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EWmums

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ewmoda

Magrudy's!

0

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 17:30

Are there no more Magrudy's bookstores in Dubai? What the heck is going on? The ones in Batuta, Dubai Mall, and Deira City Center don't exist anymore!

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911

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 16 July 2011 - 12:02

Thanks all x It is sad but I'll still shop there - I do think existing staff have a difficult job and there's a whole lot of issues but there you go ;)

everythingnice45485

568

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 16 July 2011 - 12:00

Really sad to hear this too. I love Magrudy's!

3901

Posts

EW MASTER

Latest post on 15 July 2011 - 01:22

There are 2 left in Dubai - Festival City and Jumeirah - I worked at Jumeirah until they 'let me go' last week :( Really sorry to hear that Lesley :-( x

1811

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 23:07

i love magrudys and live right by the jumeirah branch so use it a lot...however, the problem is that whilst they seem to have loads of "stuff", there isn't much choice...for example, their card selection is absolutely rubbish, as are the kids toys - the number of times i've been in to get a present for a child's birthday party and come out empty handed... ... Oh, I couldn't disagree more! I used to do almost all of my Christmas and birthday shopping in the DCC store. They had the greatest range of toys for my little ones and nieces and nephews. Granted the oldest kids I was shopping for were under 13, but everyone was always very happy. Massive range of lovely puzzles, scientific gadgets and kits, PLAN toys, better range of Lego and Playmobil than TRU etc etc. Oh, and the books...... *sigh* I agree with Green-ish. The selection of toys is/was great. All very good quality toys so a bit more expensive. The staff are always very helpful too and they have a very generous loyalty card system.. With more people buying books online Magrudys should try to expand their other product lines. They've been such a tradition in Dubai, I'd hate to see the company fold. One area I think they could focus on is holding book fairs in schools - we have another local company do it but as Magrudys already do the school uniforms it seems like a natural tie up and instead of the kids bringing home catalogues to order books from the UK, Magrudys should try to become the supplies.

edna.welthorpe36638

516

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 16:42

Online, I-pads, i-phones...Books are almost obsolete Books aren't. Physical bookshops may be, but books themselves aren't, not by a long way. As has been said, the two big problems here are the lack of choice and high prices. DH needed to buy a particular car repair manual, and he went to Kinokuniya in Dubai Mall. They didn't have it, and they said it would take three months to order it. So he ordered it from Amazon and got it in a week for half the price it would have been through Kinokuniya.

52

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 16:22

I stopped going to Magrudy's a long time ago. I would order books and they'd charge me nearly twice what it cost on Amazon for it plus it'd take 3 - 4 weeks for it to arrive. There was a time I was going through a phase after my mummy died and got interested in whether the afterlife was real or not and wanted a couple of books. They p*****d the heck out of me when they said it wasn't possible for them to order books like that. Something to do with UAE laws or whatever. Anyway, I ordered the books on amazon and I pretty much gave up on them after that. <em>edited by ladygodiva on 13/07/2011</em>

KarenBlixen1369

143

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 16:17

Well I really hope they don't close the Jumeira branch as I have just moved nearby and love going in there. RL - sorry to hear you're no longer there. It looks as though they're having trouble competing with the newer players e.g. Kinokuniya in DM.

2340

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:54

And didn't you find the staff at Magrudys were far more helpful than those at Borders too. Always. Nothing too much trouble. :)

1996

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:53

And didn't you find the staff at Magrudys were far more helpful than those at Borders too.

2340

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:46

i love magrudys and live right by the jumeirah branch so use it a lot...however, the problem is that whilst they seem to have loads of "stuff", there isn't much choice...for example, their card selection is absolutely rubbish, as are the kids toys - the number of times i've been in to get a present for a child's birthday party and come out empty handed... ... Oh, I couldn't disagree more! I used to do almost all of my Christmas and birthday shopping in the DCC store. They had the greatest range of toys for my little ones and nieces and nephews. Granted the oldest kids I was shopping for were under 13, but everyone was always very happy. Massive range of lovely puzzles, scientific gadgets and kits, PLAN toys, better range of Lego and Playmobil than TRU etc etc. Oh, and the books...... *sigh*

2340

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:41

There are 2 left in Dubai - Festival City and Jumeirah - I worked at Jumeirah until they 'let me go' last week :( NO!! I'm so sorry! :(

993

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:20

Which makes me think that maybe this region is not big on reading. Very true. When I was young and living in Abu Dhabi, the only bookstore of note was All Prints, and it was about the size of Magrudys at Jumeirah road.

471

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:15

It might be a sign of the times.... if you go to Borders Moe, you'll see they changed a lot and have much less areas for books and much more for papers, cards, etc. I think that generally bookstores struggle in here. MOE`s Borders is more like supermarket now: cards,stationary, CD`s,toys,candies, teacups...Books take up less than half of the total space. It was completely different when Borders just opened here. Which makes me think that maybe this region is not big on reading.

993

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:13

Online, I-pads, i-phones...Books are almost obsolete. And have to agree with the prices being too high too. For me personally, nothing beats being able to hold a book , feel it, smell it (sometimes!), and then read it :)

Princess_I45169

1953

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:09

I have found you can always get what you want from Borders, Magrudy's have never had what I wanted, and the staff in the Jumeriah 1 branch were so useless when I was in there a few wks ago, Redlesley - I can definitely say you will be missed! KInda agree - and 3-4 weeks to order books, nah - can get them from amazon in less than a week......

1280

Posts

EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 15:01

I have found you can always get what you want from Borders, Magrudy's have never had what I wanted, and the staff in the Jumeriah 1 branch were so useless when I was in there a few wks ago, Redlesley - I can definitely say you will be missed!

1575

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:54

Online, I-pads, i-phones...Books are almost obsolete. And have to agree with the prices being too high too.

425

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:40

It might be a sign of the times.... if you go to Borders Moe, you'll see they changed a lot and have much less areas for books and much more for papers, cards, etc.

Princess_I45169

1953

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:33

Funny - just trying to look at their facebook page and nothing coming up - anyone else able to see it? who's facebook page? Magrudys! well was confuddled as teh post below mentioned Magrudy's and boarders.....

521

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:33

I did notice at the Jumeirah branch a few days ago they had condensed everything into half of the shop. My DD will be disappointed if they close as she likes a certain pen that she can only buy there and every time she comes back goes to get them there.

911

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:32

Funny - just trying to look at their facebook page and nothing coming up - anyone else able to see it? who's facebook page? Magrudys!

Princess_I45169

1953

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:31

Funny - just trying to look at their facebook page and nothing coming up - anyone else able to see it? who's facebook page?

911

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 14:29

Funny - just trying to look at their facebook page and nothing coming up - anyone else able to see it?

993

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 13:27

Personally I always preferred Magrudys to Borders; firstly books which i like to buy like travel guides were always cheaper at Magrudys and newer editions were always available 6 months before they appeared in Borders. Where Borders won was having nice comfy chairs :)

471

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 12:53

very sad really- even their head office near their Jumeirah centre is shut as well. I think the stores are looking for flagship stores such as Bookworld in Dubai Mall plus the likes of Carrefour and Geant buy in bulk so can offer cheaper books and a bigger range. I dont think that it is the on line stuff that is hurting them just the fact they had poor locations and rents are too high for them. Magrudy`s obviously weren`t doing well since the Borders opened. Simply because they weren`t good enough anymore and did not compete well. I saw them trying to copy the Border`s style as a last attempt to win back lost clients. Done too little, too late.

911

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 09:09

The head office has moved to a new office in Deira - it was too big as an office for the reduced staff that are left. There is a great deal of sadness I think - I have been a loyal customer since I came to Dubai and I do agree that there is the potential to still have a good viable business. The shop staff work really hard with what they're given - I can assure you of that. Just a shame really

68

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 08:49

very sad really- even their head office near their Jumeirah centre is shut as well. I think the stores are looking for flagship stores such as Bookworld in Dubai Mall plus the likes of Carrefour and Geant buy in bulk so can offer cheaper books and a bigger range. I dont think that it is the on line stuff that is hurting them just the fact they had poor locations and rents are too high for them.

374

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 07:50

i love magrudys and live right by the jumeirah branch so use it a lot...however, the problem is that whilst they seem to have loads of "stuff", there isn't much choice...for example, their card selection is absolutely rubbish, as are the kids toys - the number of times i've been in to get a present for a child's birthday party and come out empty handed... it was the same when they did children's shoes, it always seems a bit half hearted...shame, i think they could have done well with the right stock, there is a gap in the market for many things that they try to sell...

1996

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 22:46

There are 2 left in Dubai - Festival City and Jumeirah - I worked at Jumeirah until they 'let me go' last week :( So sorry RL, not good :( I've been told that Magrudy's got deals on rent as the new malls were built but when the deal periods expired and the rents were going up, they had to move out - if it's right then Festival City would be due to close at some point. I don't think Magrudy's were helped by their locations in the malls, not one was in an area with high footfall and there's not a great deal of money in books anyway. The Deira one was in a great location-right next to the Metro station-and was always busy too-I miss that branch

911

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 22:21

Thanks. It was genuinely my absolute dream job to work in a bookshop but these things happen. There have been a lot of staff gone recently with all the shop closures who are in a far worse position than me so it's them I feel for.

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