Malls and department stores closing down at alarming rate

[JPGhost]

One is reminded of this movie...

Seriously, what kind of a dinosaur shops at department stores these days?

but I am a Dinosaur!


"Je Suis Dinosaure!"



"Je Suis Dinosaure!"

 

[JPGhost]

Brick and mortar stores are not in a good position to compete for the most part as the internet has low operating costs comparatively.

I own my own store and I have to figure out what works now...and it changes all the time.

Online is the majority of my sales but I still do OK with the store and at trade shows because I figure out who my customers are...and cater to them. People who want to shop for entertainment...people who want things you can't find in other stores...people who want decorating ideas..... people who hate corporations...people who want instant gratification...people who hate the internet and don't trust anything but cash transactions...people who enjoy personal customer service...people who despise anything made in China....on and on and on....

Change is guaranteed and you have to rise to the occasion...you just gotta keep figuring it out.

I think you're a psychic because "YES" Im planning to open my own store while this is a bad news for a small business owner (especially the starters) Glad that your item could adapt to online shopping but mine..

mine is something you have to see from window display and decide yourself whether you want to buy or not...my stuff will break before your eyes if I sell them in package/box with shipping and handling.

 

[JPGhost]

US malls are hostile territory for guys, I can go through most without seeing a single thing that I feel like buying, and many seem kind of dated, with not much in the way of dining, electronics or supermarket shopping.
Mall department stores often seem like they're from the '70s and seem to have fairly poor quality products for the price. Lots of vinyl shoes and really expensive home wares on display - plus lots of items are sold at the manufacturer's list price only unless there's a sale, it's too easy to find the same thing at a fraction of the price in a standalone store or on the internet.
There are exceptions, but lots of malls seem frozen in time.

Have you came to US? ^^
Yes, US Malls mostly sucks...bad design, bad items ..the lack of passion visible from every window store around here, very contrast from what happening in South East asia country in how they treating their malls.

 

[JPGhost]

We still have Blockbuster here. Personally I don't care in some ways. Not everyone is gonna make it in this world, and some companies get so greedy they have no backup when times get tough. It's kind of their fault.

Blockbuster is a sample of how technology change..it's technology eating its own. What I dont like/pissed is when technology replacing few basic human interactions..creating convenience in one aspect but also bigger "scratching head" problems.

 

[JPGhost]

For all those still unwilling to believe we are still in the [very late but, nevertheless, still] XXth century...

But you have to defend malls IMO, they're european culture and heritage.

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The malls here have degenerated into a collection of women's clothing stores. They're simply not worth going to anymore!

even..
JC Penny CLOOOOSSSEDD !!!

 

[JPGhost]

I like seeing what I am buying in person and feeling it and trying it on. Unless it is a standard item which I have had before, when receiving something ordered on line, it isn't always what you pictured in your mind when ordering. Of course the stagnating of wages for the middle class is narrowing and reducing my choices. I am shopping discount stores more than ever in place of regular department stores.

I still think clothing department stores won't die because of that very reason, you have to try it yourself..but it''l be depressing to see the entire mall filled with clothing stores. If you live enough in 90s, you know mall is not only about buying clothes..

mall ..is a community.

 

[JPGhost]

We got the Mall of America nearby, with 46 billion stores.......I haven't been there in at least 10 years, and have no intent to go. I shop on line or at smaller stand alone stores.

I heard that "Mall of America" is the king of malls in US..if people not taking care that mall/ deserted it, that would beyond belief..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_of_America

 

[gsdx]

Blockbuster is a sample of how technology change.

Not really. Technology changed. Blockbuster refused to keep up. I'm sure it would still be in business if it had changed with the technology.

 

[JPGhost]

As a former city manager and planner, the migration from downtowns to the malls was sad; now we see migration from malls back to downtowns and to on-line, the latter concerns me most.

Downtowns are the heart of a community. Think about where you saw your first parade or where most movies are staged and it is rarely a mall. Downtowns began struggling with the introduction of automobiles which whisked people to the burbs with acres and acres of parking lots barren of trees and life. One could park, run into the mall, and exit without having to actually acknowledge other humans except to challenge for one of the exits out of the parking areas. As the traffic patterns changed, so did rents and mall prices continually increased for square footage. Now we see the resurgence of downtowns as they clean up, add amenities, and become places for people again instead of barren wastelands patterned after their suburban counterparts.

What is distressing is the rise of on-line. Think about who sponsored your Little League Baseball Team, your sporting events, community functions, or gay pride events? It usually isn't an internet company but, rather, a brick-and-mortar store. As more and more of these places vacate, will we see a connection to the community and that support? I highly doubt it. Most of the larger internet companies look for larger things for sponsorship that bring them recognition on a larger scale. They could care less about the baseball team at XXX High School or the smaller event that draws people to a community center. They also enjoy an unfair advantage -- no property taxes, no sales taxes, and no inventory/stock tax. Basically they pass merchandise through without paying for all the things any other business with a physical presence must pay. I question the fairness of that and I know many communities and states are being starved of much needed dollars that would otherwise be collected.

Of course a mall also have setbacks especially if a mall must fight its place to sit on an already crowded lot. A bad sample happened in your area, but I would think it's still a minor for what we've lost.

 

[JPGhost]

Not really. Technology changed. Blockbuster refused to keep up. I'm sure it would still be in business if it had changed with the technology.

then I said the stores eaten by the wave of new technology (redbox, on the demand, etc)

 

[MrPerfectMan]

Not really. Technology changed. Blockbuster refused to keep up. I'm sure it would still be in business if it had changed with the technology.

It is...in Alaska. We have 2 or 3 at least!

 

[belamyi]

It is...in Alaska. We have 2 or 3 at least!

Are there any in Canada, Finland and Russia? I never knew businesses could freeze so literally.

 

[nyctopgam]

And they are mushrooming in the Middle East and Asia. Oy.

 

[belamyi]

What is distressing is the rise of on-line. Think about who sponsored your Little League Baseball Team, your sporting events, community functions, or gay pride events? It usually isn't an internet company but, rather, a brick-and-mortar store. (...)

And from there, the post couldn't but go straight down the sewer...

 

[The Fly]

I heard that "Mall of America" is the king of malls in US..if people not taking care that mall/ deserted it, that would beyond belief..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_of_America

There's always plenty of people there....that's why I avoid it. Supposedly on any given weekend it becomes the 3rd largest city in the state. They have a indoor amusement park, Camp Snoopy, and their own police dept.......and they need it, the place is full of criminals, mostly kids.

 

[SaskGuy]

The West Edmonton Mall is very impressive too. I haven't been in 10 years and I'm sure it changed a lot since then, but it was very impressive back then. The water park was awesome, and the variety of high quality stores was amazing! The HMV in the mall is fantastic too. I easily found a variety of CDs I could never find in any local music store (without ordering them in).

Here's some photos of the mall.

 

[72-Jay]

In general I don't go to the malls around here, not the type o place I'd want to shop..
I would much rather buy stuff at a store than online though. Places like Walmart/Target/Home-Depot is more likely where you'd find me.

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The West Edmonton Mall is very impressive too. I haven't been in 10 years and I'm sure it changed a lot since then, but it was very impressive back then.

No idea now, but I will agree that one was impressive... atleast when I went, which was a long time ago (def more than 10 years ago, hell so long ago it was probably fairly new back then)

 

[frankfrank]

We got the Mall of America nearby, with 46 billion stores.......I haven't been there in at least 10 years, and have no intent to go. I shop on line or at smaller stand alone stores.

B..b..b..but - you don't get to ride the roller coaster, then!

It's rather ironic that the big box stores are losing customers to on line just as small family owned stores lost to them.

And if internet neutrality is allowed to flounder and become a thing of the past, it will be used as a tool by the Big Guys to, AGAIN, squash the little guys. Poliotics (This was originally a TYPO, but I'll leave it as is, haha) during the next two years make it extremely likely that the internet will become only the playground for the rich, with the hoi polloi websites being relegated to the unpaved dirt roads in the mountains by being throttled by inferior bandwidth and horrible bit rates. Mark my words.

 

[USEDCAR]

A lot of Malls are being "demalled" and turned into shopping centers or as they call it "life style centers" and sometimes they keep a small portion of the mall and tear down the rest. I think Malls are a dying concept if you don't have a big exciting Mall your mall is going to most likely die out. Where i live we have a crappy one level mall with 50-80 stores i don't know the number of stores, but its not crowded only during the holidays. I'm not sure but i think there's a rule here that limits how big a store can be so when we get a new store its always smaller then the other stores in other towns which sucks because you can never find anything in the stores. I always travel out to other malls to do shopping since our mall lacks that.

I forgot to mention they build a shopping center here with Target,Kohl's,and a few other small stores so I'm sure that took a good chunk away from the mall business.

 

[LeicsDom]

Brick and mortar stores are not in a good position to compete for the most part as the internet has low operating costs comparatively.

I own my own store and I have to figure out what works now...and it changes all the time.

Nothing stays the same
Just because a Mr Selfridge style store was successful 100 years ago does not mean it is or should be today. Retailers HAVE to move with the times, adjust their methods of selling to stay in the game.
I have little sympathy with stores/brands that fail to keep abreast of modern buying methods. They don't deserve to stay in business if they can't compete
That said, it is sad that lots of small independant stores are closing but that is simple market economics

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A lot of Malls are being "demalled" and turned into shopping centers

What is the difference bewteen a Mall and a Shopping centre?