8 ms·

The Mall of Shame

markbnj 8y ago
I don't get this piece at all, starting with the title. What's shameful, or even mysterious? Malls all over are closing/shrinking due to disruption of the retail business by Amazon and others. In this specific case the mall is located at a sales tax gulf between NH and MA (I used to live in Londonderry and shop at Rockingham) and so the shrinking fortunes of the mall owner have provided an opportunity for independents to move in and acquire "first class" store frontage they otherwise couldn't afford.
- replicatorblog 8y ago
  Author here. My point is that if a mall that is by all accounts one of the success stories can only fill space with low-quality retailers, maybe the situation is more dire than we're being led to believe. I live in that area and was shocked to see how many storefronts had suddenly gone low-rent. But YMMV.
  - markbnj 8y ago
    Fair enough. From my perspective I'd say the mall is a success story _because_ it can still fill storefronts with independent operators. Is that a sign of impending doom? Maybe, or a sign of a transformation in progress, and I give you credit for perceiving that change as it's happening.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    I'm much more familiar with the other NH mall in Nashua (Pheasant Lane). I guess I would have said that it, at least, has long been midrange at best--not that I've made a study of it. It does have an Apple Store which is something of an outlier for the mall as a whole but, as you allude to, Salem and Nashua are both somewhat unusual because of the sales tax situation.
    - replicatorblog 8y ago
      I was at the Pheasant Lane Mall the weekend it opened! You are 100% right, it's decidedly middle-brow, compared to something like the Copley Mall in Boston.
    - cbm-vic-20 8y ago
      For more context for people not in the area, the Pheasant Lane Mall is close enough to the border that part of the parking lot is in Massachusetts. Also, the Merrimack outlet mall that opened a few years ago is also almost certainly taking foot traffic away from the southern NH malls.
  - pantalaimon 8y ago
    A common critique on malls is that they are all the same, always the same stores, no variety. So I don't see how some independent operation that brings something new to the table could be a bad thing. Unless it upsets your taste to having to deal with some unpolished store that lacks cooperate design.
    - NorthOf33rd 8y ago
      This was my take away as well. "Shame" in this case is defined as independent retailers with "low quality goods." In this case, it appears that "low quality" is synonymous with anything not Mainstream Luxury. Beyond that, this is the reality of how modern mall development works. Mall properties are basically ephemeral pump and dump real estate schemes. When the anchors move out to the latest highly subsidized mall with bigger and better TI incentives, little guys move in. Some of them are garbage, but many are not. Sometimes the mall makes it, sometimes it doesn't. Nothing new or special here.
  - ericabiz 8y ago
    I was surprised to see you didn’t mention the ubiquitous cell phone repair kiosks in every mall. I co-own a chain of cell phone repair stores, and although we don’t have any mall locations, the people in our industry who do have mall locations generally do well with them. These small services type of businesses are able to pay larger rent and are more stable clients than the “boxes of clothes or accessories from China” types of stores. And since phone repair is an in-person service, it’s less likely to be hurt by online retailers. I believe more malls will move toward service businesses. One here in Austin allowed a giant trampoline park in what used to be a flagship store. The store is packed with kids and parents. I’m very interested in this area and how it will continue to play out!
    - replicatorblog 8y ago
      It's a great point! I'm always skeptical of the "move to experiences" narrative, but it sounds like you're having success there! I think that's definitely one route to go. I'm mostly curious about how Simon and similar companies are viewing this landscape? Are they planning on managing these malls indefinitely? Or do they largely view them as depreciating assets that they'll milk until they are demolished?
dexwiz 8y ago
I don’t understand the point of this article. It starts off with by discussing that the most successful mall is a tax haven, and then muses about possible future mall occupants. Also this article has a suspicious number of upvotes, no comments, and is realitivily low quality. Smells like vote manipulation.
- replicatorblog 8y ago
  Hey, author here. If you look at my submission history, you'll note vote manipulation is not my foray :) If you want a clear point, how about "At what percent of mom and pop retail occupancy do malls, even successful ones, become unattractive destinations for the stores that are still driving retail sales."
beat 8y ago
While the mall obviously needs some revamping, I don't think tech entrepreneur magic is going to revamp it. It's ultimately a problem of customers wanting a physical space to shop in, otherwise, why bother leaving the couch at all? Why not just get what you want on Amazon? The invisible hand of the market will refine the malls, if it can get past the coarse-grained lumpiness of large, expensive facilities. I'm almost more interested in online boutique stores, and their fates. How do they compete against Amazon? I hate going to buy some obscure thing, and then getting hit with a ten buck shipping charge for something that will arrive two weeks later, when Amazon Prime has me used to "free" two day shipping. But when I want that fancy smoked salt, or the obscure imported Japanese pen, I have to go to the boutiques.
- will_brown 8y ago
  >why bother leaving the couch at all? Why not just get what you want on Amazon? You are obviously pro-amazon...but my experiences with amazon are awful. From counterfeit goods, to just shit products (examples: dress ties that stain my white dress shirts, ill fitting clothing, to goods that never arrive, even amazon basic products have turned out to be embarrassingly shit quality). I recently purchased a new snowboard jacket and would never have thought about rolling the dice on amazon when I could buy online from the manufacturer direct at the same price and know I’m getting the real deal. I completely understand someone opting for an in person shopping experience over amazon. buying online direct from manufacturers is one thing, but I honestly can’t understand why anyone would buy from amazon after my experiences.
  - beat 8y ago
    I don't think I'm "pro-Amazon", but I'm generally a happy customer. Then again, I use them mostly for name brand goods. Prices that are too good to be true are a warning sign for me.
    - will_brown 8y ago
      >Then again, I use them mostly for name brand goods. Why not buy straight from the manufacturer for name brand goods? I’m guessing price or maybe the name brand products you buy the manufacturers don’t sell direct. If it’s the former, isn’t that a warning sign?
ergothus 8y ago
> many of the products in these stores seem to be dubiously sourced, the commitments of some, e.g. Christmas Town, are definitionally short, and the branding is banal. Currently, 10% of the storefronts are occupied by these independent brands, but one wonders what happens when this shrine to shopping begins to feel more like a swank swapmeet? Other than the dubiously sourced products (which is a problem at Amazon too, so hardly unique to this space), I'm unclear on why this is such a problem? What happens when a "shrine to shopping" begins to feel more like a "swank swapmeet"? Presumably people buy stuff, which is the point, and honestly, after a lifetime of being deceived by or taken advantage of non-"banal" brands, banality doesn't sound so threatening. The rest of the article (not that there's much of it) leaves me likewise uncertain of what need is going unfulfilled. Is there anything I'm missing?
- replicatorblog 8y ago
  Apple never co-locates with a Dollar Tree store. There's a point at which Apple and other high-end retailers will decide that their brands are being diminished by being located next to an Alpaca-based clothing store. This may create a death spiral that accelerates the demise of the mall.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    The NH malls across the border from Massachusetts are a somewhat unique situation. I'm not really familiar with the mall the author is writing about but the other one across the border is definitely lowish end by Apple standards. However, because lots of people cross the border to save on sales taxes, it makes sense Apple would be there--and is one of the busier stores in the whole mall.
  - ergothus 8y ago
    > Apple never co-locates with a Dollar Tree store Is that because Apple doesn't want to be tainted by that brand...or because there's minimal overlap in customer bases? If Dollar Trees are bringing in the money and the customers, then either Apple DOESN'T belong there, or they'll start to share customers. Either way, I think the "banality" of the brand is at best an inefficient way to look at it and at worst a misleading one.
crushcrashcrush 8y ago
This piece is hilariously out of touch. “Middle-class staples like Williams & Sonoma, Coach, Lush, and an Apple store (along with the obligatory food court Sbarro) help account for $1.8B in annual sales.” Those are not middle class “staples” - the US middle class can not afford to shop at Williams Sonoma. Apple is a luxury or near-luxury brand, same with Coach.
- swarnie_ 8y ago
  Never heard of Williams Sonoma before, visiting their website gives me an idea as to why... "PAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS, We regret that due to technical challenges caused by new regulations in Europe, we can for the time being no longer accept orders from the European Union. If you reside in the UK you can continue to order from our UK websites or shop from our locations and partners."
  - bluedino 8y ago
    It's a store full of high-end/overpriced (take your pick) pots and pans, small appliances, condiments and ingredients. $1299 personal espresso machine, $25 canister of hot chocolate mix, and $19 jars of whatever the trendy dip/topping is right now.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    It's a high-ish end kitchen store chain (similar to Sur La Table). It tends to be in higher-end malls.
  - beat 8y ago
    It's a fancy kitchen store for malls. The kind of place to go if you think a set of beautiful hammered copper French pans will make you a better cook, or you want a really Italian-looking espresso maker. Nice place to buy a serving dish for your mother-in-law. And yes, middle class people can afford to shop for luxury goods, and do so. It's not unusual to have a moderately expensive hobby.
  - rconti 8y ago
    The Hater's Guide to the Williams Sonoma Catalog is probably all the context you need. https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-2017-hater-s-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog-1821181135 https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-2017-hater-s-guide-to-t...
bluedino 8y ago
Our local mall has lost most of the bigger stores, anchored by a Sears and JC Penny. McDonald’s, subway, and Taco Bell have left the food court. It almost looks like a flea market inside. Tattoo shops, stands that sell gold by the inch and cheap phone cases, bootleg t-shirt vendors, nail salons, there’s even what’s basically a convienence store. Cheap rents sound good, but they bring in low-end retailers that don’t stick around and sell gray market product.
- ghaff 8y ago
  My closest mall still has its Sears and JC Penney but we'll see for how long. Macy's is its most successful anchor store. The complex has already lost Toys R' Us. There's a successful local grocery chain and a Home Depot that are always busy in the same shopping center; the mall itself has stores but very little traffic.
- detaro 8y ago
  > even what’s basically a convienence store I find it funny that that's the most extreme in your list. Why wouldn't there be a convenience store where people go to shop?!
megaman8 8y ago
I hope all these mostly useless malls get replaced with things are that more needed: libraries, decent grocery stores, farm co-ops/local farming, and especially housing. At the end of the day, humans need shelter more than they need stuff to put in their shelters.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  Absolutely agreed, we need more empathy and less stuff in our lives.
ungzd 8y ago
Related series of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx... "Dead Mall Series: Informative tours of some of the most depressed shopping malls in the mid-atlantic region and beyond."
oceanplexian 8y ago
I grew up going to this mall. I think the premise of this article is a bit misleading. Sure, some malls are not doing well, some will go out of business, and some will evolve. For example, the nearby Bedford mall lost tenants, turned into a ghost mall, and was demolished a few years ago. But in its place, they built a Whole Foods. And right down the road, a large outdoor mall with outlet stores opened and is thriving with over 100 stores filled with upscale national retailers. Lots of large chains and even anchors have died. Circuit City, CompUSA, Filene's, KB Toys, Ames, and so on. Amazon didn't kill these companies. These stores were killed by poor management (For example Best Buy is thriving in the age of Amazon). Tech giants would do well to learn from big box retail failures because having a website does not make one immune to poor management or a failure to innovate.
martin-adams 8y ago
As someone who has worked for a startup in this space, I understand the sentiment of this article. Shopping malls desire anchor stores to be the driving force of footfall traffic. Those stores are very keen on knowing the spending power of where they operate which the malls use survey data to collect that information. When the profile of stores change in the mall, it changes the spending power of people visiting. That in turn can cause those anchor stores to relocate elsewhere. Retail is suffering right now. High street brands in the UK are collapsing with HMV in just the past week. Mike Ashley (Sports Direct CEO) has called to tax online retailers to make it a level playing field for the high street[1]. I personally disagree because I honestly don't think the retail experience is helping themselves to innovate and train staff correctly (at least in the UK). When visiting shops becomes a frustrating experience for the consumer, then no wonder people turn to shopping online for convenience. I think the article is saying that if things continue on their trend, it will get a lot worse before it gets better. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/03/mike-ashley-wants-tax-on-retailers-with-online-sales-of-more-than-20-per-cent-sports-direct https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/03/mike-ashley-...

I don't get this piece at all, starting with the title. What's shameful, or even mysterious? Malls all over are closing/shrinking due to disruption of the retail business by Amazon and others. In this specific case the mall is located at a sales tax gulf between NH and MA (I used to live in Londonderry and shop at Rockingham) and so the shrinking fortunes of the mall owner have provided an opportunity for independents to move in and acquire "first class" store frontage they otherwise couldn't afford.

replicatorblog 8y ago
Author here. My point is that if a mall that is by all accounts one of the success stories can only fill space with low-quality retailers, maybe the situation is more dire than we're being led to believe. I live in that area and was shocked to see how many storefronts had suddenly gone low-rent. But YMMV.
- markbnj 8y ago
  Fair enough. From my perspective I'd say the mall is a success story _because_ it can still fill storefronts with independent operators. Is that a sign of impending doom? Maybe, or a sign of a transformation in progress, and I give you credit for perceiving that change as it's happening.
- ghaff 8y ago
  I'm much more familiar with the other NH mall in Nashua (Pheasant Lane). I guess I would have said that it, at least, has long been midrange at best--not that I've made a study of it. It does have an Apple Store which is something of an outlier for the mall as a whole but, as you allude to, Salem and Nashua are both somewhat unusual because of the sales tax situation.
  - replicatorblog 8y ago
    I was at the Pheasant Lane Mall the weekend it opened! You are 100% right, it's decidedly middle-brow, compared to something like the Copley Mall in Boston.
  - cbm-vic-20 8y ago
    For more context for people not in the area, the Pheasant Lane Mall is close enough to the border that part of the parking lot is in Massachusetts. Also, the Merrimack outlet mall that opened a few years ago is also almost certainly taking foot traffic away from the southern NH malls.
- pantalaimon 8y ago
  A common critique on malls is that they are all the same, always the same stores, no variety. So I don't see how some independent operation that brings something new to the table could be a bad thing. Unless it upsets your taste to having to deal with some unpolished store that lacks cooperate design.
  - NorthOf33rd 8y ago
    This was my take away as well. "Shame" in this case is defined as independent retailers with "low quality goods." In this case, it appears that "low quality" is synonymous with anything not Mainstream Luxury. Beyond that, this is the reality of how modern mall development works. Mall properties are basically ephemeral pump and dump real estate schemes. When the anchors move out to the latest highly subsidized mall with bigger and better TI incentives, little guys move in. Some of them are garbage, but many are not. Sometimes the mall makes it, sometimes it doesn't. Nothing new or special here.
- ericabiz 8y ago
  I was surprised to see you didn’t mention the ubiquitous cell phone repair kiosks in every mall. I co-own a chain of cell phone repair stores, and although we don’t have any mall locations, the people in our industry who do have mall locations generally do well with them. These small services type of businesses are able to pay larger rent and are more stable clients than the “boxes of clothes or accessories from China” types of stores. And since phone repair is an in-person service, it’s less likely to be hurt by online retailers. I believe more malls will move toward service businesses. One here in Austin allowed a giant trampoline park in what used to be a flagship store. The store is packed with kids and parents. I’m very interested in this area and how it will continue to play out!
  - replicatorblog 8y ago
    It's a great point! I'm always skeptical of the "move to experiences" narrative, but it sounds like you're having success there! I think that's definitely one route to go. I'm mostly curious about how Simon and similar companies are viewing this landscape? Are they planning on managing these malls indefinitely? Or do they largely view them as depreciating assets that they'll milk until they are demolished?

dexwiz 8y ago

I don’t understand the point of this article. It starts off with by discussing that the most successful mall is a tax haven, and then muses about possible future mall occupants. Also this article has a suspicious number of upvotes, no comments, and is realitivily low quality. Smells like vote manipulation.

replicatorblog 8y ago
Hey, author here. If you look at my submission history, you'll note vote manipulation is not my foray :) If you want a clear point, how about "At what percent of mom and pop retail occupancy do malls, even successful ones, become unattractive destinations for the stores that are still driving retail sales."

beat 8y ago

While the mall obviously needs some revamping, I don't think tech entrepreneur magic is going to revamp it. It's ultimately a problem of customers wanting a physical space to shop in, otherwise, why bother leaving the couch at all? Why not just get what you want on Amazon? The invisible hand of the market will refine the malls, if it can get past the coarse-grained lumpiness of large, expensive facilities. I'm almost more interested in online boutique stores, and their fates. How do they compete against Amazon? I hate going to buy some obscure thing, and then getting hit with a ten buck shipping charge for something that will arrive two weeks later, when Amazon Prime has me used to "free" two day shipping. But when I want that fancy smoked salt, or the obscure imported Japanese pen, I have to go to the boutiques.

will_brown 8y ago
>why bother leaving the couch at all? Why not just get what you want on Amazon? You are obviously pro-amazon...but my experiences with amazon are awful. From counterfeit goods, to just shit products (examples: dress ties that stain my white dress shirts, ill fitting clothing, to goods that never arrive, even amazon basic products have turned out to be embarrassingly shit quality). I recently purchased a new snowboard jacket and would never have thought about rolling the dice on amazon when I could buy online from the manufacturer direct at the same price and know I’m getting the real deal. I completely understand someone opting for an in person shopping experience over amazon. buying online direct from manufacturers is one thing, but I honestly can’t understand why anyone would buy from amazon after my experiences.
- beat 8y ago
  I don't think I'm "pro-Amazon", but I'm generally a happy customer. Then again, I use them mostly for name brand goods. Prices that are too good to be true are a warning sign for me.
  - will_brown 8y ago
    >Then again, I use them mostly for name brand goods. Why not buy straight from the manufacturer for name brand goods? I’m guessing price or maybe the name brand products you buy the manufacturers don’t sell direct. If it’s the former, isn’t that a warning sign?

ergothus 8y ago

> many of the products in these stores seem to be dubiously sourced, the commitments of some, e.g. Christmas Town, are definitionally short, and the branding is banal. Currently, 10% of the storefronts are occupied by these independent brands, but one wonders what happens when this shrine to shopping begins to feel more like a swank swapmeet? Other than the dubiously sourced products (which is a problem at Amazon too, so hardly unique to this space), I'm unclear on why this is such a problem? What happens when a "shrine to shopping" begins to feel more like a "swank swapmeet"? Presumably people buy stuff, which is the point, and honestly, after a lifetime of being deceived by or taken advantage of non-"banal" brands, banality doesn't sound so threatening. The rest of the article (not that there's much of it) leaves me likewise uncertain of what need is going unfulfilled. Is there anything I'm missing?

replicatorblog 8y ago
Apple never co-locates with a Dollar Tree store. There's a point at which Apple and other high-end retailers will decide that their brands are being diminished by being located next to an Alpaca-based clothing store. This may create a death spiral that accelerates the demise of the mall.
- ghaff 8y ago
  The NH malls across the border from Massachusetts are a somewhat unique situation. I'm not really familiar with the mall the author is writing about but the other one across the border is definitely lowish end by Apple standards. However, because lots of people cross the border to save on sales taxes, it makes sense Apple would be there--and is one of the busier stores in the whole mall.
- ergothus 8y ago
  > Apple never co-locates with a Dollar Tree store Is that because Apple doesn't want to be tainted by that brand...or because there's minimal overlap in customer bases? If Dollar Trees are bringing in the money and the customers, then either Apple DOESN'T belong there, or they'll start to share customers. Either way, I think the "banality" of the brand is at best an inefficient way to look at it and at worst a misleading one.

crushcrashcrush 8y ago

This piece is hilariously out of touch. “Middle-class staples like Williams & Sonoma, Coach, Lush, and an Apple store (along with the obligatory food court Sbarro) help account for $1.8B in annual sales.” Those are not middle class “staples” - the US middle class can not afford to shop at Williams Sonoma. Apple is a luxury or near-luxury brand, same with Coach.

swarnie_ 8y ago
Never heard of Williams Sonoma before, visiting their website gives me an idea as to why... "PAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS, We regret that due to technical challenges caused by new regulations in Europe, we can for the time being no longer accept orders from the European Union. If you reside in the UK you can continue to order from our UK websites or shop from our locations and partners."
- bluedino 8y ago
  It's a store full of high-end/overpriced (take your pick) pots and pans, small appliances, condiments and ingredients. $1299 personal espresso machine, $25 canister of hot chocolate mix, and $19 jars of whatever the trendy dip/topping is right now.
- ghaff 8y ago
  It's a high-ish end kitchen store chain (similar to Sur La Table). It tends to be in higher-end malls.
- beat 8y ago
  It's a fancy kitchen store for malls. The kind of place to go if you think a set of beautiful hammered copper French pans will make you a better cook, or you want a really Italian-looking espresso maker. Nice place to buy a serving dish for your mother-in-law. And yes, middle class people can afford to shop for luxury goods, and do so. It's not unusual to have a moderately expensive hobby.
- rconti 8y ago
  The Hater's Guide to the Williams Sonoma Catalog is probably all the context you need. https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-2017-hater-s-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog-1821181135 https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-2017-hater-s-guide-to-t...

bluedino 8y ago

Our local mall has lost most of the bigger stores, anchored by a Sears and JC Penny. McDonald’s, subway, and Taco Bell have left the food court. It almost looks like a flea market inside. Tattoo shops, stands that sell gold by the inch and cheap phone cases, bootleg t-shirt vendors, nail salons, there’s even what’s basically a convienence store. Cheap rents sound good, but they bring in low-end retailers that don’t stick around and sell gray market product.

ghaff 8y ago
My closest mall still has its Sears and JC Penney but we'll see for how long. Macy's is its most successful anchor store. The complex has already lost Toys R' Us. There's a successful local grocery chain and a Home Depot that are always busy in the same shopping center; the mall itself has stores but very little traffic.
detaro 8y ago
> even what’s basically a convienence store I find it funny that that's the most extreme in your list. Why wouldn't there be a convenience store where people go to shop?!

megaman8 8y ago

I hope all these mostly useless malls get replaced with things are that more needed: libraries, decent grocery stores, farm co-ops/local farming, and especially housing. At the end of the day, humans need shelter more than they need stuff to put in their shelters.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
Absolutely agreed, we need more empathy and less stuff in our lives.

ungzd 8y ago

Related series of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx7dwchPJGJ3IQ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNz4Un92pGNxQ9vNgmnCx... "Dead Mall Series: Informative tours of some of the most depressed shopping malls in the mid-atlantic region and beyond."

oceanplexian 8y ago

I grew up going to this mall. I think the premise of this article is a bit misleading. Sure, some malls are not doing well, some will go out of business, and some will evolve. For example, the nearby Bedford mall lost tenants, turned into a ghost mall, and was demolished a few years ago. But in its place, they built a Whole Foods. And right down the road, a large outdoor mall with outlet stores opened and is thriving with over 100 stores filled with upscale national retailers. Lots of large chains and even anchors have died. Circuit City, CompUSA, Filene's, KB Toys, Ames, and so on. Amazon didn't kill these companies. These stores were killed by poor management (For example Best Buy is thriving in the age of Amazon). Tech giants would do well to learn from big box retail failures because having a website does not make one immune to poor management or a failure to innovate.

martin-adams 8y ago

As someone who has worked for a startup in this space, I understand the sentiment of this article. Shopping malls desire anchor stores to be the driving force of footfall traffic. Those stores are very keen on knowing the spending power of where they operate which the malls use survey data to collect that information. When the profile of stores change in the mall, it changes the spending power of people visiting. That in turn can cause those anchor stores to relocate elsewhere. Retail is suffering right now. High street brands in the UK are collapsing with HMV in just the past week. Mike Ashley (Sports Direct CEO) has called to tax online retailers to make it a level playing field for the high street[1]. I personally disagree because I honestly don't think the retail experience is helping themselves to innovate and train staff correctly (at least in the UK). When visiting shops becomes a frustrating experience for the consumer, then no wonder people turn to shopping online for convenience. I think the article is saying that if things continue on their trend, it will get a lot worse before it gets better. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/03/mike-ashley-wants-tax-on-retailers-with-online-sales-of-more-than-20-per-cent-sports-direct https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/03/mike-ashley-...