Community Chat

[Snoopp]

Walgreens are everywhere.  I’m still not happy with them since they destroyed drugstore.com.  Guess that is the reverse situation, putting the online store out of business.

[Hooty]

Yes, I do feel sorry for the employees losing their jobs!  Many of these stores closed a long time ago in my city, K-mart & Sears, Rite-Aid, but many of them have new stores in them  ......  old Kmart becam Publix's (which I love) Sears became At Home Store, (which I love) and a Rite-Aid (Family Dollar Store) which is brand new and not far from me!  We also had a Winn-Dixie, that became a Piggly Wiggly!

[MellieM444]

As the daughter and sister of people who retired from/currently work at one of the named businesses, I can attest to the multiplier effect of the loss of even one store.  The families raised, homes purchased, goods and services provided, food put on the table, etc. because of the enterprise provided by these organizations cannot be overstated.  Their demise speaks to not only the ending of a specific business, but a life and lifestyle afforded by the salary and benefits they provide to a community.  I've often heard sermons on the danger of coveting material goods, but I look at a purchase from one of these stores as possibly helping to keep someone's livelihood going.  It's not the item purchased per se, but the string of jobs supported by that purchase.  We all depend on them, and the new jobs being created are not necessarily the equivalent of what is being lost.

[SeaMaiden]

The way people shop is changing...thus no need for B&M stores.  It is just like the end of 8 Track tapes and VCR's. Or movie rental stores. Things change.  It is not a bad thing.

 The people losing jobs are mostly unskilled labor.... With technology and the need for computer etc skills,  people need education and training to be viable in the job market.  If they chose a path of being a school drop out or  lack skills and training, they will end up out of work and on the streets. Thus more reason to get your education. 

As  the shopping environment changes, people need to change with it or be left in the dust. 

[lovescats]

If this was already posted I apologize.  For me buying used clothing doesn't interest me at all.

https://www.retaildive.com/news/jc-penney-follows-macys-in-offering-used-apparel-from-thredup/560983...

J.C. Penney on Thursday said it will begin selling secondhand women's fashion from ThredUp in 30 stores as early as this week.

for me I think people are starting to realize the less you own the less you have to take care of  as in the magic of tidying up

[JaneMarple]

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@Puppy Lips wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

It's not just sales dropping ... it's also costs going up for stores and restaurants.

Example .....  A very busy deli-type restaurant adjacent to Cedars Sanai hospital (Los Angeles)  was up for lease renewal.  The landlord decided to raise the monthly rent of $18,000 per month to $36,000 per month .... yes, literally doubling the rent.   

The restaurant owner said no way, I have 3 other restaurants, I'll just close this one when the lease expires.  Screw that!   So, the restaurant closed, patrons were mad because they had great food ....  and that closed building has sat empty for three years now.   Pity.

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That is so true too about the rents.  We live near a very small but somewhat famous "quaint" little city in Central FL. All the downtown property is basically owned by two very wealthy families.  The rents are outrageous.  We have been here 12 years and seen much turnover is some of the locations, and other locations have sat empty for years.  There is one restaurant that kept changing hands, being closed in between.  The last guy that rented it moved from just down the street.  But he did not get enough business to cover the $15,000 monthly rent.  I could not believe it was that much.  Not only did he end up breaking his lease, the new and expensive kitchen equipment he put in had to stay with the property per the contract.  I think these property owners should be looking out for the health of the city, and not their own bank accounts.  Wouldn't lowering the rents, and actually having a stressful business in them be better than have it vacant?  Maybe they get better tax breaks if they are vacant.  I don't know.  Someone recently suggested a "vacancy tax."  That might be a good idea.

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Here on Cape Cod one of the original Christmas Tree Shops (currently owned by BB&B} was closed last year due to the outrageous increase of rent. That store had been in business since the early 1980's. 

The landlord  thought it was a great idea to build a water park on the location, unbelievable!

[DiAnne]

The only store I patronize on that list is the Gap - I shop there online but If I have a return I take it to the store so I don't have to pay return shipping.

[lovesrecess]

I think many of these closings depend on the locations....they are building new CVS stores in several places in our area....many of the Family Dollar stores are becoming Dollar Trees. Some of the stores listed are closing due to be located in malls. As malls close, these stores close and build in free-standing locations in newer outdoor shopping centers. Sad that so many of these stores were once icons.

[drizzellla]

Today I was reading about a local KMart is going to close in 2020. The article in the paper said this particular KMart pays $86,845 in property tax revenue. It just got me thinking. Just property tax $86,845. That does not include maintenance, utilities, salaries, merchandise to stock the shelves, landscaping and cleaning. That store has quite a bit of expenses. So it has to make alot of sales to pay for these expenses.

Much easier to just deal with a warehouse and just ship the product out. And more efficient. Not to deal with hiring employees and making sure the store is adequately staffed during business hours. Keeping the shelves stocked with merchandise. And keeping the store maintained so the floors are clean and dry, there is good lighting, the heating and AC are comfortable and well organized.

I can see why stores are closing. 

[Imaoldhippie]

I went to one of our local grocery stores today to pick up some frozen cheese tortellini I need for a potluck we are going to Friday evening.  I usually shop at our local Walmart but its about 10 more miles farther than the grocery.  

I walked up and down the frozen food section 6 times thinking I keep missing the tortellini.  Finally I ask an employee where it was and they dont carry frozen tortellini anymore.  At least they did have some unfrozen in the deli section.

I also needed a can of small black olives.  The same grocery only had the large sized olives.  So now I have to cut them in half.

This is part of the reason a lot of people are shopping more and more online.  They are not out of everything.