1) In addition to main 'core' retail business, PinPoint also acts as a
'replacement agent' for a number of insurance companies and/or loss adjusters. This business has provided PinPoint with useful extra turnover/cashflow in recent years, and has balanced some of the trade lost to loss-leading competition from the non-traditional outlets (supermarkets etc). Although the level of business coming from insurers/adjusters can be described as both 'erratic' and somewhat 'time-consuming' in nature, the financial rewards are definitely there, and any subsequent owner of PinPoint may like to further promote this element of the business.
2) PinPoint Music is a fully paid up member of BARD ... The British Assocation of
Record Dealers ... and as such enjoys the benefits of membership, including
discounted Credit Card Merchandising rates, lower insurance premiums and being a
BARD/CIN chart panellist.
3) PinPoint has maintained its profitability by always exercising necessary stock criteria
restraints. Whilst it continues to prove itself to be succesful in specialist areas such as
Blues and Country, it has conversely allowed certain other genres (Classical, Jazz and
Dance for instance) to lag behind. Any new owner of PinPoint must of course
concentrate and develop his or her own style of trading, but any personal
interest that can be applied in these areas would surely reap rewards.
4) PinPoint has credit term trading accounts with all of its major and less-major
suppliers, including EMI, Polygram, WEA, Sony, BMG, Vital, Pinnacle and
VCI. Historically, the business has always paid all and any of its accounts on
time, and/or certainly without recourse to any lengthy periods of being 'on stop' with
any of its suppliers. It is imagined that the company has a "good" trading track
record with all of its suppliers. In the event of a share purchase, there is no reason to
suggest why the existing accounts could not be carried forward to the new owner, resulting in a hassle-free changeover. For the benefit of ongoing goodwill however, it may be prudent to inform all of PinPoint's suppliers of the change of ownership.
It should be pointed out here that any new owner/director will have to also assume the current personal guarantees provided to certain distributors in order to retain
supply status.
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5) With Eastleigh playing host to the new Southampton FC stadium in just a
few years, the outlook for the town has possibly never looked more encouraging.
Likewise in the field of home entertainment. With CD getting close to achieving mass
saturation coverage, the record companies are looking at new formats to improve their
income levels in future years. PinPoint is well-placed and in a position to
attempt to take full advantage of whatever new technologies are coming next. The much-vaunted launch of the DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and its audio/video/multimedia capabilities seems, to Steve, to be amongst the most exciting developments, and with careful management and promotion, PinPoint could once again (just like 1986) be at the forefront of any consumer revolution!! Additionally, other areas not currently being explored by PinPoint could be introduced by a new owner. Ideas such as t-shirts,
posters, caps and musically-orientated memorabilia are all things for possible
stock-consideration?
6) Dependant on circumstances, Steve is willing to provide any new owner of
PinPoint the benefits of his experience to ease the potential hassles during/after
the changeover period. To show and tell the exisiting paperwork and logisitic systems and answer all questions that will doubtless arise from a changeover is but a couple of
the ways. Naturally if any buyer wishes to run his or her own ship right from day 1,
then he will likewise stand back and allow them to get on with it! Steve is intensely
proud of what he has acheived with PinPoint since 1986, and sincerely wants it to carry
onwards and remain succesful well into the new millenium!!Write to Steve now for more information |