I worked at CompUSA’s corporate headquarters a few years ago. The warning signs were:
1.) The man who served as CEO and President for more than 10 years resigned to “spend time with family”.
2.) The owner hired a former tobacco company executive to run the company.
3.) Halloween - the company’s biggest employee party - was canceled with a promise they’d make it up to us at Christmas.
4.) Christmas, which had previously been a sit down dinner, was a snack buffet with a dance floor (dance floor? Really? For a company populated by nerds?), a tenth of the raffle prizes as previously, and jugglers.
5.) One Friday, without warning, half the store locations were closed with all the staff there laid off, and one-third of the corporate staff (including your’s truly) laid off immediately or given 30 or 60 day notices.
They closed the rest of the stores over the next year, usually with a “clearance” sale that gave no more than 30% off on the inventory. Man, that was depressing.
I’ve often wondered why “Closing Down Sales” are generally so lacklustre… Several DVD and CD places have closed down around here lately, and whenever I go in for the “CLOSING DOWN SALE!” with “UNBELIEVABLE BARGAINS!” I’m invariably disappointed as the stuff usually has simply come down in price from “Ludicrously expensive” to “Still more expensive than K-mart, Target, etc”.*
*[size=1]They’re reputable, popular stores here[/size=1]
Don’t know how it is where you are but I remember when Circuit City (?) bit the dust there were some threads in here about people coming in expecting to get great deals, but since they were in some sort of receivership, bean counters from outside were running the show so they didn’t get to decide what the stock would go for, even if the accountants didn’t price it right and none of it would sell. So I wonder if that might play into your experience somewhat.
My favorite arcade closed down during the Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo era. The only visible sign I can remember was less staffing. They still got new games occasionally. People just stopped coming over a period of time. The weekends weren’t packed and the dollar theater next door was suffering too.
There was a high-end department type store in Canada for a few years called Bretton’s. It was always beautifully maintained, the stock was current and well displayed, the staff were attentive without being pushy.
My mom’s best friend was in there shopping for clothing. She was in the change room when there was a commotion and all the ladies were hauled out by creditors shutting the place down. She was allowed to put her own clothing on, grab her bag and go - she wasn’t even allowed to buy the items she had already selected (which I admit seems weird - creditors would want as much $$ in the till as possible I would think, but maybe they just wanted them out of there).
I’ve heard a lot of the stock is on “Sale Or Return” which means that if they don’t sell it, they can return it to the wholesaler for a refund provided it’s in saleable condition, and from a cost-recovery point of view it’s probably better than selling the stuff for next to nothing to try and get rid of it when a business folds.
But even so, there’s got to be a point (and I’d say that if they’re selling the store furnishings and accoutrements you’re either there or near enough to make no real difference) at which the prices should be geared towards moving the stock and getting rid of it instead of simply remaining open whilst pretending to have a sale and still charging as much (or even more than) your competitors.
We had a Hollywood Video nearby. The place was clean, well maintained, happy worker bees. My wife rented movies on thursday, due back on tuesday. By the Sunday in between the place was closed and emptied. No indication at all they would be gone.
The Menard’s that was built here a few years ago didn’t stock candy at first. It’s less than a 1/4 mile from Home Depot, which has been here for years. About 2 years ago, I noticed that Menard’s suddenly put in candy. I’m waiting for the sloppy shelves, ripped boxes etc to start. It is–although I am never in there ever since a sales clerk refused to hand me my change (she put it on the counter and slid it over to me, despite my outstretched hand). Weird, rude and (hopefully) going down.
My dad, who is a home-improvement junkie, tried out Menards when his job moved him from PA to Indiana. He wasn’t terribly impressed. Later on, he chalked up the company’s success to what he called “the Muncie mindset”: if something is wrong, makes no sense, or inefficient, but has been done the same way for many years, don’t complain. I think that was a little harsh, but it does seem to explain Menards’ continued survival.
Hollywood Video is owned by Movie Gallery, which is in the process of closing over 800 stores. I wonder how much longer that will help Blockbuster stay afloat.
What was her ethnicity? There are cultures (I’m thinking Korean and/or Indian ?) where touching the skin of a stranger is forbidden for unmarried women. I know you’re a woman but it may have been a habit.
She was black. Or do I say African-American? Anyway–she wasn’t from Nigeria or Ghana or even a recent immigrant etc. She spoke fluent Chicago-ese. It’s not just her–I find Menards poorly organized and oddly stocked.
My husband, who is from Wisconsin and thus has been going to Menards since birth, has confirmed that they have always had candy. That, and at one time huge tubs of pretzels, with one open for “free samples” that he and his siblings could gorge on. All I know is that they have had sour gummy worms for a long time, but I prefer Home Depot and their popcorn cart these days.
Menards has always sold candy and it’s usually a good price. It’s not selling candy that is the sign of financial troubles. It’s having it on the counter next to the till and the sales person has to ask everyone to buy candy, or they will get in trouble.
Do they have casinos in Illinois? I’m thinking maybe a former casino employee. They’re not allowed to hand money to a customer or touch a customer in any way. The money has to be set down and pushed toward you, whether you’re at a gaming table, or at the cashier window. That way the cameras can see exactly what’s being exchanged.
