How the mighty have fallen

The demise of hight street shopping has affected so many well known names in our high streets in the UK. Mothercare was the latest I heard about. Top names are shaking in their boots and one dept stire that is highly respected is John Lewis and the House of Fraser. John Lewis claimed will never knowingly be undersold and will price match within a certain radius and not sure if this is still their claim. Second to none for service and trustworthyness and well respected; like many of our large dept stores and I fear for their future and the loss of so many jobs which is happening now over here.

The retail world is going to change even more so over a short space of time. Is it all due to online shopping and the likes of Amazon? I use Amazon uk from time to time but enjoy shopping out and about meeting people and feel and try on clothing and shoes and I dont consider myself old fashioned in this respect and why should I?

I found out that C&A is going strong in Europe and thriving yet this giant closed it 's doors many years ago. So why did it fail here?? Is it because it was felt that our shop assisants and management are pushovers and take it laying down, roll over and play dead? :unsure::(
 

I saw a documentary about the dying malls on Youtube and it stressed shelter for the homeless. But at some point many of these buildings will need repairs, at least to their roofs of which some are sagging and leaking now.

It was the Malls that killed our downtowns (high streets). We lost lots of smaller, quality retailers who offered a better variety of styles. We lost not a few good discount stores, too. All these people lost their jobs.

Wouldn't it be something if the pendulum swung back and the smaller stores revived, just a little? I know I won't buy shoes without a try or certain articles of clothing, scent, make up or jewelry.

I wouldn't buy a mattress or upholstered furniture either online, either.

I do love shopping online for many items. I also like to get out of the house once in awhile.
 
The day is coming that brick and mortar stores will be a thing of the past (bad news for people like me that don't have "plastic" money). This begs the question - why are more shopping malls being built?
 

debodun said:
The day is coming that brick and mortar stores will be a thing of the past (bad news for people like me that don't have "plastic" money). This begs the question - why are more shopping malls being built?
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You don't have credit cards? I would feel lost without mine, but I use them responsibly and pay the balance in full every month. My FICO is 822.
 
No, I do not have ANY plastic, even a debit card. My needs are few and simple and I don't travel. I pay my utilities by electronic withdrawal from the bank. Doctor's and other professionals take cash or check. It would only become a problem if the local grocery store suddenly went cashless. The only problem I ever remember having was when I went on an overnight trip. The hotel where I went wouldn't take a check. However, they grudgingly took cash. I guess they'd rather have that then an unrented room.
 
debodun said:
No, I do not have ANY plastic, even a debit card. My needs are few and simple and I don't travel. I pay my utilities by electronic withdrawal from the bank. Doctor's and other professionals take cash or check. It would only become a problem if the local grocery store suddenly went cashless. The only problem I ever remember having was when I went on an overnight trip. The hotel where I went wouldn't take a check. However, they grudgingly took cash. I guess they'd rather have that then an unrented room.
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You can't rent a car without plastic either, but if you don't travel it won't be an issue.
 
I know of a couple of instances where older malls were bought by local churches and immediately became huge loss for the community because the property became tax exempt.
 
gennie said:
I know of a couple of instances where older malls were bought by local churches and immediately became huge loss for the community because the property became tax exempt.
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Just curious. Do you know what they intend to use the malls for?

I thought the empty malls could be remodeled into offices.
 
debodun said:
The day is coming that brick and mortar stores will be a thing of the past (bad news for people like me that don't have "plastic" money). This begs the question - why are more shopping malls being built?
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Malls are a local thing.

They build a mall in a city that is booming. Then the local big business that employs hundreds or thousands of people close shop and move elsewhere.

And there's your base gone.

I doubt if they are building new malls in Detroit.

In other cities the malls still thrive. It's a meeting, gathering place for a lot of people.

Like I previously stated, it's a local thing.
 
RadishRose said:
I saw a documentary about the dying malls on Youtube and it stressed shelter for the homeless. But at some point many of these buildings will need repairs, at least to their roofs of which some are sagging and leaking now.

It was the Malls that killed our downtowns (high streets). We lost lots of smaller, quality retailers who offered a better variety of styles. We lost not a few good discount stores, too. All these people lost their jobs.

Wouldn't it be something if the pendulum swung back and the smaller stores revived, just a little? I know I won't buy shoes without a try or certain articles of clothing, scent, make up or jewelry.

I wouldn't buy a mattress or upholstered furniture either online, either.

I do love shopping online for many items. I also like to get out of the house once in awhile.
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I really dislike the large shopping centres and rarely use them. I much prefer the small, individual shops with personal service. The towns lost all their character when they introduced the big stores.
Having said that, I do most of my shopping on-line, simply because I can never find what I want in the shops. Plus I hate the music they insist on playing.
 
Knight said:
Considering that there are fast food places that could be turned into places to cook food and plenty of space to divide into living quarters for the homeless. Re purposing all that empty space instead of letting it deteriorate might be an option.
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Way big issue... the cost of heating and A/C for the mall vs apartments or whatever. Plus the locations are zoned commercial so the ball will probably hit most of them and the "pads" will be repurposed.
 
CrackerJack said:
The demise of hight street shopping has affected so many well known names in our high streets in the UK. Mothercare was the latest I heard about. Top names are shaking in their boots and one dept stire that is highly respected is John Lewis and the House of Fraser. John Lewis claimed will never knowingly be undersold and will price match within a certain radius and not sure if this is still their claim. Second to none for service and trustworthyness and well respected; like many of our large dept stores and I fear for their future and the loss of so many jobs which is happening now over here.

The retail world is going to change even more so over a short space of time. Is it all due to online shopping and the likes of Amazon? I use Amazon uk from time to time but enjoy shopping out and about meeting people and feel and try on clothing and shoes and I dont consider myself old fashioned in this respect and why should I?

I found out that C&A is going strong in Europe and thriving yet this giant closed it 's doors many years ago. So why did it fail here?? Is it because it was felt that our shop assisants and management are pushovers and take it laying down, roll over and play dead? :unsure::(
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In the US, Wallmart was the one that killed so much of the "local business", and it was a trauma....our little old downtown in this little burg we live in has converted to Tea Rooms, antique stores and specialty stores which are great for finding those "up close and personal" little presents and stocking stuffers, but please...they struggle to exist. Can't knock progress though, I guess...big sigh here as the Brit part of me detests losing the traditions of the past...lol.
 
Gross consumerism will be the downfall of society in the Western World and East. The growing by the minute obsession with materialism and greed and the more...more..more ethos will destroy society and I lament for the future generations who will never know how their ancestors lived and if they learnt about society back in the dark ages would shrug and be indifferent. Just my thoughts
 
I'm not a fan of large shopping malls but I think that if they were to incorporate senior citizen apartments or even market-rate apartments into the mix it would allow them to at least break even by catering to a captive audience sort of a self-contained community with all of the essential services under one roof.
 
Fry's is a California based chain. There is/was one in Phoenix. You could go in there and buy everything you needed to build your own computer.
We moved back to Florida 5 years ago, so I don't know their current status.
 
I read many years ago that the intent was to be rid of brick and mortar stores...it is happening. Plus what is left will be ran by robots and that is already happening in places. The bigger the progress the bigger the problem.
 
DaveA said:
And once companies such as Amazon have NO local competition, watch their prices creep up and up as they will be the only choice that we have. Today, with the cost of maintaining the physical buildings and their various costs, taxes, heat, security, etc., walk-in stores are at a decided disadvantage but when their gone . . . . . . . who knows what online prices will be?
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We do have laws against monopolies and price-fixing. There will be other online stores cropping up to aid the competition to help prices from inflating.
 
rgp said:
Well, one thing about on-line shopping , as opposed to mega-malls.

No roaming bands of teenagers to harass & mug shoppers, no more smash & grab,& or regular robberies of the stores, no more purse snatching & car hijacking in the parking lot , etc.
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I agree with you. Our local malls started declining when the gangs were allowed to move in and loiter in the common areas of the malls.
Shoppers no longer felt safe being there and stopped patronizing the businesses. The gangs and friends weren't buying anything, either. Some people were using the malls as exercise runs for walking in the winter. They weren't bothering anyone, but they weren't making purchases. The businesses either closed up or changed locations. It's really difficult to make a small town brick and mortar store profitable in these times.
 
I buy clothes I need online from QVC as they have lines that fit me perfectly. Very seldom have to return things. Their return policy makes it easy to return. Since I am not working I do not need a lot of clothes now.
 
Before the advent of on-line shopping, shopping malls were an entertainment and pastime as well as a source of needed goods for many, as such malls housed cinemas and food courts plus provided the exercise of walking around in a climate-controlled environment. Anchor stores such as Sears and Penneys there were iconic, with over hundred year sales histories. As we spin deeper into our electronic computerized cocoons, we have truly lost something...
 

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