An old SNL sketch was built around the Scotch Tape Boutique in an upscale mall that offered nothing but that product in its various presentations. Aside from the curious fact that many many items would need to be sold to afford the rent on the store itself, it was hard to imagine anybody making a trip to a mall for the sole purpose of buying Scotch tape when they could easily find some at the supermarket on the next corner.
Batteries Plus is an example of a highly specialized place, but I can imagine it gets decent traffic for those really odd sized and odd voltaged batteries that most supermarkets and superdrugs wouldn’t want to carry.
Is there some stand-alone store or mall boutique that you find excessively specialized? Do they seem to be turning a profit? Have they been there long?
Also, is there a store or shop with a really redundant name? We ran across The Boutique Shop in Boaz, Alabama, and laughed most of the way home. Even now it’s one we’ll use to describe some pretentious place of business.
The Container Store actually has several brick-and-mortar sites. I’ve seen billboard advertisements for them along the highways in the Chicago area.
How 'bout The Pet Door Store? At first I thought their retail presence was on-line only, but it would seem they have an actual storefront in Seattle, WA. http://www.thepetdoorstore.com/index.htm
David Letterman did a bit once where he found a store in NYC called JUST BULBS. It was a modern-looking (clean lines, black and silver decor) store which sold nothing but rows and rows and rows of light bulbs. He asked the clerk there what if he wanted a shade, and she said “I guess you’d have to find a place called JUST SHADES.” Jump cut to JUST SHADES, a tiny little cluttered store run by a little old lady who sold nothing but lampshades.
Guess this doesn’t really count as it was in Downtown Disney, but I was fascintated by the Lego Store. Nothing but Legos, and not just kits. Floor to ceiling bins of every shape and color. I drooled, but didn’t spend money 'cause I hit the Sports Store first and got a Mickey and a Pluto hockey jersey.
[small hijack]Why does my Mickey hockey jersey have a fight strap?[/hijack]
There’s a store in a local mall called–hmm, I forget, some generic gaming name. From what I can tell it used to have RPG stuff, some board games, Magic tournaments, etc. But now all the store carries is things relating to the RPG Warhammer. It’s even underneath the sign for the store “WARHAMMER - WARHAMMER 40000”. Warhammer strategy guides and books and models and miniatures with meetings for people interested in Warhammer. I stepped inside there once and all the employees would talk about was Warhammer. :dubious:
There’s a whole other lightbulb store in Orlando, I saw. Although I could see how, if you really needed one weird bulb, you’d go there. But do they really get enough to stay open, particularly in that I-Drive location?
StarsApart - you’re thinking of Games Workshop - at least, that sounds like a description of the one in my local mall. I find it hard to believe they get enough traffic to afford the rent, but apparently they do.
As for the OP - I’m always surprised at the number of chain stores that sell only one part of or service for a car (mufflers, tires, oil changes, etc.), but that seems rather common.
Yep, we’ve got one of those too–in a mall that also has another game store that sells both family-type games and RPGs (and comic books). As a gamer, I think it’s great that the area can support a two-game-store mall. I do know those Warhammer folks drop big bucks on their miniature armies, paint, terrain, etc.
In my college town we had a (long defunct) store called “Socks Fifth Avenue,” that sold nothing but–you guessed it–socks.
That’s exactly what I thought of when I saw this thread. For some reason, I felt sorry for the owner. He poured his life into such a ridiculous venture.
I’ve seen hobbyists with narrow interests think they can make a go of such a thing, only to fold up almost as soon as they open. I can’t imagine a bank financing these ventures unless there’s big money in failing enterprises. The way they plow under places and rebuild a new store front, rather than remodeling old ones, makes me wonder still more. It’s amazing in our neighborhood how much construction is involved in just that sort of thing. An entire mall in one part of town is being razed and I’ve yet to hear what’s going up in its place.
