Posted on 10/04/2007 1:52:15 PM PDT by Lorianne
Determining which industries aren't long for this world may seem easy enough. But some types of businesses, such as telemarketing, are surprisingly hard to kill. And then again, other industries, probably the ones you're sad to see go, can't find a way to survive.
So start setting up your office pool, because here are our picks for 10 businesses facing extinction in 10 years.
RECORD STORES: Record stores are closing in, well, record numbers. One of the most prominent music retailers, Tower Records, shut down all 89 stores last year after concluding it couldn't withstand the onslaught of online music stores and chains like Wal-Mart, which can offer lower prices and sell other items to offset the smaller number of CDs being sold. Odds of survival in 10 years: Great, if you consider Wal-Mart a record store.
CAMERA FILM MANUFACTURING: This probably isn't the best business to get into right now. According to The Chicago Tribune, from May 2006 to May 2007, the volume of prints made from digital cameras grew by 34 percent. Film camera sales, meanwhile, fell by 49 percent, while digital cameras sales continued to grow--by 5 percent. Of American internet users, 70 percent own a digital camera; another survey shows that 70 percent of Canadians now use a digital camera. Odds of survival in 10 years: Some entrepreneurs who specialize in making camera film for amateur photographers could possibly make a living.
CROP DUSTERS: They'll be around in 10 years, but likely not in their present form. The average age of the typical crop duster is 60, the number of crop dusters is dwindling, and the profession can be dangerous. Just several weeks ago, an Arkansas crop dusting company was ordered to stop flying in Iowa after spraying farm workers with a fungicide; 36 farm hands in a cornfield had to be decontaminated by a hazardous materials crew. Odds of survival in 10 years: The type of crop dusting plane that chased after Cary Grant in North by Northwest will have almost certainly gone south. Farmers say that they'll always need crop dusters, even though new technologies have made them less important than in the past. But commercial airlines are increasingly taking business away from the small, independent crop dusters.
GAY BARS: As The Orlando Sentinel noted in a recent article, around the country gay bars have been going out of business as gay men and women have been gaining greater acceptance in society. What used to be a hangout for people who felt unwelcome elsewhere is becoming less necessary.
Odds of survival in 10 years: As with many industries, the very best of them will endure; the rest won't.
NEWSPAPERS: Some people thought they were through when radio and TV news came about. Even after the fax machine revolutionized offices, some people predicted that everyone would have their news faxed in, since that would be quicker than relying on a newspaper. But the numbers have been falling precipitously since the 1990s when the internet came on the scene. In the past year, the Audit Bureau of Circulations twice has posted drops averaging 2.1 and 2.8 percent over six-month periods. Newsrooms across the country have been hemorrhaging staff.
Odds of survival in 10 years: They won't disappear; they'll be on the internet. We don't recommend startups investing a lot of money into a printing press plant.
PAY PHONES: In 1997, there were more than 2 million pay phones in the U.S.; now there are approximately half as many. There are probably always going to be certain places like airports and hotels that offer pay phones, as long as there are people who don't own or can't afford cell phones. Because phone kiosks on the streets are a favorite for drug dealers, who don't want to have their own numbers tapped and tracked, cities are shedding them.
Odds of survival in 10 years: They'll be around, but won't be anything to call home about.
USED BOOKSTORES: They've been closing fast, and those that are still open are relying on what's making them obsolete: the internet. A used bookstore used to be the place to find that beloved, out-of-print children's book you used to read 17 times a day until your little sister flushed it down the toilet. Now you just type that title in a search engine and order it within minutes. Odds of survival in 10 years: Some of them will still be eking out an existence, but the handwriting is on the wall.
PIGGY BANKS: You may chuckle, but as we continue gravitating toward a paperless society, it's not difficult to imagine a day when piggy banks no longer exist.
Odds of survival in 10 years: Sure, they'll probably still be a few around--in antique shops.
TELEMARKETING: The good news for people who hate telemarketing calls is that the industry may finally be dying; the bad news is that it may take a while. Telemarketing has been hit hard by the national Do-Not Call list that was established five years ago, and sales have been stagnant, but the industry still managed to bring in $393 billion in revenue last year. Some of this is due to clever marketing. This includes holding raffles at shopping malls; when you sign your information, you agree to accept calls from the company running the contest and its partners. Cell phones are exempt from automated telemarketing calls, but not from individuals calling. Then there are occasional windows of opportunity: The national Do-Not Call list is set to expire in 2008, unless you remember to register again.
Odds of survival in 10 years: They'll be here. Humbled, more impotent, but probably still here.
COIN-OPERATED ARCADES: With Nintendo Wii, casual gaming online and the Xbox 360, the video game arcade industry is thriving, but not the standalone brick-and-mortar arcades. For those of you who thought arcades were already dead, they still exist--at movie theaters, miniature golf courses and other touristy spots--but it seems only a matter of time before they vanish from the landscape. Ten years ago, there were 10,000 arcades in the nation, and now the number is close to 3,000, according to the American Amusement Machine Association. Revenue from arcade game units brought in $866 million last year, which sounds good until you consider that in 1994, the industry was pocketing $2.3 billion and that the profits are only still high because it costs so much to play a game.
Odds of survival in 10 years: Game over.
Interesting, for another example; people have all but forgotten the extensive roadside motel and restaurant chains that catered to black customers in the South in the Bad Old Days of segregation.
My record label is doing well! I do all of my sales online.
If someone said “vinyl is dead, nobody buys records” I wouldn’t even be able to take them seriously!
http://electrophonicrecords.com
“By the Blood of Saint Menses” I think I’ll rat about in the cupboard right now for one.
As long as they sell cheap malt liquor and tequila rose, neighborhood liquor stores will never go out. The ones in my neighborhood are thriving. Low income neighborhoods will always have liquor stores and public swimming pools
Liquor stores are being replaced by 24 hour gas stations that sell booze and drive through beverage shops. I realize there are still plenty of them around in certain areas, but their days are numbered.
I didn’t know that tequila rose sold well in low income areas. That stuff isn’t cheap.
A ice code fo-D a cote fo-D5...that what I’m talkin bout. :)
Liquor stores are still around. They’re getting a little punched up by grocery stores that are improving their selection, but in the end it’s always the liquor store that’s the best place to go for booze experimentation. Find a friend whose really into microbrew beer or premium hard liquor, guarantee they know of half a dozen in your city (unless of course you’re in a small town, then you maybe have 1 or 2). Sure they aren’t the old style neighborhood liquor store, but that’s a good thing, those places with their floors that hadn’t been mopped in 10 years and windows that had been completely covered for 20 helped perpetuate the “den of iniquity” image of drinking. The new style “good place to buy good stuff” liquor store is here to stay, the new and improved American palate means that while any particular premium booze might cycle out of fashion there’s always going to be one that’s bringing in the money.
Liquor stores will stay in business as long as state laws bar the competition. They certainly aren’t going away in Texas where gas stations, grocery stores et al aren’t legally allowed to sell liquor, and limited solely to the sale of beer and wine in those municipalities that have legalized it.
I find my shopping is narrowing down to about 6 stores.
-A big electronics retailer
-my favorite clothing shop.. clothes that are tough enough to not breakdown when I wear them:).
-Walmart
-Hardware, car parts, home depot type store
-Grocery store
-Drug store
For example electronics. I’ve tried buying at rinky-dink little stores, but its always a hassle if like something breaks. On the other hand the ‘big box’, just hand you a replacement part no questions, and very importantly no waiting.
Walmart: No one wants to drive to 20 stores all over town, when they can drive to one store and get what they want. Its not even about price for me. And time is a big issue in our time pressed society.. plus rising fuel costs quickly eat away at any price advantage gained from driving around.
SKI RESORTS (Global Warming)
Kodak has finally come around to digital photography, since they invented it and then shelved it for a while. Some of their recent cameras are great (one new one just announced serves up 12 megapixels, (that's a lot for a $250 buck camera). For some inexplicable reason, their cameras do not get good ratings in the digital camera mags, but mine produces excellent images under many lighting conditions.
Another new Kodak product line that looks very promising is their new all-in-one color printer (three models). I bought one and it is super. The color quality of photos from the printer are superior to any previous prints made on competitive printers. The best thing is their inks are less than half what I pay for HP printer inks.
It's too soon to write Kodak off. It's a personal thing since I worked for that great company for 36 years.
Here is another one for the list.. Local computer shops.
Who would buy from some small-time store when you can get the same for less at a big box electronics store. And a much better warranty, and no questions asked replacement if something goes wrong.
This wicked computer I have now, I walked in to the store. Within 15 minutes I was carrying my new computer out to the car. Compare that to a small shop that orders it for you, and it arrives in two weeks.
A travel agent is no longer needed to book your plane ticket or for you to call the airline. Once again, the internet swallowed them up.
I read Kodak moved its digital camera R&D to the land of the rising sun. Where basically all the expertise and all the other players are centered in that industry.
Thats interesting about the printer, I didn’t even know they had a printer lineup!
I think its a tough business in digital cameras because there are so many players. It will be interesting to see if we see some consolidation in the coming years. For a company with a great brand name like Kodak I wonder if it would be an attractive merger opportunity.
The printers are available at Best Buy as well as online at Kodak. I am very pleased with the quality and low ink prices after years of frustration with other printers. I can’t imagine Kodak merging and perhaps losing an amazing 127-year brand ID, but it could happen. Kodak now has some pretty questionable management practices, such as their pro-homo stance, among others.
What will muslims use to save money for their kids bomber belts?
That’s a good idea, I think. That law should be nationwide and probably even apply to adult magazines and such.
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