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Death of Retail?

jimk

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We've seen a lot of ski retailers go under in recent years. Seems like many regular, large retailers have or will soon go under. Death watch in 2017 includes Penney's, Sears, Men's Wearhouse/Jos A. Bank, Casual Male, and a bunch of women's wear shops. When/Where is this going to end? I'm very old school and have never bought an article of clothing or shoes/boots off Amazon. Is everyone comfortable losing tons of brick and morter stores for the stuff of life? What happens to the outlets and the TJ Maxx's when there are no original clothing manufacturers:-o For those who live in the suit and tie world, where do you go for a decent, affordable suit if places like Macy's go under?
 
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dlague

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It is a funny trend! The big stores came in and squashed the smaller main street businesses. Now online shopping has been slowly squashing brick and mortar big stores but revitalization of main streets seem to be brining back the smaller stores that are more specialized. It is a vicious cycle. Some of the bigger stores will remain with an online strategy. We have taken to buying most of our ski gear online unless we happen to walk through a ski shop and see a good clearance sale.

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JimG.

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This is what people want...dlague just said it, he doesn't go into a store unless he can get a going out of business sale.

I still enjoy(ed) browsing through a retail store but my shopping is pretty limited in terms of interest level. Outdoor oriented all the way. I like to see and hold things I'm about to purchase.

Soon we won't be talking about "full employment", whatever that means. And this trend will only accelerate over the next 20 years.
 

JimG.

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For those who live in the suit and tie world, where do you go for a decent, affordable suit if places like Macy's go under?

Your cell phone will take your measurements and your custom suit will be delivered by a drone.
 

Glenn

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We use Amazon Prime a lot. The two day shipping is great. As cord cutters, we'll watch shows through the video service. Prime music has been nice as well. Anyways, I haven't been to a mall in years. I gave that up years ago around Christmas time. My wife will visit stores every so often. Funny, she has started going to some smaller, main street non chain stores for clothing at times.

It's all how tastes and preferences have shifted over the years.

We still buy ski gear at ski shops. Tent sales have proven awesome. You just have to know when to go.
 

Edd

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Every Apple Store I've gone into is crazy busy. Amazon opened a bookstore in Seattle not long ago. Kittery Trading Post is usually very busy and LL Bean seems to do well. The stores just need right approach. Walking into a Sears is instantly depressing.
 

benski

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Every Apple Store I've gone into is crazy busy. Amazon opened a bookstore in Seattle not long ago. Kittery Trading Post is usually very busy and LL Bean seems to do well. The stores just need right approach. Walking into a Sears is instantly depressing.

Apple has the right idea with strong customer service in its stores. A lot of brick and mortar stores try competing by being cheeper but that's nearly impossible due to all there fixed costs and as a result the service suffers, making them more dependent on price for business.
 

dlague

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We use Amazon Prime a lot. The two day shipping is great. As cord cutters, we'll watch shows through the video service. Prime music has been nice as well. Anyways, I haven't been to a mall in years. I gave that up years ago around Christmas time. My wife will visit stores every so often. Funny, she has started going to some smaller, main street non chain stores for clothing at times.

It's all how tastes and preferences have shifted over the years.

We still buy ski gear at ski shops. Tent sales have proven awesome. You just have to know when to go.
Tent sales are good, I agree. We have gone to the one in North Conway and found good deals. But we know what sizes we wear for ski boots (do not required boot fitting) and outer layers and base layers. I research skis and have demoed skis in the past so online shopping for these products are easy. Helmets are a hands on deal for us.

The problem with shopping for some things is the driving around. You either accept a specific stores price or drive around until satisfied. Online allows you quickly compare prices. Plus most sites offer free shipping and returns (only happened once).

I dislike going to sports stores to look around.

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thetrailboss

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We've seen a lot of ski retailers go under in recent years. Seems like many regular, large retailers have or will soon go under. Death watch in 2017 includes Penney's, Sears, Men's Wearhouse/Jos A. Bank, Casual Male, and a bunch of women's wear shops. When/Where is this going to end? I'm very old school and have never bought an article of clothing or shoes/boots off Amazon. Is everyone comfortable losing tons of brick and morter stores for the stuff of life? What happens to the outlets and the TJ Maxx's when there are no original clothing manufacturers:-o For those who live in the suit and tie world, where do you go for a decent, affordable suit if places like Macy's go under?

So let's breakdown some of these named businesses.

JC Penney's: they are not really keeping up with the trends. Lots of real estate. Shifting markets. No real internet presence from what I see. Simply a has-been that is not keeping up with the times.

Sears: One only has to listen to a business channel or read some business websites to find PLENTY of commentary about this trainwreck. It's a slow, painful death for this once great retailer. Now being run by a group that is making money by scrapping it and selling off the place piecemeal. Wow. Just wow. In 20 years it has gone from top retailer to laughing stock.

Men's Wearhouse/JAB: I think these two merged...maybe I am wrong. MW had a mini-crisis when they DUMPED their spokesman/founder. Identity issues in my book. Again, no innovation in their retail. Expensive prices. Changing trends. Young men no longer really wear suits to work....those that have jobs. Those that have high end jobs are finding that dress codes are more relaxed.

Casual Male: no idea who the hell these guys are. What does that tell you?

Women's Wear: a saturated marketplace.

Overall, folks have less disposable income. There are niche stores that appeal to those that do. Folks are penny pinching by going to TJ Maxx or thrift stores. And a lot of younger folks want to do more with less.
 

thetrailboss

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I jus read that even WalMart closed stores last year....they are going more internet. And they closed a significant number of stores. I will find and post the article. It also pointed to Macy's, JCP, and Sports Authority (RIP).


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jimk

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So let's breakdown some of these named businesses.

JC Penney's: they are not really keeping up with the trends. Lots of real estate. Shifting markets. No real internet presence from what I see. Simply a has-been that is not keeping up with the times.

Sears: One only has to listen to a business channel or read some business websites to find PLENTY of commentary about this trainwreck. It's a slow, painful death for this once great retailer. Now being run by a group that is making money by scrapping it and selling off the place piecemeal. Wow. Just wow. In 20 years it has gone from top retailer to laughing stock.

Men's Wearhouse/JAB: I think these two merged...maybe I am wrong. MW had a mini-crisis when they DUMPED their spokesman/founder. Identity issues in my book. Again, no innovation in their retail. Expensive prices. Changing trends. Young men no longer really wear suits to work....those that have jobs. Those that have high end jobs are finding that dress codes are more relaxed.

Casual Male: no idea who the hell these guys are. What does that tell you?

Women's Wear: a saturated marketplace.

Overall, folks have less disposable income. There are niche stores that appeal to those that do. Folks are penny pinching by going to TJ Maxx or thrift stores. And a lot of younger folks want to do more with less.

All good points. I'm a creature of my demographic...old, male, white collar. You're right about ties. To me they are a badge of achievement, to the under 35 crowd they mean boredom and failure. All the young tech millionaires don't own a tie:)
 

SkiFanE

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Sears uswd to be decent - one a few miles away and we've bought many appliances from then and kids clothes. Now it's useless with no help and nothing worth buying.

BUT that doesn't mean retail is dead. They turned the second floor of Sears into a Primark - great cheap clothes - that place is hopping.

But the up to 40yo group buys most online. Some get everything from amazon-TP included. I shook my head and their argument was sound. They don't have to lug it into / out of car and it's much cheaper than store. Why not? But I can't imagine giving up my weekly grocery trip. Clothes I fail at online. I do like to but small electronic things online - easy to get reviews and order exactly what you want.
 

dlague

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Sears uswd to be decent - one a few miles away and we've bought many appliances from then and kids clothes. Now it's useless with no help and nothing worth buying.

BUT that doesn't mean retail is dead. They turned the second floor of Sears into a Primark - great cheap clothes - that place is hopping.

But the up to 40yo group buys most online. Some get everything from amazon-TP included. I shook my head and their argument was sound. They don't have to lug it into / out of car and it's much cheaper than store. Why not? But I can't imagine giving up my weekly grocery trip. Clothes I fail at online. I do like to but small electronic things online - easy to get reviews and order exactly what you want.
I never really have been a fan of weekly routine things that are not recreational. So groceries are a necessary evil. But that too is being resolved. King Sooper here allows you to order online and they bag it and bring it to your car when you arrive. While we have not adapted to that yet the grocery solution has been approached for the past 15-20 years. Around Boston there is Peapod. It will catch on soon.

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deadheadskier

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Hannaford has the pick up service too. I could see using it for stuff like paper towels, but not fish, meats or produce.

Overall I enjoy grocery shopping. Not something I'm interested in trying to streamline the process.

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drjeff

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Hannaford has the pick up service too. I could see using it for stuff like paper towels, but not fish, meats or produce.

Overall I enjoy grocery shopping. Not something I'm interested in trying to streamline the process.

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Agree 100%!!

Something about physically myself checking out produce (and sometimes getting ideas when I see something I didn't think I was looking for produce wise), and I could never give up looking at what's in the butcher case and talking with the butcher, or the fish counter staff, the deli staff and the bakery staff at my local super market.

While I could see clicking a box online for say my kids favorite cereal, or the families preferred box of dry pasta or laundry detergent etc, there's something about actually using one's sense of sight, smell, touch and sometimes even hearing (like the sound a ripe canteloup makes when you tap on it) that as someone that enjoys the start to finish cooking process could never give up. Kind of like how atleast psychologically and produce grown in my own garden and harvested and prepared by me and my family, always tastes better than anything I can buy at my local farmer's market or grocery store 😁

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yeggous

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All good points. I'm a creature of my demographic...old, male, white collar. You're right about ties. To me they are a badge of achievement, to the under 35 crowd they mean boredom and failure. All the young tech millionaires don't own a tie:)

As a young techie I will tell you that I own several ties, but I only wear one a couple times per year. Just saying.


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dlague

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Agree 100%!!

Something about physically myself checking out produce (and sometimes getting ideas when I see something I didn't think I was looking for produce wise), and I could never give up looking at what's in the butcher case and talking with the butcher, or the fish counter staff, the deli staff and the bakery staff at my local super market.

While I could see clicking a box online for say my kids favorite cereal, or the families preferred box of dry pasta or laundry detergent etc, there's something about actually using one's sense of sight, smell, touch and sometimes even hearing (like the sound a ripe canteloup makes when you tap on it) that as someone that enjoys the start to finish cooking process could never give up. Kind of like how atleast psychologically and produce grown in my own garden and harvested and prepared by me and my family, always tastes better than anything I can buy at my local farmer's market or grocery store 😁

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Meats and produce are same reason we don't do ir.

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