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Administration for company that started in 1778…

That’s right folks – another one bites the dust.

Originally started in 1778 by William Clark, then going on to open more shops and re-naming itself Debenhams (because William Debenham became a partner) has entered administration.

This is for sure the end of the high street, big department stores….

People are just not buying from them!

I think the above says everything.

So why is this happening, Bal?

Simple – the answer is Digital.

Customers are buying more and more on-line. In recent blogs, I shared how Amazon have the ‘try before you buy’ option on clothes.

There’s also more smaller and independent clothing stores that are opening with a huge on-line social media following – that encourages people to buy and then take photo’s and share their latest purchase with the world.

Unfortunately – Debenhams have not been able to keep up with trends.

Now, don’t get me wrong – they sure do have a customer base – but not big enough to keep it going – and they are definitely not attracting new customers!

Whilst they did the whole on-line experience, mobile applications etc… they just didn’t get the right attraction.

Anyone can go build a website. Anyone can design a mobile app. Anyone can sell clothes. But it’s how you configure these three elements to give the customer a unique experience.

Is it also – most of Debenhams customers are older and therefore, maybe the app isn’t the right thing for them? Maybe building the app – they hoped for a younger audience?

Unfortunately (for Debenhams) we’re moving to more personalisation and individualisation.

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Monday Motivation

I always suggest – if you have a passion, you should follow it!

Sometimes, at the start it might not work out – or success might not come that soon or as quick as you wish…. but keep going. Don’t give up. Keep learning…

Today’s Motivation comes from a footballer…

Imagine – having to pay to play!

How many of you would pay to follow a passion? May would expect to be paid!!

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Tech Talk on BBC Radio

Last Night, I was invited to BBC Radio Nottingham – to provide my usual ‘Tech Talk’.

It usually consists of me talking, about some of the latest tech stories that would have a connection with the local community. Breaking down technical jargon into plain simple English.

In addition to the normal ‘Tech Talk’- I also offered some advice! – Mother’s Day is this Sunday in the UK, and I’ve shared previously on my blog some great presents you could buy.

On Radio, I shared a few more! – Let me know what you think to them…

Here’s a link to the show – I was on just after 7pm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p072jgjj

Or there’s an audio clip of it below…

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Electric Aston

This morning – I was on BBC Radio Nottingham. Invited to talk about Electric Cars. Not any old electric cars, but the new one that James Bond will be driving.

That’s right – James (Yes! – I know that not his real name…but just stay with me on this…) has realised, he needs to get with the times – and upgrade his Aston. And he’s gone and done that… He’ll be driving the new Aston Martin Rapide E.

It can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds. Has 2 motors at the back whopping out 600 horsepower! Top speed of 155mph and a range of 200 miles. Impressive?

Photography : Nick Dungan

A price tag of £250,000 puts it slightly out of reach for me, unfortunately.

A very desirable motor. And can we see more electric cars in films?

I think so! – It’s the future!! – Not long ago, I blogged about the new Audi E-tron which was about £80k… and there’s more and more fully electric cars being made available.

Also, the infrastructure is improving vastly. More charging points. Quicker charge batteries…. but the most important thing is how clean and green a fully electric car is!

Yes – you will need to replace the battery at a certain time – 60,000 miles on some cars… but that’s no different to a cambelt change for a car – which happens, or should – take place around the same mileage. And probably is around the same cost.

In terms of servicing – well, that should be cheaper also! – Mainly because you haven’t got an engine!!!

But more importantly… Mr Bond will be able to catch the bad guy quicker – because the car is quicker!

Just hope the dizzy speeds don’t make him like his drink. Shaken (not stirred).

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Experience Centres…

A few weeks ago, I was in London with my colleague Bruno, who’d travelled over from Brussels – for a meeting.

I noticed his shoes – very nice they were, and let him know that.

For the next 10 minutes, Bruno explained to me how the High Street was changing – and where he went to buy his shoes, they had a Ferrari and other ‘items’ which you wouldn’t normally find in a traditional shoe shop. It was more like an experience centre – where you walk in, sofa’s, tea and coffee, let the kids look at the Ferrari, whilst you take your time and find the right shoes.

I fully agree. The High Street is changing. There’s more on-line shopping. We know this! – just look at the statistics.

Bal, how can we help the High Street?

Well – firstly, have more ‘experience centres’ – where customers can ‘experience’ what they want, take their time and indulge what you have to offer.

A place where they can ask questions freely, talk to people with some serious knowledge – sounding very familiar to the Apple Store!?!

But what if you had a kids play corner? What if there was some ‘attractions’ to divert your attention? What if there was a coffee machine that enticed you to stay longer… become more loyal to the brand/shop.

Thinking differently will help the High Street. Similar to how in the 80’s and 90’s the shopping centres appeared out of town, with ample free parking and huge variety of shops. They’re still popular – but why would I waste my time, to drive out of town, park up, walk into a shop, purchase an item, walk back, drive home….. when I could do it in a few clicks on my phone?

In addition to the experience, it begins to be more personal. More individual. And we’re seeing that in a number of sectors.

Pop-up shops for example. We don’t want the same thing as everyone else…. and that’s the same as our drinking! – look at the number of beers you can get now, different beers, different tastes – and more individualisation!

It’s funny to keep reading about ‘the High Street is Dead’… maybe it is, but how can it be revitalised?! – let’s look at other cities around the world. Let’s learn what other people are doing… and bring some life back to the High Street!

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Audi e-tronically not just happening…

So… I’ve decided. My next car will be all electric.

That’s right – I’ll most probably move away from my hybrid BMW – which I’d like to add, I absolutely love. But I feel, there’s alot of all-electric vehicles available – and their ‘miles range’ is getting better.

You’ve got your trendsetters such as Tesla – yes, very much on the cards.

Then there’s the i8 and i3 from BMW. Neither do it for me, I need more space.

Mercedes have plenty of hybrids and an electric one coming out in 2019 called EQC.

But… I’ve always had a soft spot for Audi. And noticed, they have the mighty named e-tron coming out in 2019.

Lovely looking motor. With an impressive 248 miles… you can’t really go wrong. Or can you….?

Yes you can. When you price it quite high!

£70k starting?! seriously?!!

Sorry – but that’s expensive! – I don’t want to be paying that much… I’ll be honest – rather have the Tesla!

But Bal… you said there’s a few electric cars out there, what else is there?

Well… good question. In addition to the above, you’ve got the Nissan Leaf – phenomenal EV! (electric vehicle)

There’s the Porsche Taycan which is coming out – or should be out now.

Mini are releasing an all electric Mini this year – but the other one that caught my eye which i’m interested in, is the Volvo XC40.

Last I heard – it’s around the £50k mark and will do around 150-170 miles. Coming early 2020.

So there’s a few cars to chose from… and it looks like the choice is only getting better…. AND i’m noticing more charging points. Only the other day I was at the local tennis centre, and noticed they had recently installed 2 new charging points!

We’re heading in the right direction for EV’s – and sales are increasing also.

Diesel sales have drastically dropped!

So there you go… EV is the future, and it’s happening quicker than what we thought! – and the above graph only shows it to 2016…. 2017… 2018… had even bigger sales!!

So, you’re probably wondering – which is the most popular car?

More blue’s will appear on the chart in due course….

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Let me unfold my phone…

You may recall…. that recently, I wrote and shared about Samsung’s folding phone.

Well.. guess what. That’s right, Huawei have released their folding phone!

After 3 years of development, they presented the Huawei Mate X

Now… the interesting thing is – it’s better than the Samsung!

How’s that Bal? –

Well, firstly – it closes completely flat. Something the Samsung doesn’t.. (Mate X is 11mm compared to Samsung’s 17mm)

Secondly, it’s slightly bigger than the Samsung phone… 8inches when unfolded and 6.8in when closed (that’s the larger model).

Thirdly – it’s 5G ready.

So… who else will be developing foldable phones?

I’m sure Apple, Google and other makers will be looking at how customers react. The biggest issue at the moment (in my opinion) is the cost.

They’re not cheap.

In fact. They’re expensive. Mate X is around £2,000 – and will go on sale in the middle of this year.

There will be people who buy this – and why not. It’s a tablet. It’s a phone. It potentially replaces two of your devices into one. And I think it could catch on. I can see, in the future, this technology being more readily available and most importantly, more people buying it.

Would I buy one? – only if you could flip it out like the old Motorola Flip phones! – don’t know what they are… I’ll let you google it.

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Bal, I have a question….

When I started this blog, it was very much to make it a two-way interactive type of blog…. what I mean by that is, I share my thoughts, and then readers would have questions, comments, views and thoughts.

Whilst most times, that’s worked – I feel there could be more ‘inter-activeness’.

I’m sure when you read this blog – be it any topic from Smart Homes to Folding Phones…. it would generate some thinking, some thoughts and hopefully get you thinking.

lets talk to each other more… and ask questions!

The purpose of this blog is to break down some of the latest technological advancements and share they in simple terms. Also discuss, do we really need some of this tech? Also how technology is impacting our every day lives, for example – let’s take the High Street – we know that on-line shopping is only increasing, do we need physical shops? – The answer I think is yes… we need a hybrid model of physical and on-line shopping.

Companies are working on a lot more – and offering us a lot more… in terms of technology, and especially how we relate and connect with them.

It’s not just a matter of having a break – it’s now share some details, look at some content, watch a video, interact with what i’m being told, etc…

Life is getting busy in certain areas. But technology is also enabling us save time – in certain areas.

One thing we must keep doing is understanding where technology is heading.

The last thing is, you don’t want to be left behind…

Therefore – happy to take questions, both on this blog (you can reply below), you can tweet me – there’s several ways to contact. But let’s have some more conversations…

There’s also the podcast! – new one out this week!!! – Had some great feedback – and happy to listen and take on board more feedback to make it better. Make it useful for you. And make it more beneficial to you.

It’s not just for me to moan – (well… that is an element of it), but to turn that moan around and look at opportunities and what can be done. And isn’t it great – when we all can look at opportunities and discuss together.

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Smart Dining Table

I was on a call the other day… with Bruno. We were talking, and I informed him, I’m recieving a new fridge soon – to which he replied, he’s getting a new dining table.

For some reason – my immediate question to him was – Is it Smart?

Now, firstly – does everything have to be Smart? – I think so!!

We’re in a connected world. And therefore, appliances and items around us – if they’re smart, help with the connectivity.

Habits are changing…

We are more on our devices. We are more involved and collaborative.

So how can a Dining Table, be Smart… Bal?!

Well… you’ve got your traditional table…..

You can get some in a funky design…

You can get some Clever/Smart ones… (by the way, when I asked about Smart – I was referring to Technology)…

With AR and VR… Mixed Reality… we can have sensors and projectors, tell us what to do and when….. especially, when it comes to cooking…

And let’s be honest – this is a great helping hand.

But I was thinking Smart in the sense – does the table have wireless chargers built in?

Does the table allow connectivity – in the form of sensors, detecting food is on the table, or have built in warmers – that keep the food/plate warm.

Yes you can get interactive ones… but personally, can’t see Bruno with one of these in his dining room…

So… thinking of getting something new? – See how Smart it is!

Even a dining table could be Smart!

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Poor Customer Service…

So, if you follow me on twitter… you’ll have noticed, that a company has ‘fobbed’ me off recently.

Have to admit, extremely disappointed with the whole experience of their so called, ‘customer service’.

Bal, who are they?

Yep – the ones who sell GAMEs.

Bal, what happened?

Basically… we went in there for some advice. Cut the long story short… we were mis-sold an item. It was an activation code for a games console.

When I rang their customer service, and emailed them – they’ve just ‘fobbed’ me off. Nothing they can do. We can’t exchange. Nothing we can offer. The usual…

What disappoints me the most is, they didn’t even try to make it up to me.

They didn’t even ask me for the details… They didn’t even try. That’s the worse thing about it. Not. Even. Trying.

Well.. guess what, they’ve lost a customer.

Not one customer. Several customers. My family. My friends. My blog readers. And.. many more.

It did make me think about the Enterprise advert… remember this?

How should customer service be?

That’s right- the power of customer service should be turning that frown, upside down!

Make the customer happy. They parted with hard earned money… and if they’re not happy… do what you can to keep them on side.

Have them on side – they’ll part with more money.

Don’t… and guess what, you’ll lose them.

Can I be the first customer they’ve done this to? – Probably not.

So let’s look at their share price…

Well…. look at that. Like most high street stores – share price has drastically dropped from January 2015 to July 2017… then just slowly decreased to date… (today it’s at 25).

I reckon… their poor customer service must play a part in their decline. Obviously there’s other factors… but poor customer service = less customers. Simple.