K-Mart/Sears To Close Twenty-One Stores By Spring

[112561]

I can always count on Sandy!

I had no idea it existed in any form today, according to the Lileks articles on Minneapolis, a lot of really wild stuff from the teens to the fifties and beyond, have been eradicated, and many post-apocalyptic looking structures have taken their places. Thanks for taking the time to look for this Sandy, and you and whoever check out this site:

http://www.lileks.com/mpls/index.html

 

[volvoguy87]

Bingo Tom!

Henry Ford, although an imperfect person to say the least, did figure out an essential element of sustainable economics. If you want your consumer-goods company to prosper, your employees must be able to afford to buy the products they make!

Also, we have moved to a very very wasteful society in which manufactured goods are so cheaply made that they are thrown away instead of repaired when they break or malfunction. There used to be a whole service industry dedicated to small appliance repair (toasters, lamps, coffee makers, mixers, radios, TVs, etc.) that has almost entirely vanished. I fear that even white goods repair is going the way of the dodo. It's unfortunate because the appliance repair business used to be an essential part in nearly every community in the country that provided a respectable income and profession to many many people.

Dave

 

[whirlcool]

North Line mall in Houston was totally renovated about 2001 or so. It is no longer a mall, but a large strip center. The main tenant is the Magic Johnson theater and I think a Conn's. The area is largely hispanic. It's holding it's own.

Meyerland mall was demalled the same way around 1997 or so and the renovation has been a complete success. It too was a dying mall and they when they demalled it (made all the stores with outside access only) it flourished.

Westwood mall has been turned into a trade school with a single retailer(Sears) at the end.

First Colony mall in Sugarland has sucked all the retail off of 59 into it. It's a nice mall, but it too has had gang shootings and bank robberies on the property.

 

[cadman]

Regarding plundering and side shows, let's not forget the #1 bedazzler, GREED. Consumers are just as much to blame.

I will gladly pay more for a US made item and patronize a store that hasn't stooped to the lowest common marketing denominator, but many still won't.

As an observation...My grandparents simply cannot see the connection between the closing of main-street businesses and the rise of the local Walmart.

Friends and family in the 'boomer age bracket have the worst track record by my observation of thinking they can have their cake and eat it to. Walmart is always the first stop for a widget because it's the cheapest. I "fight" with a friend of that age that claims he's oblivious to the advantages elsewhere, like the Target across the street.

With clean carpetted floors, smiling employees dusting items and tidying shelves. You look up and see ceiling tiles rather than steel trusses. Also blind to the attention to detail and creativity in the displays and signage. The advertising that doesn't look like a retail design ripoff.

Focusing on price and throwing out the worth of "value" seems to be on the rise these days. But I'm seeing the tide start to turn as younger generations gain buying power.

 

[whirlcool]

Remember in the mid 80's when WalMart was advertising the "Made In The USA" credo? Whatever happened with THAT?

 

[maytagbear]

Wal*Mart

put both nearby K-marts out of business, by undercutting their price for about the first two years.

The only thing I routinely buy at Wal*Mart are my Dr Scholl's diabetic comfort socks (haven't found them elsewhere) and my eyeglasses (nearest provider my insurance accepts.)

The K-mart in my town was usually quite clean, with decent staff...

When I go see my sister and family in Richfield, MN, I prefer to go to Southdale. Mall of America is simply overwhelming to me. I go directly to Nordstrom's now, and THAT IS IT for MOA.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[danemodsandy]

Cory:

I think you're right, and I also think Dave (volvoguy87) has another piece of the puzzle straight - the business community needs to contribute, not just take out.

I was so alarmed ten years ago about what I was seeing that I began asking, "When Corporate America has reduced us all to flipping burgers for minimum wage, who will be able to afford the products and services Corporate America sells?

Our business leaders don't yet see what their grandfathers understood at least dimly; decently well-paid workers are the economic engine that fuels business. The major thing fueled by woefully underpaid workers is tax bills for social services people should be paying for - and able to pay for - themselves.

Corporate America doesn't currently understand that what it is doing now amounts to a long, slow shooting in the foot. There are easy "profits" to be made by closing Stateside factories and outsourcing jobs now, but those phantom profits are not sustainable, because once you've closed your manufacturing operation and laid everyone off, that's the only time you can make money from that particular action. After that, you're actually in thrall to your suppliers, who may - or may not - continue to supply artificially cheap goods. China could put Wal-Mart out of business within six months if it said, "No more Mr. Price Guy."

I won't even get into the arrant stupidity of exporting our technology to nations whose laws do not offer adequate protection for intellectual property like patents.

What is going on in this country is so stupid and insane that I have begun to wonder what on Earth is going to reverse it.

 

[mtn1584]

Anyone remember the Katie Lee scandal?

I think when it was exposed that KathyLee's clothing was made in a Chinese sweat-shop that kind of put the kabbash on their Made in the USA campaign....By the way I am surprised that Kmart has survived this long. Now that the Martha Stewart brand is gone, there is no reason to go there..I prefer Target to WM and KM

 

[mixfinder]

Pride of Ownership

My mother's Dutch. Her family came to Canada after WW I and then came to the USA to file claims for land that was irrigated by WPA projects. The Dutch group as a whole had respect for quality and care of their belongings. They also respected and appreciated the businesses that trusted them and offered credit and service. Almost all of the Dutch homes in the 50's had Frigidaire appliances because they were of good quality and Killingstads offered credit allowing them to pay yearly after harvest. Killingstads also sold small wares so Sunbeam, Revere Ware, Stiffel lamps, Thomasville and Magnavox were used in many homes. Horner's sold Oldsmobile and Pontiac and the largest majority drove Oldsmobiles. Each household was feircely proud of their belongins and you could eat off the floor and part your hair in the gleam of percelain and chrome. In the 60's, I saw it begin to digress as Value Mart opened and Sears offered revolving charge accounts. The pride of ownership decreased when the products they bought failed to live up to the record of their parents. In no time, $10.00 toasters and $50.00 vacuums came and went with the seasons. The old family owned businesses closed as the owners aged in place and a piece of history was lost forever. Households became less and less willing a capable of paying for quality and it has become a way a living. We can blame Mexico, China or India, but the fault lies 100% on Americans who became insistant on cheap.

 

[roto204]

Wal-Mart and Made in the U.S.A.

I worked there while a portion of the transition was made...

The focus on "Made in the U.S.A." started with the "Sam's American Choice" product line, wherein Wal-Mart found American product offerings that tended to fill the value/feel good/quality niche.

After Sam Walton died, there was some residual momentum of this product line, but decreasing commitment to go with American-made (which reflected the times). So, the title was foreshortened to "Sam's Choice." Sourcing was no longer an issue.

Now that Wal-Mart has moved beyond the Sam Walton era, they're able to distance themselves from the product line altogether; instead, a shift has been made to leverage the "Great Value" marque, and the Sam's Choice label is being phased out.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Also Notice...

...That Wal-Mart does not always stand for such low prices as it once did. Pricing is creeping up in the retail stores (often by offering only more expensive, feature-laden merchandise than formerly), and the Website has such things as $600 sofas on it.

I think part of what's going on is that Wal-Mart has become emboldened by the lack of any real competition. KMart is a joke, Target serves a different, more fashion-conscious consumer. Many local stores in areas served by Wal-Mart have gone belly-up. That leaves many consumers little choice but to pay what Wal-Mart wants, and I think the company is slowly, by degrees, working up to taking fuller advantage of that.

What I would love to see happen - and I am fully aware that I will probably get to adopt my own pet unicorn first - is for someone to begin a chain called something like "America First," offering only U.S.-made merchandise that can be sold at competitive prices. I'd like to see it backed up with an ad campaign stressing that purchases create or save American jobs. And I'd like it to make a point of treating employees fairly, with decent pay and no shell games like limiting their hours to just below the point needed for eligibility for health insurance.

I happen to think that people who were willing to settle for a fair return on investment instead of trying to squeeze obscene profits, could make it work. People who were willing to live in a normal "nice" house instead of a mansion, and who think that a Buick earned from hard work and smarts is better than a Lexus obtained by mistreating their fellow man.

Anyone know where I can get some unicorn feed?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Dave, I pick up appliance parts each week. Business at the parts store is hanging on, but not really doing great. Manufacturers have jacked the price of repair parts up so high that with the cost of a service call added to them, many people just go buy a new appliance. It's not necessarily as nice as the one they decided not to fix, but it's newer (and usually cleaner). Another factor is that the expensive parts (made in Mexico, China and other foreign locations) are only guaranteed for 30 days. A new appliance at least is all new and has a new warranty and that can be supplemented by an extended warranty. Does anyone remember when Timex was called Dimex because they were cheaper to replace than repair?

 

[mixfinder]

Perfect Cleaner

The old style Electrolux has been revived and is selling as Perfect. Couldn't it be possible the great small appliances of the past, the Mixmaster, The T-20 toaster and others could be manufactured once again? My fantasy store is one that sells items that makes 'em like they used to.

 

[mattl]

Sandy said- (I wish I could italicize...)

"Our business leaders don't yet see what their grandfathers understood at least dimly; decently well-paid workers are the economic engine that fuels business. The major thing fueled by woefully underpaid workers is tax bills for social services people should be paying for - and able to pay for - themselves.

Corporate America doesn't currently understand that what it is doing now amounts to a long, slow shooting in the foot. There are easy "profits" to be made by closing Stateside factories and outsourcing jobs now, but those phantom profits are not sustainable, because once you've closed your manufacturing operation and laid everyone off, that's the only time you can make money from that particular action. After that, you're actually in thrall to your suppliers, who may - or may not - continue to supply artificially cheap goods. China could put Wal-Mart out of business within six months if it said, "No more Mr. Price Guy." "

At one time I would have agreed with you, but I'm beginning to feel that this is planed. I've never been a conspiracy nut but I think there is a conscious decision by many in the corporate world to reduce the standard of living of most of this country. The divide between the super rich and the poor today is so great, that you have to go back almost 100 years to see anything similar.

It's a tricky situation, corporations need to be profitable and are responsible to their shareholders, but they also need to be good citizens of this country. Way back in the late 1800's they were granted "person-ship" for lack of a better word but they are not acting as good citizens. They can now spend freely to influence elections and their power will grow. They hold no allegiance to anyone but their own greed.

I agree consumers are to blame also, but it's hard to justify spending more when your wages are frozen or falling as they are today. I refuse to shop Wal-mart and rag on family members who do. Luckily we have Meijer's which is family owned and competes and grows in competition to Walmart. Their prices meet and beat Walmart and they pay a decent wage. They are not perfect, I've had a number of family members who worked there for 15 -20 years and are glad to be gone but it's not the hell hole walmart is.

 

[alr2903]

Look for the Union label

mtn1584, i missed the Kathy Lee scandal when it actually occurred but it is covered from beginning to end in the Hbo, documentary "Schmatta, from rags to riches to rags" a really good 1.5 hr investment. To give credit Kathy Lee did investigate and in a few months was on stage to protest conditions, in overseas sweat shops. I was shocked to learn that only 5% of clothing sold in the USA is actually made in our country. Carhardt clothing preferred by rural folks is made in Mexico, I was shocked... USA USA USA. alr2903

 

[danemodsandy]

MattL:

You can italicise, and you can underline, too. On most sites, you can also make things bold, but Robert already uses a bold font here, so that doesn't work on AW. All you need are three simple commands: i, u, and b. You put them between left and right arrows to begin putting something in italics (or bold or whatever). You use another set of arrows and a forward slash, plus the command again, to end the formatting. It's very easy; I've made you a little flashcard below showing exactly how it's done:

 

[mattl]

Wow! thanks!

<i> Now I just have to remember it....<i>

 

[danemodsandy]

Matt:

It gets to be second nature after a while; you don't think about doing it any more than you think about pressing the accelerator exactly one-sixteenth of an inch when you want to speed up by 5 mph. You just do it.

 

[alr2903]

Yo, Sandy how far do you press the accelerator in a Toyota

 

[sudsmaster]

This will be a disaster

All the malodorous customers will be frequenting other venues...