Tag: closing chain stores

Fry’s Electronics was a great store for Geeks

When my local Fry’s store opened parking was a challenge despite the large size of the parking lot. They had 20 check out windows and that wasn’t enough. You had to wait in line for fifteen minutes or more to get to a check out window.

To make the store even more fun the store was decorated in an Alice in Wonderland motif. 

The store was the place to go to buy a PC computer. That was about the time the Windows operating system was implemented. Thousands of us wanted that new system. Fry’s offered a wide variety of units and the components to build your own computer.

In addition to computers there were printers, software, and a variety of other electronic components. Weather stations, electronic test equipment of every kind lined the aisles.

They added televisions, sound equipment and cameras in the hope of remaining relevant. However their prices were not particularly low and so there was no motivation to visit the store.

But time has passed and today the novelty has worn off. Computers have become as prolific as televisions. Low cost laptop computers and small portables called tablets are no novelty. In other words these units are just viewed as commodities. Software in many cases is now sent to our computers via the internet.

I have not been in that store in the past two years. Many others weren’t going either.

Like Sears and Montgomery Ward what they had to offer just was not what the public wanted. I am sure the Fry family became wealthy and will go on to other endeavors.

And that’s life.

Goodbye to Chain Department Stores

Macy's North Hollywood Closing 8-4-2016The Sears near my home was in a shopping center that includes many of the major department store chains including Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, Target, and Neiman Marcus. The store is now sealed off with metal siding and block walls.

The impact of Amazon and other on-line sales companies is really starting to take its toll.   Amazon, Wal-Mart Lead Top 25 E-commerce Retail List. Total annual retail e-commerce sales are $201 billion, according to the 180 companies tracked by eMarketer. For the top 25 retailers, total annual e-commerce sales come in at $159 billion, with Amazon Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Apple Inc. taking the top three spots. According to eMarketer, Amazon’s e-commerce sales are $79.3 billion while Wal-Mart has $13.5 billion and Apple totals $12 billion. After Walmart is Apple, Staples, and Macy’s.   More than 50% of Williams-Sonoma’s sales are done on-line.

So while Macy’s may be seeing an increase in-line sales they are closing or have closed at least 40 stores this year. Four in the Los Angeles area include their Century City store (that is next to Beverly Hills). This list does not include all of the targeted stores as they just today announced the closing of a North Hollywood store that was opened 61 years ago by May Company.

Fortune magazine reports that 78 Sears and Kmart stores are also closing.

There are many other chains of specialty stores from women’s fashions to sporting goods and sportswear that are also facing declining sales.

What will happen to all the malls that have been built across the nation? One high end mall in Woodland Hills California, called the Promenade, is now mostly deserted and rumor has it that the buildings will be torn down and apartment houses will replace the shopping. Westfield is the owner and has not revealed its plans.

Does this also means more lost jobs? Well, no.  New distribution centers are being erected by the on-line retailers.

Nothing is forever!