Random musings and general banter.

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been looking on site / forums for years, finally registered tonight
as idealworld is in administration, Gardenbargains (using same company registration number as ideal world) is still trading and taking orders
is that right?

site let me go to the payment page (did not complete for obvious reasons)
View attachment 26016
thats an intresting one, ause youd think that be gone
 
And another Q.

Few years back, ne of the old QVC presenters, Julian Ballantyne, moved to IW. Did a whole piece about excited to move, meeting new people, change is interesting, learning the ropes at IW, etc.

He did a few shows then disappeared!

Was he sacked, left or what?

Where'd he go? And where is he now?
 
The story of a once relatively successful TV entertainer, now reduced to plying his trade on a shopping television channel. Wheeling out seaside double entendres forty years past their best. Then going back to an empty flat in Lytham to look through old scrapbooks of his past career…
Yes, agreed. Also an Alan Bennett-type talking heads monologue of a faded star remembering their glory years would be good.

Well there have been a few works like that. Of formerly big stars on hard times. And isn't Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond, in a similar vein?

Closer to UK has-beens, saw a film with Julian Barratt (Mighty Boosh) called Mindhorn, playing a has-been actor from 80s, with exactly the home posters, scrapbooks of his former highlights at his flat. Has to reinstate his character and associations to assist in capturing a nutter who thinks his character was real.
Check it out:
 
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Maybe it's out their league, and if no Sports Direct/House of Fraser TV resurrection, but one place the former IW watch floggers/sellers/presenters could go is V-Channel, which is on Sky, Roku & online.

V-Channel


But afaik they sell real, proper medium to higher-end watches, e.g. Seiko, Bulova, Carrera, etc. Seem to be a USA channel, but have seen UK presenters, maybe a UK/USA-based hybrid?

I occasionally watch V-Channel on my Roku box for the watch channel, (never bought anything though) and has a music video channel with lesser-known acts, but sometimes surprisingly good tracks!
 
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And another Q.

Few years back, ne of the old QVC presenters, Julian Ballantyne, moved to IW. Did a whole piece about excited to move, meeting new people, change is interesting, learning the ropes at IW, etc.

He did a few shows then disappeared!

Was he sacked, left or what?

Where'd he go? And where is he now?
He started his own thing with Debbie Greenwood who was also on QVC. Didn't last long.
 
He started his own thing with Debbie Greenwood who was also on QVC. Didn't last long.
Yeah, thanks. Found it Yanga TV. Now defunct site, as you say.


There's a linked post on his LinkedIn there mentioning a new TV shopping network, tvsn, in NSW, Australia, so don't be surprised if some of the IW Brits go off to Oz with their quirky Brit accents to attract Aussie buyers... 🤪

As I speak, they're selling model cars.

https://www.itvsn.com.au/apps/videoplayer/tvsnlive.html
 
Maybe it's out their league, and if no Sports Direct/House of Fraser TV resurrection, but one place the former IW watch floggers/sellers/presenters could go is V-Channel, which is on Sky, Roku & online.

V-Channel


But afaik they sell real, proper medium to higher-end watches, e.g. Seiko, Bulova, Carrera, etc. Seem to be a USA channel, but have seen UK presenters, maybe a UK/USA-based hybrid?

I occasionally watch V-Channel on my Roku box for the watch channel, (never bought anything though) and has a music video channel with lesser-known acts, but sometimes surprisingly good tracks!

They used to be on the sky epg, think they shared the same channel as TV warehouse something like 680ish.

They had a Welsh lady (although she knew more than the IW lot she was still a bit clueless at times) and an American guy who called himself the "watch commander", oh and some guy think it was Sebastian that they always talked too but you never saw him apart from his wrist :ROFLMAO:, as you say more main stream watch brands and unlike IW they really gave you every spec and detail of the watches. Think they were US but sold to the UK as well, never bought a watch from them. Stopped broadcasting on sky about 2/3 years ago, maybe longer can't remember now. Although they had some watches i liked, like you never bought anything, seemed like a hassle to order and usually the watches they feature could be bought elsewhere.
 
There's a linked post on his LinkedIn there mentioning a new TV shopping network, tvsn, in NSW, Australia, so don't be surprised if some of the IW Brits go off to Oz with their quirky Brit accents to attract Aussie buyers... 🤪

As I speak, they're selling model cars.

https://www.itvsn.com.au/apps/videoplayer/tvsnlive.html
IMG_20230707_114642.jpg
 
There was a tiny bit more info on nature of IW 'defunctness' on here from the press release, than I'd seen mentioned previously:
TLDR;
“Over the weekend, the action of a few key trading partners has added to a recent difficult trading period and therefore we have taken the decision to suspend all trading with immediate effect.

“This means we will send the TV channels dark and no shows will air. We will also turn off our website so no further orders are accepted. We will throughout this time continue to progress all prospective buvers and this remains a priority.

“The Directors have made a commitment that all accrued salaries will continue to be paid and processed in the usual way in July.

Staff have been sent home and told to return for a meeting on Thursday when an update on the sale process will be given.

A new owner would be Ideal World’s third in five years."
[END]

*So don't worry, the staff wil get paid, hopefully that mean employed backroom staff first, not the front of camera contractors.
But no mention if customer orders will be prioritised.

Wonder if Kev removing all his Vostok/watch stock was one of the key factors?!
 
Ideal World used to make you think they were the suppliers but they weren’t, but we’re supplied by a nursery called You Garden, who also have there own website as well as Garden Bargains

Garden Bargains web site belongs to Ideal World, although You Gardens fulfill all the orders. It's must be a strange set up as it's still running. Maybe, although it's an IW owned web site, it's linked to You Gardens and when any orders placed go direct to you gardens for processing? Maybe the administrators are allowing it to continue for the moment till they sort things out.
 
We will throughout this time continue to progress all prospective buvers and this remains a priority.
Edit/Correction: Not clear if "progress prospective buvers (sic - "buyers"?) means outstanding customer orders will be prioritised, or prospective buyers of the IW company?
 

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