Was Colin Wagstaffe the problem after all?

[TheManWithNoName]

Colin Wagstaffe always came across as a bit of a plonker - and looking at his past career on linkedin, he hasn't seemed to last at any of his jobs for more than 3 or 4 years. I always suspected that the Gemporia downfall was mostly down to his leadership.

BUT.........

It's been a year since he left Gemporia. What exactly has changed for the better since he left?

I honestly can't think of anything that has changed over the past twelve months other than refund's have got much quicker. So, the question has to be, was Colin the problem after all?

Prices are still too high.
Metal weights are still too low.
The 'tone' and 'plating' junk still appears constantly.
The endless amounts of Jade remains.
The long lectures from Troth and Toby remain (if anything, Troth is on even more than before).
Still too much Primal and 'non-jewellery' shows.
Still too much misleading and dubious sales tactics (I'd say the shystering has got even worse if anything).
Still coming across as desperate to get your money.

I'm not convinced Colin was the problem after all now. I'd say one of the major contributors to the problem is still there, and been promoted........

 

[Marietta]

Colin Wagstaffe always came across as a bit of a plonker - and looking at his past career on linkedin, he hasn't seemed to last at any of his jobs for more than 3 or 4 years. I always suspected that the Gemporia downfall was mostly down to his leadership.

BUT.........

It's been a year since he left Gemporia. What exactly has changed for the better since he left?

I honestly can't think of anything that has changed over the past twelve months other than refund's have got much quicker. So, the question has to be, was Colin the problem after all?

Prices are still too high.
Metal weights are still too low.
The 'tone' and 'plating' junk still appears constantly.
The endless amounts of Jade remains.
The long lectures from Troth and Toby remain (if anything, Troth is on even more than before).
Still too much Primal and 'non-jewellery' shows.
Still too much misleading and dubious sales tactics (I'd say the shystering has got even worse if anything).
Still coming across as desperate to get your money.

I'm not convinced Colin was the problem after all now. I'd say one of the major contributors to the problem is still there, and been promoted........

Well, Jake Thompson knows absolutely nothing about gemstones or jewellery. He was thrown in at the deep end, for reasons we all know well! He is obviously 'taken in' by Troth's waffling pronunciations of knowledge & expertise and may be depending on him to paper over the cracks?

 

[Kit10]

Colin Wagstaffe always came across as a bit of a plonker - and looking at his past career on linkedin, he hasn't seemed to last at any of his jobs for more than 3 or 4 years. I always suspected that the Gemporia downfall was mostly down to his leadership.

BUT.........

It's been a year since he left Gemporia. What exactly has changed for the better since he left?

I honestly can't think of anything that has changed over the past twelve months other than refund's have got much quicker. So, the question has to be, was Colin the problem after all?

Prices are still too high.
Metal weights are still too low.
The 'tone' and 'plating' junk still appears constantly.
The endless amounts of Jade remains.
The long lectures from Troth and Toby remain (if anything, Troth is on even more than before).
Still too much Primal and 'non-jewellery' shows.
Still too much misleading and dubious sales tactics (I'd say the shystering has got even worse if anything).
Still coming across as desperate to get your money.

I'm not convinced Colin was the problem after all now. I'd say one of the major contributors to the problem is still there, and been promoted........

I been waiting for ages for someone to point this out. I’ve always thought he may have been a convenient scapegoat for the myriad problems Gems has. Also, at his level, moving from company to company every few years is quite normal. In fact most CEO’s are already working out where they are going next when they start a new job!! The non jewellery items are here to stay. The markup must be phenomenal, and like TJC, they’ve worked out that they won’t survive on Jewellery sales alone.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Also, at his level, moving from company to company every few years is quite normal. In fact most CEO’s are already working out where they are going next when they start a new job!!

This may be the case for most good CEO's - but we know that he was shown the door at Gemporia, shown the door by Immediate Media, and wasn't he shown the door by TJC too?

If so, he hasn't switched jobs every 3-4 years voluntarily it would seem.

 

[Kit10]

TBH was he any worse than the current Management? It just seems that they have given some Sixth Formers the Tuck Shop to look after.

 

[AndyW]

TBH was he any worse than the current Management? It just seems that they have given some Sixth Formers the Tuck Shop to look after.

Now, that's an idea. If Jake was on, selling Sherbet Fountains and Curly Wurlys, he'd be shouting out my name as he saw my multi-buy order scroll up the screen.

 

[Kit10]

Now, that's an idea. If Jake was on, selling Sherbet Fountains and Curly Wurlys, he'd be shouting out my name as he saw my multi-buy order scroll up the screen.

Me too, and I’ve just had a Curly Wurly!

 

[TheManWithNoName]

TBH was he any worse than the current Management? It just seems that they have given some Sixth Formers the Tuck Shop to look after.

I think this has been Gemporia's problem since Steve moved on to his other projects. Steve, without a doubt, knows how to run a business. It's no coincidence that Gemporia started going downhill when Steve's input reduced / stopped.

Looking at Colin's history, he seems to have progressed through his career by being in the right place, at the right time. Prior to being given more senior jobs, he had a fairly 'ordinary' career background.

Jake is running the show now - and he has no previous experience of running a business. According to Linkedin, he first worked in a Little Chef restaurant, then got a job in the Gemporia warehouse. He's then progressed through the ranks at Gemporia - some might say through hard work and determination, some might say it's because he's married to Steve's daughter. I'll let others be the judge of that................

Personally, if I owned what was a multi-million pound business, I'd be looking for someone with relevant experience and credentials to run it for me - not some other selly telly's cast-off that I happened to know because I'd met them previously via business award events, or my daughter's other half..........

 

[user 17461]

Who knows what the purpose of Steve's promoting Jake to the MD position was? But it's not had any positive impact if Gemporia is still reduced to flogging vastly overpriced Temu/AliExpress level tat to try and bump up their cashflow.

Not to mention the fact that the surviving Gemporia presenters appear to be working out ways to jump ship ASAP.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to wake up one morning in the near future to news reports that Gemporia's studios and warehouses had burned down overnight in some uncanny and totally inexplicable fire.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Who knows what the purpose of Steve's promoting Jake to the MD position was? But it's not had any positive impact if Gemporia is still reduced to flogging vastly overpriced Temu/AliExpress level tat to try and bump up their cashflow.

Not to mention the fact that the surviving Gemporia presenters appear to be working out ways to jump ship ASAP.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to wake up one morning in the near future to news reports that Gemporia's studios and warehouses had burned down overnight in some uncanny and totally inexplicable fire.

Does Jade burn though?

 

[user 17461]

Does Jade burn though?

Gemporia's probably does. In daylight. And dissolves in rain