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Inescapable Duck posted:I'm surprised K-Mart is dying, in Australia it seems to be doing perfectly fine, though that may be attributed to regional management. K-Mart in Australia is part of Westfarmers- aka Coles/Bunnings/Kmart/Target/Random Coal Mines. Target in Australia is circling the drain, Coles is steady and Bunnings is growing at 10% a year. With Amazon is coming hard to tell where its going to go.
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Jul 16, 2017 13:18
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Comstar posted:Who is going out of his way to destroy the company so he can make millions on the land now available.
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Jul 16, 2017 14:34
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He didn't start in order to sell off the land, he really thought he was going to turn it around. He lost a fuckload of money on this and ruined his reputation. You'll occasionally read some blowjob articles about how much money he's making off the real estate but he'd be worth way more if he hadn't tanked the company or hadn't invested in it at all. Also I would not want to own a ton of retail space in this economy anyway.
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Jul 16, 2017 14:42
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Turn them into a museum a window into the past on how people would shop
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Jul 16, 2017 14:46
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God, remember spending hours at the mall with your family? And Christmas shopping? Brutal.
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Jul 16, 2017 14:47
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Gumbel2Gumbel posted:God, remember spending hours at the mall with your family? Those nightmares will haunt me forever.
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Jul 16, 2017 15:13
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Gumbel2Gumbel posted:God, remember spending hours at the mall with your family? And Christmas shopping? Brutal.
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Jul 16, 2017 15:30
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Gumbel2Gumbel posted:He didn't start in order to sell off the land, he really thought he was going to turn it around. He lost a fuckload of money on this and ruined his reputation. I've read that if Sears goes bankrupt before 2019 he'll lose money on the land deals anyways because part of the income he was counting on to make them profitable was extracting rent from the Sears stores occupying the land while he lined up other places to take them over. Speaking of Sears, a few weeks ago I was at the Mall of America and Sears is one of their anchor stores (and I would assume that the MoA store would be one of Sears's flagships), so I stopped in to check it out. In general the clothing section was pretty well-stocked (though if you looked closely you would notice they were strategically arranging the clothing to give that appearance) but the other sections of the store were getting pretty threadbare in their selection. In particular I remember there were lots of empty spots on the shelves in the hardware and luggage sections of the store, but by far the worst was the home-goods section on the third floor where a huge chunk of floor space (around 1/5 of the entire floor) was just plain empty without even shelves.
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Jul 16, 2017 15:33
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Detective No. 27 posted:Same. I visited mine about a week before they announced it was closing and it was a weird rear end time capsule. The associates I saw were pretty busy, but a friend pointed out that it was probably because they were on a skeleton crew. Our K-Mart just clearanced a bunch of its old inventory and got an interior face-lift. The floor lay-out has been re-organized and displays updated with much more current merchandise. It's not 2017 in there, for sure, but it's at least 2010's. The area that used to be electronics is now a combination of electronics and large appliances--stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and chest freezers along with a dozen or so flat-screen TVs and DVD players--along with normal electronics-type stuff like keyboard, mice, cable, cell phone cases, and so on. It's been busier in there the last 6 months than I've seen for years. There seems to be enough overall interest that it may go the way of Deb Shops and Montgomery Ward, which both of which still have catalog business. I just got a MW catalog from them last week.
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Jul 16, 2017 15:57
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Oh wow, I thought Montgomery Ward was completely dead in every form. I spent a ton of time playing on their Sega Saturn kiosk so all my memories of the place are very vaporwavey.
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Jul 16, 2017 16:25
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Comstar posted:K-Mart in Australia is part of Westfarmers- aka Coles/Bunnings/Kmart/Target/Random Coal Mines. Everyone's hoping that Harvey Norman, insanely overpriced regional furniture and computer chain that whines the loudest about people being allowed to shop on the internet, will be turbofucked overnight.
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Jul 16, 2017 16:30
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Detective No. 27 posted:Oh wow, I thought Montgomery Ward was completely dead in every form. It is dead. A separate company, Direct Marketing Services, purchased the rights to the Montgomery Wards name when the chain went under. Then they went under too, and Swiss Colony bought the rights.
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Jul 16, 2017 16:57
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Detective No. 27 posted:Oh wow, I thought Montgomery Ward was completely dead in every form. I spent a ton of time playing on their Sega Saturn kiosk so all my memories of the place are very vaporwavey. Video game kiosks were (are?) a hell of a thing. I remember all the kids lining up to play at it. Occasionally a kid would try to hog it and have to be jeered to the back of the line. Are they still around in this age of downloaded demos and such?
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Jul 16, 2017 17:05
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mind the walrus posted:This is some Disney villain poo poo right here.  America is being pillaged.
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Jul 16, 2017 17:19
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Rough Lobster posted:Occasionally a kid would try to hog it and have to be jeered to the back of the line. Theres an old Montgomery Ward in the LA Valley thats going to turn into mixed use housing. It would probably be a fun UrbEx, since it looks like something out of a zombie apocalypse (cracked, grass-mottled pavement, ghostly imposing box). In doing so, it will probably hasten the death of the Panorama Mall next to it, which is being kept afloat thanks to a WalMart and mexican eatery. Dagum circle of life and stuff friend.
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Jul 16, 2017 17:29
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Alfred Angelo all of a sudden packed up their poo poo and said "we're done", with about $50,000 in assets and $50 millions in liabilities. My wife used to work there, and said the corporate culture was rampant with incompetence, and it was a horrible place to work. Tons of brides who have booked their weddings and ordered their dresses are now not going to get them delivered.
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Jul 16, 2017 18:26
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Rough Lobster posted:Video game kiosks were (are?) a hell of a thing. I remember all the kids lining up to play at it. Occasionally a kid would try to hog it and have to be jeered to the back of the line. They are still a part of electronics sections in many stores, yeah. People still take their kids to stores, so I assume there's still opportunities to market to them there.
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Jul 16, 2017 18:32
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FilthyImp posted:Hey, it's not my fault I was really good at Quackshot! Wouldn't that (new housing) actually help keep the mall running, what with an influx of new $consumers$ ?
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Jul 16, 2017 18:38
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Switzerland posted:Wouldn't that (new housing) actually help keep the mall running, what with an influx of new $consumers$ ? the kind of people who can afford fancy new-development rent in los angeles don't want the trash products one finds in old lovely malls
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Jul 16, 2017 19:19
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Rough Lobster posted:Video game kiosks were (are?) a hell of a thing. I remember all the kids lining up to play at it. Occasionally a kid would try to hog it and have to be jeered to the back of the line. The SNES Kiosk in the kids's section of SEARS that my mom wouldn't let me play, back around 94 or so. It had that  black/red SNES logo in translucent neon on the side. The N64 Kiosk in Toys R Us that had Mario 64, but the screen would cut to black and he'd say "It's a me Mario! Thank you for playing Nin-ten-do 64. Who's next?" The Pokemon Snap thing in Blockbuster that straight-up did not loving work gently caress you The OG Xbox Kiosk with Munch's Odysee that in Sam Goody I'd play every few days at the local Sam Goody Everything else can go to hell. quote:Are they still around in this age of downloaded demos and such? Mr.Radar posted:Speaking of Sears, a few weeks ago I was at the Mall of America and Sears is one of their anchor stores (and I would assume that the MoA store would be one of Sears's flagships), so I stopped in to check it out. In general the clothing section was pretty well-stocked (though if you looked closely you would notice they were strategically arranging the clothing to give that appearance) but the other sections of the store were getting pretty threadbare in their selection. In particular I remember there were lots of empty spots on the shelves in the hardware and luggage sections of the store, but by far the worst was the home-goods section on the third floor where a huge chunk of floor space (around 1/5 of the entire floor) was just plain empty without even shelves. I worked Borders when it was closing, and there is something immensely depressing about working in a retail store with increasingly large chunks of empty space. It's like being the last ones in a non-Marvel movie theater. There's nothing wrong with being there, but there's this constant feeling of decay and death that has you constantly wanting to flee.
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Jul 16, 2017 20:13
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mind the walrus posted:I worked Borders when it was closing, and there is something immensely depressing about working in a retail store with increasingly large chunks of empty space. It's like being the last ones in a non-Marvel movie theater. There's nothing wrong with being there, but there's this constant feeling of decay and death that has you constantly wanting to flee. What kept you from just walking out on the last few days there? Did they offer some kind of going out of business bonus?
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Jul 16, 2017 20:24
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mind the walrus posted:
So that just caught my eye, considering the thread. Is that really what it's like in the theater business now? Like, if you're a "non-Marvel" distributing theater, you're heading toward the drain? I knew those loving superhero movies were eating the industry, but I didn't know they were having brick-and-mortar effects already. loving crazy.
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Jul 16, 2017 20:26
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Detective No. 27 posted:What kept you from just walking out on the last few days there? Did they offer some kind of going out of business bonus? Quidam Viator posted:So that just caught my eye, considering the thread. Is that really what it's like in the theater business now? Like, if you're a "non-Marvel" distributing theater, you're heading toward the drain? I knew those loving superhero movies were eating the industry, but I didn't know they were having brick-and-mortar effects already. mind the walrus has a new favorite as of 20:29 on Jul 16, 2017 |
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Jul 16, 2017 20:26
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Quidam Viator posted:So that just caught my eye, considering the thread. Is that really what it's like in the theater business now? Like, if you're a "non-Marvel" distributing theater, you're heading toward the drain? I knew those loving superhero movies were eating the industry, but I didn't know they were having brick-and-mortar effects already. Marvel movies have bonus scenes after the credits, so everyone stays til the very end. Theaters showing non-Marvel movies empty out during the credits.
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Jul 16, 2017 20:48
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Alfred Angelo calling it quits super sucks because the stores didnt even have a chance to call brides and arrange pickup if the wedding was imminent. Some people are calling up seamstresses to travk down their dresses and poo poo.mind the walrus posted:I have 4 distinct memories of video game kiosks: N64 Pokemon Stadium at McDonalds and Lucy's Laundromats (chain in LA). Switzerland posted:Wouldn't that (new housing) actually help keep the mall running, what with an influx of new $consumers$ ? And yes, the folks that will be able to afford the rent wont be setting foot in that mall. FilthyImp has a new favorite as of 20:53 on Jul 16, 2017 |
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Jul 16, 2017 20:51
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Grand Prize Winner posted:the kind of people who can afford fancy new-development rent in los angeles don't want the trash products one finds in old lovely malls Grand Prize Winner posted:the kind of people who can afford fancy new-development rent in los angeles don't want the trash products one finds in old lovely malls Put in a Whole Foods and an Apple Store, maybe an Amazon Bookstore, and you'll have a per capita spending that rivals small countries. SomeJazzyRat has a new favorite as of 21:15 on Jul 16, 2017 |
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Jul 16, 2017 21:12
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Gumbel2Gumbel posted:God, remember spending hours at the mall with your family? And Christmas shopping? Brutal. This, this is why Jeff Bezos is rich
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Jul 17, 2017 00:07
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Kids today will never understand that malls literally ran out of parking and had to run shuttle buses on those last couple of weekends.
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Jul 17, 2017 00:16
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What kills me is when you're in an area with multiple malls within a 30-40 minute drive from each other, and there's no reason to switch up where you go because they all have the same damned stores. Hmm, I wonder why malls are having so much trouble?  I have four regular malls and an outlet mall in that range, and you could cut it down to one with no meaningful impact.
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Jul 17, 2017 00:37
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Graedyn posted:Our K-Mart just clearanced a bunch of its old inventory and got an interior face-lift. The floor lay-out has been re-organized and displays updated with much more current merchandise. It's not 2017 in there, for sure, but it's at least 2010's. The area that used to be electronics is now a combination of electronics and large appliances--stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and chest freezers along with a dozen or so flat-screen TVs and DVD players--along with normal electronics-type stuff like keyboard, mice, cable, cell phone cases, and so on. It's been busier in there the last 6 months than I've seen for years. Hold on, assuming you're in the US, why have you been setting foot in a KMart to begin with? I can't even remember the last time I've seen one.
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Jul 17, 2017 00:58
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There's a Kmart across the street from a Winco here. They occasionally lease the parking lot out to car dealerships for sales to give you an idea of how full it is. Good parking lot to skip the ultra busy intersection too I guess.
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Jul 17, 2017 01:04
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Speaking of Borders/bookstores, the last two times I've been to a Barnes & Noble they didn't have the book that their website claimed was in stock, which is par for the course for e.g. Home Depot but I'd have thought B&N would be better about this. From some article skimming it looks like their finances haven't been in great shape for years now Oh man they still sell Nooks
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Jul 17, 2017 01:15
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They have mail order brides, why not dresses?
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Jul 17, 2017 01:31
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Progressive JPEG posted:Speaking of Borders/bookstores, the last two times I've been to a Barnes & Noble they didn't have the book that their website claimed was in stock, which is par for the course for e.g. Home Depot but I'd have thought B&N would be better about this. From some article skimming it looks like their finances haven't been in great shape for years now I'm not sure why they are still pushing the Nook, I thought they gave up on that a few years back.
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Jul 17, 2017 02:33
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They/I said the same thing about Best Buy yet here we are
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Jul 17, 2017 02:58
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Didn't Best Buy swerve into focusing on appliances and other things people might actually buy at a store still? They also get paid to be a showroom iirc, so people using them to check things out before buying online isn't as terrible for them as it used to be. Neither of which is really a good tactic for B&N to try, although it'd be funny to watch.
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Jul 17, 2017 03:04
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FlamingLiberal posted:At some point in the next few years B&N will go under. That might actually resurrect local bookstores to a degree. Lol no. It will give incentive for Amazon to go into overdrive for their physical bookstores.
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Jul 17, 2017 03:20
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Haifisch posted:Didn't Best Buy swerve into focusing on appliances and other things people might actually buy at a store still? They also get paid to be a showroom iirc, so people using them to check things out before buying online isn't as terrible for them as it used to be. It does seem based on the last few times I have been there that they have transitioned into more of a showroom. Compared to say, 10 years ago, there is way less space being taken up in most of the stores. I do think part of that is for things like games/movies/music physical copies are starting to become a relic for some people, since you can get everything digitally now.
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Jul 17, 2017 03:33
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Jastiger posted:They/I said the same thing about Best Buy yet here we are You said what?
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Jul 17, 2017 03:37
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Burt Sexual posted:You said what? That they would be gone in 3 years....5 years ago. I was wrong, they really did change their style.
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Jul 17, 2017 05:07
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