Friday, October 05, 2018

MORE BAD NEWS FOR RETAILING

by Bob Walsh

I worked in retail for years back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth so maybe I have a soft spot for brick-and-mortar. Perhaps that's why I am interested.

Sears is now down to 73 cents per share. They are closing their most profitable store in the country and turning it into a K-Mart. (Same corporate umbrella owner.) They are beginning more staff layoffs in other stores just days BEFORE Christmas.

In addition there is talk that Barnes and Nobel may be up for sale. That would bother me. I spend a lot of time there. Mostly I buy ebooks now but I still buy the occasional hard copy book and I would miss a place where actual books are available.

Do I contribute to the problem? Yes, but not always intentionally. My last pair of blue jeans had finally gotten really ratty and I wanted to pick up two new pairs of straight0leg Wranglers. Nobody locally had them in stock. I ended up buying them on the net. I would have bought locally if I could have.

If this keeps up the only thing you will be able to buy locally in CA are groceries, guns, ammo and automobiles. In CA items #2 and #3 MUST be bought face-to-face in person.

Change is never-ending, but I don't have to be comfortable with it.

1 comment:

Trey Rusk said...

Times are changing. I buy half of my stuff on Amazon Prime or Ebay. I can't beat the prices or the liberal return policy. I needed several metal 5 gallon gas cans in case of a hurricane to run my generator. I found them brand new on Ebay with free shipping and less than Lowes, Walmart or Amazon. I still buy firearms in person and a box of ammo every time a politician lies. (That last part is an exaggeration because my house couldn't hold that much ammo.)