6 Brands That Might Not Make It Through 2015?

Wolf

AI is here, time to obey our robot overlords!
Oct 11, 2008
35,558
12,133
168
Phoenix
www.lodowolf.com
Remember filling out the order slip, then waiting at the warehouse counter for them to call your order? What a waste of time.

Oh yea I remember that, your item comes down the conveyor belt. Speaking of Service Merchandise, they went out of business a decade ago, there website is still up and where you can still buy stuff.
 

Andrew8468

Plans on freezing in the dark
Oct 26, 2008
4,309
551
113
Canada, eh?
Future Shop is dead here. It was as subsiduary of Best Buy having been bought several years ago. But online shopping was cited as the reason for the closure. Most stores closed. About 1/3 converted to Best Buys.

The other issue was/is that Future Shop locations and Best Buy were across the street from one another. On the north side of Victoria Street in Whitby there was a Future Shop in a box store plaza. Few years later, a new box store plaza opened on the south side of the street with a Best Buy store. Other than the name, colours and logos they sold the same stuff at the same price.
 

blyons200

These pretzels are making me thirsty.
Oct 12, 2008
8,448
1,549
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The BBQ Capital
I don't see anything in the new Radio Shack that will make it succeed where the old Radio Shack failed.

Instead, they should open 5 or 6 large stores in tech job heavy locations and focus on the maker community. Sell electronics, 3D printers, custom design and production services, etc.
Fry's and Microcenter kicked the shit out of any Radio Shack.
 

blyons200

These pretzels are making me thirsty.
Oct 12, 2008
8,448
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The BBQ Capital
I think we need one real store like Best Buy, but Staples is doomed.
I like Best Buy for TV's and phone accessories. And other items like that. I think big retailers like Nebraska Furniture Mart and HH Greg are eating into their TV and appliance sales. TV's, appliances, and furniture aren't things I would ever want to buy online. Though I do a lot of research online first.

I bought my new front load washer from a local Sears outlet store, saved big money. Both my TV's I bought at Best Buy, also bought my laptop there. Bought a fridge and a glass top stove at HH Greg.
 
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semipenguin

Cheeseburger Connoisseur
Oct 11, 2008
25,273
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Janesville, MN
Brands that will disappear in 2016

I like Best Buy for TV's and phone accessories. And other items like that. I think big retailers like Nebraska Furniture Mart and HH Greg are eating into their TV and appliance sales. TV's, appliances, and furniture aren't things I would ever want to buy online. Though I do a lot of research online first.

I bought my new front load washer from a local Sears outlet store, saved big money. Both my TV's I bought at Best Buy, also bought my laptop there. Bought a fridge and a glass top stove at HH Greg.

HH Gregg is on this list

These 5 retailers are suffering in a changing retail world
 

microbob

Well-Known Member
Oct 14, 2008
624
307
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Funny thing they are all still doing business. So much for these predictions of doom and gloom coming true in 2016.
 

Jon

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2008
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I bought a TV on Amazon recently (43" Vizio LED) and the first model I received came with a cracked screen. Did a return online, and received the new one before the old one got back to the warehouse. Plus being a Prime member makes it easy with two-day free shipping or deeply discounted one-day shipping if you need it sooner.

There are also better places to shop than Best Buy for high-end electronics.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
29,206
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Vacationland
We just bought a clothes dryer from Best Buy. They have a good selection and good prices.
Around us, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Lowes all do well, have a decent variety of stuff, and offer good service at good prices. Staples and Sears are hurting. But the malls are the worst. They're sad places, full of annoying people accosting you with beauty salt and phone offers, overly aggressive salespeople, and rude teenagers. Most times, the malls are like those abandoned places, and all the people working the kiosks are playing on their cellphones. Nobody really needs to go to a mall anymore.
 
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memebag

Top Brass, ADVP
Oct 11, 2008
17,404
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Lake Huntzing
Houston isn't like that. When I was a kid, there were more malls per person. In the 1990s and 2000s a bunch of them cratered. Some of those turned into community colleges and what not. Today there are probably 5 really happening malls, where all the kids in town want to hang. They do huge business.

One of them, the Galleria, is a destination for foreign nationals. It's packed with people from South America and the Middle East buying high end merchandise tax free. There's a "premium" outlet mall, run by the same company as the Galleria, with many of the same stores, that is also packed with people who came to Houston just to buy cheap luxury stuff. I saw multiple Asian women who showed up early in the morning, bought the biggest hard sided roll on luggage they could pull from the discount luggage store, then go from store to store filling it up with marked down designer clothes.

There are still a few malls in the process of dying here. They are sad places. I think they serve people who can't afford to drive to the thriving malls.

Everyone needs to go to a mall, or something like it. We need to breathe in each other's effluvia to keep our immune systems running. We need to see how other people dress so we don't get too disconnected in our own little cosplay. And we need to get away from someone at home. Kids, parents, spouses, something.
 
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scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
29,206
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Vacationland
When I was a young teen, the mall was where I wanted to be, to hang-out, meet girls, or at least think you're gonna meet girls. But that was a different time.

I agree that it's important, in a sociological way, to turn-off the online world, and mingle with real people at a mall. (During winter, my wife uses the mall as an excuse to get out of the house and walk around). I also like buying certain things from physical stores, such as clothing and jewelry. But the salespeople drive me away, because there's not enough customers to keep them busy, so they hound me until I just have to walk out. Also, the selection in most of these stores is a fraction of what you can get online.

Boston has malls like you describe in Houston. The suburbs also have premium outlet stores, which were a big hit when they were new. They still draw a good crowd, but many have discovered the tricks of these outlets; A) fake discounts, and B) non-authentic items. Many of the premium outlets are stocked with stuff that was made specifically for sale in the outlet stores.
 

JHDK

Release Robin's Bra
Oct 11, 2008
31,291
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Hyrule
i have 2 malls in my area and they couldnt be more different. the one mall is this super fancy place with an apple store and a tesla store thats almost always full. less than 10 miles down the road the other mall is basically closed. it has a ton of empty shops and crappy dollar type stores. and it isnt in a bad neighborhood.
 
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blyons200

These pretzels are making me thirsty.
Oct 12, 2008
8,448
1,549
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The BBQ Capital
Houston isn't like that. When I was a kid, there were more malls per person. In the 1990s and 2000s a bunch of them cratered. Some of those turned into community colleges and what not. Today there are probably 5 really happening malls, where all the kids in town want to hang. They do huge business.

One of them, the Galleria, is a destination for foreign nationals. It's packed with people from South America and the Middle East buying high end merchandise tax free. There's a "premium" outlet mall, run by the same company as the Galleria, with many of the same stores, that is also packed with people who came to Houston just to buy cheap luxury stuff. I saw multiple Asian women who showed up early in the morning, bought the biggest hard sided roll on luggage they could pull from the discount luggage store, then go from store to store filling it up with marked down designer clothes.

There are still a few malls in the process of dying here. They are sad places. I think they serve people who can't afford to drive to the thriving malls.

Everyone needs to go to a mall, or something like it. We need to breathe in each other's effluvia to keep our immune systems running. We need to see how other people dress so we don't get too disconnected in our own little cosplay. And we need to get away from someone at home. Kids, parents, spouses, something.
Gunspoint Mall is scary as hell, but like 5-6 miles away there is a really nice mall, I think it's Deerfield mall? Just off 59 and Loop 8