pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
eeeee ... not so much with them I think. Like using atomic weapons on Godzilla, they just got bigger and stronger.
eeeee ... not so much with them I think. Like using atomic weapons on Godzilla, they just got bigger and stronger.
The shadow
The shadow knows!
This is the end...
This could finally be Sears' and Kmart's last holiday shopping season - CNN
This could finally be Sears' and Kmart's last holiday shopping season - CNN
Standingstones
Celestial
The days of large department stores are at an end. Lord and Taylor, Sears, K Mart are finished. JC Penneys and a few others aren’t far behind. There used to be two Sears stores in Harrisburg PA. One store is a derelict building and the other is a liquor store now. Internet businesses beat the big box stores to a pulp.
wwkirk
Celestial
The mid-borough Sears store closed in 2014. However, we still have The Bay Plaza Shopping Center, which has a mall inside of it.
Built only 25 years ago, the larger center, together with the mall, contains Macy's, JCPenney, Staples, Kmart, Saks Off 5th, Old Navy, a multiplex movie theater, several restaurants, a fitness club, many small stores, and some office space. (For some reason, Barnes & Noble couldn't hang, and was replaced about 4-5 years ago.)
Although located in the Bronx, the mall component (which opened the same year Sears closed) is strategically situated at Hutchinson River Parkway and I-95, so it serves suburban customers in addition to locals.
Apparently, the shopping center plus mall is quite successful.
I fully accept the notion that online shopping will tend to dominate in the foreseeable future. But I also believe many people will choose to shop in person where the circumstances are right.
Although located in the Bronx, the mall component (which opened the same year Sears closed) is strategically situated at Hutchinson River Parkway and I-95, so it serves suburban customers in addition to locals.
Apparently, the shopping center plus mall is quite successful.
I fully accept the notion that online shopping will tend to dominate in the foreseeable future. But I also believe many people will choose to shop in person where the circumstances are right.
The shadow
The shadow knows!
Once upon a time long ago .
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Went to the big local mall yesterday - haven't done that in maybe two years and that's not all because of the pandemic. . It still has most of it's anchor stores - those with outside entrances. I could see Target and Best Buy doing just fine as standalone stores. What the hell a Dick's or Macy's has to offer is less clear. The stores that are only inside the mall are doomed. That said, there was a bit more foot traffic than I expected.
Even a pandemic can't get rid of those nasty massage chairs. Who the hell wants to 'relax' in a vibrating recliner in the middle of a shopping mall ?
Even a pandemic can't get rid of those nasty massage chairs. Who the hell wants to 'relax' in a vibrating recliner in the middle of a shopping mall ?
nivek
As Above So Below
Standingstones
Celestial
The last time I was in a mall I went to purchase a gift card at Macy’s for my wife. This mall has a closed Sears and a JC Penneys that is hanging on. How those other small stores are staying in business is beyond me.
The shadow
The shadow knows!
Last New Jersey Kmart to close as Westwood store will shut down in fall
The chain’s Westwood location will close in September or October and already has signs in the windows saying “everything must go.”
www.northjersey.com
The shadow
The shadow knows!
JC Penney abruptly closed they are gone as of this AM
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
The big mall in the area still has a Macy's that reduced it's footprint by half, a Target, Best Buy and a Dicks. They are the ones on the outside with their own doors - virtually everything inside the mall has withered on the vine.
Rather than the now dying Mallzilla like the 80s or the spate of smaller strip malls a disturbing trend around here is planned communities. Put residential housing - condos and rentals in with shops and businesses all within walking distance in a quaint setting that only ever had cows on it up until now . Only one so far but more are in the works. Very practical at many levels, beautiful to look at but somehow Orwellian and scary to me. Also, when you really think on it blending shopping and community activity isn't that much different than the big mall concept - but at least with the latter you're not living in it.
Rather than the now dying Mallzilla like the 80s or the spate of smaller strip malls a disturbing trend around here is planned communities. Put residential housing - condos and rentals in with shops and businesses all within walking distance in a quaint setting that only ever had cows on it up until now . Only one so far but more are in the works. Very practical at many levels, beautiful to look at but somehow Orwellian and scary to me. Also, when you really think on it blending shopping and community activity isn't that much different than the big mall concept - but at least with the latter you're not living in it.
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michael59
Celestial
Great news, people! The government is going to take over the grocery industry. In case it didn't come across, that was sarcasm. I guess they are starting in Chicago.
More at the link: Chicago mayor proposes city-owned grocery stores as Walmart, Whole Foods exits leave ‘food deserts’
Canada is not far behind. Trudeau is going to see to that. In case it didn't come across, see above.
Chicago mayor proposes city-owned grocery stores as Walmart, Whole Foods exits leave ‘food deserts’
More at the link: Chicago mayor proposes city-owned grocery stores as Walmart, Whole Foods exits leave ‘food deserts’
Canada is not far behind. Trudeau is going to see to that. In case it didn't come across, see above.
The shadow
The shadow knows!
in the last 72 hours over 20 subway locations closed.looks like the whole franchise ownership went under.
wwkirk
Celestial
Not shutting down, but discontinuing a line of products. Like many, I only buy CDs or DVDs when they simply are unavailable in digital format.
Best Buy to cease selling DVD and Blu-ray media after the holidays
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Buy any box sets of favorites you're now stuck with? My geekdom mandated that I have various old movies i.e. Alien, Aliens, Star Wars etc in VHS, then various DVD formats, then we have the remastered special editions, then the re-re-mastered ones ....... all soon to be in the attic or left at the library.
I've also moved away from physical books, even out of the habit of toting one around the way I have for years. That took a little mental contortion to adjust to.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Not really about stores closing but commentary on the way things are done.
You order socks or something stupid from Amazon and it'll appear virtually instantly on the door step. Order something you actually need, then some weird Inverse Principle of ' the more important it is the more likely to be lost it is' Alright, needed some memory for a machine I have that's not working right and instead of four I get three and then spend an hour on a ****ing chat window trying to explain it. Theoretically in a week of so I'll get what I ordered - so much for Prime. To be fair, other things like a huge TV appeared right away with zero problems.
Then we have Walmart. You can rage against that machine all you want, they're too big to give a crap. We ordered that 11' by 13' patio cover from them. Logged into my account to write a review and see that the $2167 I paid on Aug 30 is now $1649. Quite the difference. Note to self: always buy things like this AFTER Labor Day. After an incredibly frustrating friggin' chat session with a Walmart drone I contacted the seller directly. Their messaging/mail system is obscure, to say the least. The reason I did that is Mr.Chat from India was actually telling me to return it and they'll sell me a new on for the lower price. Pointing out that this is really a small prefab building that is fully assembled and bolted into concrete weighing several hundred pounds had no effect on this idiot. He claimed - and I know it's pure BS - that the freight carrier will come, disassemble it and 'take care of everything'. Well, if he's talking about the two surly young men who spoke no English and just abruptly dropped it wherever they felt like it in my driveway I'm going to suggest that might not work. Nitwits. The seller - Sunjoy - actually responded and issued a $275 credit. Acceptable.
I HATE those stupid chat windows but they seem unavoidable. The only thing worse is to be dumb enough to call and actually speak to anyone, so I guess they serve their purpose.
You order socks or something stupid from Amazon and it'll appear virtually instantly on the door step. Order something you actually need, then some weird Inverse Principle of ' the more important it is the more likely to be lost it is' Alright, needed some memory for a machine I have that's not working right and instead of four I get three and then spend an hour on a ****ing chat window trying to explain it. Theoretically in a week of so I'll get what I ordered - so much for Prime. To be fair, other things like a huge TV appeared right away with zero problems.
Then we have Walmart. You can rage against that machine all you want, they're too big to give a crap. We ordered that 11' by 13' patio cover from them. Logged into my account to write a review and see that the $2167 I paid on Aug 30 is now $1649. Quite the difference. Note to self: always buy things like this AFTER Labor Day. After an incredibly frustrating friggin' chat session with a Walmart drone I contacted the seller directly. Their messaging/mail system is obscure, to say the least. The reason I did that is Mr.Chat from India was actually telling me to return it and they'll sell me a new on for the lower price. Pointing out that this is really a small prefab building that is fully assembled and bolted into concrete weighing several hundred pounds had no effect on this idiot. He claimed - and I know it's pure BS - that the freight carrier will come, disassemble it and 'take care of everything'. Well, if he's talking about the two surly young men who spoke no English and just abruptly dropped it wherever they felt like it in my driveway I'm going to suggest that might not work. Nitwits. The seller - Sunjoy - actually responded and issued a $275 credit. Acceptable.
I HATE those stupid chat windows but they seem unavoidable. The only thing worse is to be dumb enough to call and actually speak to anyone, so I guess they serve their purpose.
wwkirk
Celestial
Retail analysts predict the death of Black Friday at brick-and-mortar stores
Poor Black Friday. The discount shopping bonanza’s days are numbered. Retail analysts predict the crowds at bricks-and-mortar stores the day after Thanksgiving will vanish by 2043.“I think the death of Black Friday is one of many phenomena we will see unfold over the next 15 to 20 years,” said Sam Kain, a finance teacher at Walsh College in Michigan. “In 15 to 20 years, a significant number of [baby boomers] will die.”
Mr. Kain noted that boomers represent one-fifth of the U.S. population and control more wealth — more than $77.1 trillion — than all other generations combined. Online shopping has isolated them as the last generation that noticeably fills stores on Black Friday, he said.