Posted on 01/24/2020 6:33:57 AM PST by vespa300
Never understood the appeal of this place. Most of what it carried could be found for elsewhere cheaper, even before Amazon. And for all the hundreds of gadgets and as-seen-on-TV products it did have, it always seemed to be missing some pretty basic items in each department the few times I checked it out.
Maybe those 20%-off-one item coupons that they give out like candy are what made it so popular.
That is the farthest thing from most retailers minds. My wife worked retail for over 25 years before joining me with our mushroom farm two years ago. She worked for JC Penny, Sachs, Parisian, Proffits, and finally 15 years with Belk when it was still family owned. She saw the same thing happen at every store. The stores went cheap on quality while trying to maintain above average retail pricing (hoping nobody would notice), the corporate mentality treats the store employees like dirt instead of the face of the company. In the case of Belk, when the Belk family sold a group of investors bought it. Any semblance of caring about their employees stopped immediately. The Belk store where she worked, an anchor store at a popular local mall, went from setting company wide sales records to losing money within 2 years of being sold. They eventually ran off all the more experienced, knowledgeable employees by cutting back hours, store discounts and even wages in a couple of cases. Don't be surprised if you hear about Belk filing for bankruptcy in the not too distant future. Self inflicted, I might add.
I love shopping online, but the only clothes I shopped for were socks. Since I only buy Gold Tow brand, it’s not a gamble. I also buy food from the local Fry’s (Kroger), not online. I like to personally select the meat and produce.
But for everything else? Amazon Prime, with delivery from 1-3 days. Since I work from home, porch pirates are not a problem.
Quite different. Cost Plus is sort of a less expensive Pier 1. The products are mainly imports, often with an exotic flair. They also have wines and imported beers and imported food and snacks (but not cheapass Dollar Store stuff). We love to get stocking stuffers there during the holidays; also greeting cards and glassware.
I loved Woolworths. They had yarn and everything for needlecrafts; and always had a very interesting stationery department.
I had a client meeting at a cafe in a mall a while back. The place was filled with young, morbidly obese gansta chicks in spandex.
Not at all like malls used to be.
Toe
[Quite different. Cost Plus is sort of a less expensive Pier 1. The products are mainly imports, often with an exotic flair. They also have wines and imported beers and imported food and snacks (but not cheapass Dollar Store stuff). We love to get stocking stuffers there during the holidays; also greeting cards and glassware. ]
BBB used to have (in addition to its value products) really high end and specialized cooking equipment.
For example, the highest-end line of Wustoff knifes; giant 10-15 gallon pots with thick copper and iron bottoms; Le Creuset cookware, etc.
Mrs. Jewbacca is a French-trained kosher chef and is very particular about her equipment.
All that stuff is gone. I couldn’t even find a good, high quality, fry pan for eggs.
Sell crap; go out of business.
[I loved Woolworths. They had yarn and everything for needlecrafts; and always had a very interesting stationery department.]
But you could go to Woolworths and buy a dozen necessities in one short trip - and have lunch.
I usually find that between hands on and on-line, on-line is better. e.g. I'm looking for a new TV to upgrade to the 4K standard. Price is the same among Best Buy, Brand Smart, and Amazon. Best Buy requires 10 days to deliver (free) but doesn't keep that model on hand in stores near me. Brand Smart has them on hand, BUT is in a county with a higher sales tax so if you pick it up at the store you pay more, and if you don't want to do that, charges a hefty delivery fee. Amazon will deliver the next day from their warehouse in the south metro area with no delivery fee, and charge the same tax rate as the county I live in.
[Always think in terms of differentiation.
What can you do in a brick and mortar store that cannot be done online?
Well, for one, if you hire staff who know their stuff and can explain and educate potential buyers, and can build a sense of trust with customers, that is something that can’t be done online.]
Malls, high rents, toxic chemical products when everyone is now buying non-toxic.
Hard to survive out there. One of the best is Hubert Joly. He has helped to save Best Buy so far.
or having your car broken into while you shop
I will note that the bad actors seem to have somewhat disappeared - the DJT economy with fewer people on welfare means less ‘free’ money and more people actually working.
Best Buy was definitely rescued from a steep spiral!
I have to agree with you that Woolworth's was a wonderful chain. And its Cathedral of Commerce HQ in NYC is a beautiful structure.
Good points. I use Amazon and ebay all the time. I am very selective with ebay, though.
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