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> A large number of retailers fell not to online shopping, but instead to lowering quality of service and goods. Sears, Circuit City, JC Penny, and Kmart each h

by im3w1l 5y ago

> A large number of retailers fell not to online shopping, but instead to lowering quality of service and goods. Sears, Circuit City, JC Penny, and Kmart each have analogous stores and former competitors that remain and are doing well. Online shopping decreased the demand for retail but not all the way to zero. So it makes sense that some should fold and others should stay.

echelon 5y ago
I'm too tired to find sources right now, but the popular thinking is that each of these retailers sank due to bad service. They had leadership changes that suddenly wanted to cut salespeople (while their competitors didn't), or source cheaper parts (Sears Craftsman and appliances). This was at a time when the businesses had seemingly healthy margins and glowing prospects.
- grapescheesee 5y ago
  Whole Foods Market was a leader in employees benefit's, compensation, and innovation for a time. The drive for growth as a private company was followed by it moving to a public company. It created larger and larger stores, cut/lost the company culture and then was acquired by Amazon. It is now for the most part a shell of what made it an attractive space to shop. Coupled with the online grocery expansion, a sector predominantly made on very small margins and vast competition only exacerbated its fall. A cycle of markets I suppose. But, not the only path they may have taken. To me this parallels the rise and fall of US malls.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    Whole Foods is a convenient place to take my Amazon returns now, at least.
- dragonsky 5y ago
  This is a very good point. If I go to a physical shop to touch and get a feel for the product, generally it's after a lot of online research into the product range. I don't go to a physical store expecting to be able to get any useful information from a sales person. Given that the only thing that the shop has given me is the ability to view and touch the physical product, I don't feel any guilt in then ordering online if the physical store can't supply or deliver the product immediately or in a way that is beneficial to me.
  - echelon 5y ago
    Tech isn't very alien to us, but for the average Circuit City or Best Buy customer, that's another story. Or take Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and the now defunct Sears. It's nice to have people on the sales floor that know about the various tools, paints, and home improvement projects. Even in the YouTube era where you can get project ideas and tutorials, having someone physically present to ask questions or bounce ideas off of helps tremendously.
    - dragonsky 5y ago
      The unfortunate thing is that most workers in big box stores don't seem to know anything about the products they are selling beyond the dot points right there on the label. They can how ever do a fine job at selling you the latest greatest in finance package, so I suppose that is something.
- im3w1l 5y ago
  When the market dries up it's the weakest, marginal companies that fail. Maybe Circuit City could have survived with better service, but that would have doomed someone else.

by im3w1l 5y ago

echelon 5y ago

I'm too tired to find sources right now, but the popular thinking is that each of these retailers sank due to bad service. They had leadership changes that suddenly wanted to cut salespeople (while their competitors didn't), or source cheaper parts (Sears Craftsman and appliances). This was at a time when the businesses had seemingly healthy margins and glowing prospects.

grapescheesee 5y ago
Whole Foods Market was a leader in employees benefit's, compensation, and innovation for a time. The drive for growth as a private company was followed by it moving to a public company. It created larger and larger stores, cut/lost the company culture and then was acquired by Amazon. It is now for the most part a shell of what made it an attractive space to shop. Coupled with the online grocery expansion, a sector predominantly made on very small margins and vast competition only exacerbated its fall. A cycle of markets I suppose. But, not the only path they may have taken. To me this parallels the rise and fall of US malls.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  Whole Foods is a convenient place to take my Amazon returns now, at least.
dragonsky 5y ago
This is a very good point. If I go to a physical shop to touch and get a feel for the product, generally it's after a lot of online research into the product range. I don't go to a physical store expecting to be able to get any useful information from a sales person. Given that the only thing that the shop has given me is the ability to view and touch the physical product, I don't feel any guilt in then ordering online if the physical store can't supply or deliver the product immediately or in a way that is beneficial to me.
- echelon 5y ago
  Tech isn't very alien to us, but for the average Circuit City or Best Buy customer, that's another story. Or take Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and the now defunct Sears. It's nice to have people on the sales floor that know about the various tools, paints, and home improvement projects. Even in the YouTube era where you can get project ideas and tutorials, having someone physically present to ask questions or bounce ideas off of helps tremendously.
  - dragonsky 5y ago
    The unfortunate thing is that most workers in big box stores don't seem to know anything about the products they are selling beyond the dot points right there on the label. They can how ever do a fine job at selling you the latest greatest in finance package, so I suppose that is something.
im3w1l 5y ago
When the market dries up it's the weakest, marginal companies that fail. Maybe Circuit City could have survived with better service, but that would have doomed someone else.