# Companies that don't have much time left **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354 "2015-10-11T20:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/41 "2015-10-12T16:37:41Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Best Buy was supposedly getting more into mall shops and kiosks maintaining their still profitable cellphone business. I guess there’s still people whose idea of buying a computer/laptop is “Go to Best Buy” but the last time I was there I didn’t even see much interesting to browse through. I was in there yesterday, mystery shopping them. It was fun to report that the staff was actively trying to hide from me–guess they didn’t want my money. The scary part is this has been going on for a while–kind of hurts sales when you don’t want to talk to customers. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/42 "2015-10-12T16:50:57Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Red Lobster. We should be so lucky. Except for those cheddar biscuits. Those can stay. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/43 "2015-10-12T16:52:28Z")
I think Best Buy can hang on for another 5-10 years. Abercrombie & Fitch is in a bad spot. Nobody’s been buying their clothes for a while now. Teens aren’t as willing to spend big bucks on a brand name. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/44 "2015-10-12T17:26:47Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > We should be so lucky. > > Except for those cheddar biscuits. Those can stay. Since Darden spun off Red Lobster they seem to be doing fine. And you can buy the mix to [make the biscuits at home](http://www.amazon.com/Red-Lobster-Cheddar-Bay-Biscuit/dp/B00AWQRLIG). ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/45 "2015-10-12T17:29:57Z")
I used to work for a company that did some work for Best Buy and from what I saw supporting BB as a client, they’re not long for this world. In addition to what Bump said about them, they’re also burning a LOT of time and energy with internal turf battles. It’s not that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it’s that one is actively trying to sabotage the other and nobody’s paying any attention to the customer. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/46 "2015-10-12T17:45:58Z")
There are a substantial number of people who want to hear audio and see video of an electronics device before buying. You don’t get this at Amazon. So yes I see a need for a brick and mortar chain like Best Buy. And offhand I can’t think of major competitors. Recently Best Buy has been offering store within a store options like Sony and Samsung. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/47 "2015-10-12T17:55:17Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > There are a substantial number of people who want to hear audio and see video of an electronics device before buying. You don’t get this at Amazon or Walmart. So yes I see a need for a brick and mortar chain like Best Buy. And offhand I can’t think of major competitors. Recently Best Buy has been offering store within a store options like Sony and Samsung. WalMart, IME, has floor models of TVs, at least, though I don’t know if the floor model / demo capability at a WalMart is as good as at Best Buy. With the demise of Circuit City a few years ago, I don’t think that there’s another nationwide big-box electronics retailer any longer. There are regional chains (like H.H. Gregg and Fry’s), as well as smaller, local chains – the latter often have more knowledgeable staff than Best Buy, and may be where the customer who wants to be able to demo products will have to wind up going. Disclosure: I work in advertising, and had Circuit City as a client for several years, about a decade ago. Circuit City had a lot of problems which led to its death, but one area where Best Buy was destroying Circuit City was on sales of “content” (DVDs, music CDs, video games); Best Buy was able to use sales of content to drive store visits. With so much of content sales moving to streaming and digital sales, Best Buy has lost that source of sales and store traffic. ---
**Author:** ![dr\_zippermeyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dr\_zippermeyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_zippermeyer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/48 "2015-10-12T18:00:03Z")
Western Union will be decimated by “Internet of value” if it doesn’t change fast. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/49 "2015-10-12T18:08:09Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > There are a substantial number of people who want to hear audio and see video of an electronics device before buying. You don’t get this at Amazon. So yes I see a need for a brick and mortar chain like Best Buy. And offhand I can’t think of major competitors. Recently Best Buy has been offering store within a store options like Sony and Samsung. Being Amazon’s showroom isn’t going to help them stay in business, though. “Yeah, OK, I think the Samsung looks good here. And hey, I can get it for $50 less from Amazon with free Prime shipping.” ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/50 "2015-10-12T18:22:00Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Is Radio Shack too obvious? (It’s still alive, but with many fewer stores.) [/QUOTE] The Shack is in stasis for now. AFAIK, they’ve already closed the stores they wanted to get rid of and the company is now owned by someone called General Wireless. Time will tell if this is a successful plan. Another electronics chain that seems to defy logic by staying in business is Fry’s Electronics. They may have a better selection of electronic components than Radio Shack ever had, but the customers know more about the merchandise than the sales help, and unless you have the misfortune to get within 50 feet of one of the commissioned sales guys, good luck on even finding someone. Aisle descriptions are random and placement of stock is capricious. Probably the only thing keeping them alive is sales of individual capacitors and diodes to people who don’t want to wait for Jameco or Grainger to ship, and the legendary checkout line that snakes through the candy and chips. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/51 "2015-10-12T21:28:26Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Another electronics chain that seems to defy logic by staying in business is Fry’s Electronics. I like to pretend it’s because of the themes. Sci-fi, Aztec, Polynesian, ancient Rome… it’s like a little history lesson with each visit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/52 "2015-10-12T22:21:01Z")
Playboy Enterprises will probably be gone within five years. It’s pretty much just coasting downhill on nostalgia and its back catalog. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/53 "2015-10-12T22:57:40Z")
Our local Long John Silver’s shares a building with A&W. I think they’re owned by the same company. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/54 "2015-10-13T01:36:50Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yea it seems I was wrong. The dearth of 7-11s in my area must just be local. 7-eleven is owned by the 5th largest retailer in the world. They have staying power. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/55 "2015-10-13T01:44:26Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Surprises me about Guitar Center although I know nothing about guitars. Still, I’d have guessed that was sort of a hands-on purchase. It is, but what happens is you see something you like on their website and a lot of the time the local GC doesn’t have it in stock so you end up either ordering it from their website (you have 30 days to return it) anyway or as long as you’re ordering you might as well see who else might have it for less and/or with better service. Plus big music stores can be a drag to try out an instrument in. If you want to sample a bunch of different models they’re good for that though. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/56 "2015-10-13T02:00:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Playboy Enterprises will probably be gone within five years. It’s pretty much just coasting downhill on nostalgia and its back catalog. And less than 12 hours later they announce they are getting rid of nude photos and will essentially be another Maxim. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/57 "2015-10-13T03:57:09Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Being Amazon’s showroom isn’t going to help them stay in business, though. “Yeah, OK, I think the Samsung looks good here. And hey, I can get it for $50 less from Amazon with free Prime shipping.” I believe strongly that the future of mass-manufactured retail is either premium brands that sell for the same price everywhere (like Apple), or showrooms where the manufacturers pay for the retail space and drop ship purchases overnight. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/58 "2015-10-13T04:07:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Our local Long John Silver’s shares a building with A&W. I think they’re owned by the same company. They used to be, but aren’t any longer. They had both been owned by Yum! Brands, which also owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. Yum has, over the past 10-15 years, built a lot of “shared space” restaurants across their chains like that. In 2011, Yum spun off both A&W and Long John Silvers, to different ownership groups. However, both ownership groups are groups of franchisees, and I would not be surprised if a number of them own the franchises for both chains, which would explain why A&W and LJS are still sharing locations. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/59 "2015-10-13T04:26:01Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > And less than 12 hours later they announce they are getting rid of nude photos and will essentially be another Maxim. I now feel five years may have been too generous. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354/60 "2015-10-13T05:16:46Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > And less than 12 hours later they announce they are getting rid of nude photos and will essentially be another Maxim. Apparently, they don’t realize that “I only read it for the articles” is actually a joke… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-that-dont-have-much-time-left/734354.md?page=4)