B business sales.

[Ryujin2003]

2 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Well RadioShack in Canada was bought out entirely by Circuit City (No idea if they even exist still in the US), and the chain was rebranded as "The Source". The Source still exists (no idea how...). There's one in my local mall.

 

The store layout and what they carry is pretty similar to how RadioShack was before the buyout, but their selection of hobbyist/DIY stuff (especially electrical/connectors, etc) is vastly reduced.

 

Nowadays they're mostly just a mini Best Buy, with Phones, tablets, HDTV's, drones, and a small selection of adapters.

 

Best Buy is also capitalizing on the e-commerce platform. Their website has always been one of the better ones, with at least half functional filtering and search (Seriously everyone else, just rip off NewEgg's site). Best Buy also does a lot of B2B business sales.

Yes in the States, Circuit City was best or by Best Buy. I haven't seen one since I was a kid. Used to go to RadioShack for hobby electronics (circuit boards, resistors, RC car electronics, diy, etc.), but most have been closed. Only seen a couple, and that only sell phones.

 

Fry's electronics is the brick and mortar store I've seen in the PC side, but they are super freaking expensive. And then add 200 bucks for assembly if you don't know what you're doing.

 

Comparison, Fry's in store purchase of 1600 would've been about 900 on Amazon, plus a six pack for me to build it for him...

 

But I've only seen them in California. Best Buy works for last minute hardware needs. But process and availability generally suck.

[AkatsukiKun]

Summarizing NCIX's poor location choices, in Toronto it's not a problem since the TTC has a "robust" (not really, they're spread out fairly well to get you where you need to go) transit system. NCIX's mississuga location is by far harder to reach from where I live, if they did it another way, they should have placed their locations where a major transit route passed by or some kind of community hub like a fairly good "trafficced" mall. Their ncixus site's appearance is simply just subpar, and needs a complete overhaul where at least a 1st year Web Developer could most likely do the job. I do share the agreement of what Linus' idea of having plenty of low overhead micro stores where you can do free local pick up would definitely have competed with Prime although it might take a while to pick up, but definitely would have been good to do.

Plus from what I remember, renting or lease on commercial property isn't exactly regulated by the government, which have attributed to them shutting down so many of their poorly located stores.

 

Lastly if you search up "Canadian Electronics Store" on google, the top 4 was Walmart, Canada Computers, Newegg, and Bestbuy. Which is a clear sign as well of how their popularity has gone down quite a bit where they're at the bottom of the page. That's just my opinion of course.

[Trik'Stari]

@LinusTech, in the recent episode of The WAN Show, you commented that you had a plan for NCIX when you were there, that basically summed up to working towards having the company bought out by another company.

 

I'm curious as to whether or not this is your plan for LMG. Although part of me thinks "No way. He's put too much blood, sweat, and tears into it to ever sell it". Care to comment?

[divito]

I used to use NCIX before HST arrived, because no PST was charged, and even with shipping, it was typically cheaper than Tiger Direct, or a Canada Computers who had higher prices, and I didn't have to drive down there.

When HST arrived, the savings diminished, and then Canada Computers finally came up to Barrie, removing the other incentive. Add on that Amazon sometimes has better deals, and NCIX basically became less of an option. One of the only things NCIX had going for it was their website was better, and their product selection was a lot better, save for maybe Newegg.

Whether Canada Computers can be viable going forward remains to be seen, but their retail locations are smarter, in general. They carry essentials, and some different options in each category across their wide spectrum. Barrie's location is like a small Best Buy. And according to their website, are opening four new stores, three in BC and one in QC, as well as re-locating their Brampton store.

[A_Mediocre_Kangaroo_Farmer]

3 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

@LinusTech, in the recent episode of The WAN Show, you commented that you had a plan for NCIX when you were there, that basically summed up to working towards having the company bought out by another company.

 

I'm curious as to whether or not this is your plan for LMG. Although part of me thinks "No way. He's put too much blood, sweat, and tears into it to ever sell it". Care to comment?

That was suggested by linus because of the current state of NCIX at the time. He lays it out quite clearly. As he is control of LMG and TBH doing really well managing it is not a comparable situation. If you didn't think he was planning to sell LMG before there is no more reason to think so now.

 

The only thing I've been wondering is his plan for Floatplane.

[Yoinkerman]

The only thing ncix had modernized since 1999 has been their YouTube video team.  The rest of the store stayed in the past.  There have been 99999 ways in which the ncix community has told ncix how and where they needed to change but it fell on deaf ears.

 

It's been a long time coming 

[Guest lilbman]

22 hours ago, Taf the Ghost said:

Forgive me.

 

 

What will EA call the package above "Supreme" for all of the Lootboxes?

'Godlike' would be appropriate, seeing as a theme in the game is that if you pay enough money, you'll be able to steamroll everyone.