As we continue our mad dash through what many retailers herald as the busiest shopping month of the year, an article on MSN caught my eye. The author, Michael Brush, is talking about seven companies that he doesn’t think will make it to the year 2020. I was anticipating them to be seven companies that no one had ever heard of, but as I read deeper into the article, I realized that I had heard of six of them! The only one that I was in the dark on was the seventh, McClatchy.
As for the other six, I was shocked at first that someone could think they wouldn’t be open in 10 years. But then I got to thinking about the trips I have made to those stores or their websites, and it became a little clearer about why they are on borrowed time.
The first company Brush discusses is Palm, the company that was the first to introduce smart phones. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that with companies like Apple, Google, and Blackberry taking the markets by storm, Palm didn’t stand a chance. From a high of nearly $18 just two short months ago, Palm stock now sits right around $12. With this being the season of shopping, a $6 drop is hardly good news.
Sears made the #2 spot on Brush’s list of companies destined to fail. This one didn’t surprise me either, as Sears always appears to be the least busy anchor store at the West Acres Mall in Fargo. Whenever I go in to browse, I am stunned by their high prices. Electronics are the same price at Best Buy, and Best Buy is an electronics store! Another thing that has always struck me about Sears stores is that they seem to be perpetually rundown and/or dirty-looking. There is nothing appealing about shopping in a store that looks like its floors haven’t been washed in years.
Blockbuster and Kodak were next on the list. Several years ago, I was a frequent customer of Kodak’s…you know, back when our cameras actually required us to develop film?! However, I remember cringing when the bill would come back for $8 for a roll of 24 pictures. That $8 was expensive for pictures 10 years ago! When I moved to Fargo and had access to video rental stores, I think I set foot in Blockbuster once. After seeing that renting a movie for one night would cost be $3-4, I left and haven’t been back since.
Borders and Magellan round out Brush’s list of failing companies. I will admit that these ones surprise me a little bit, as I enjoy shopping at Borders more than I do Barnes & Noble. I am not as familiar with Magellan, as I hardly ever go anywhere that requires the use of a GPS system. However, I know lots of people that use their GPS systems religiously, and I refuse to believe that they are all Tomtoms and Garmins….
I wanted to take the time and mention this little article in my blog this week because, especially during the holiday season, it’s easy to forget that some stores are struggling. What with sale prices being the norm, it is easy to overlook the fact that a lot of these stores are not usually as competitive in price. With all the choices out there today for consumers, stores have to be competitive in every arena, including their pricing and their availability to the consumer. Social media helps them with the second, now we just have to help them find something for the first!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Lawns, Tigers & Hydrants, Oh My!
I know I will not be the only one to blog about Tiger Woods this week, but perhaps my view on it may be a little bit different than most…
As we all know, Woods had a single-vehicle car accident over Thanksgiving weekend. Sounds innocent enough, right? No reason to get all bent out of shape and call in the investigative unit from the police department, right? Apparently, the answer to both of those questions is “wrong!” All anyone can seem to talk about is Woods’ accident and the supposed situation that may or may not have led to him having the accident in the first place.
Yes, it is suspicious that he is not cooperating with the police that wish to interview him. It is also rather odd that he is refusing to have his medical and other records released to the investigative unit involved with the case when he keeps insisting that nothing was the matter. A lot of media are saying that if there is nothing to hide, there should be no problem. However, I encourage all of you to think about what your reaction would be if the police or the media asked for your records after you were in a car wreck that you knew was nothing more than a momentary slipup. I know I would be upset that they didn’t believe me and felt that they had to check up on me via my records.
Whatever happened to letting people have their privacy? Or, if privacy for a celebrity is too much, what about the common courtesy to respect the Woods’ family wishes? Also, what is it about this incident that is worthy of over 16,000 articles on Google News? From what I remember about car accidents, there’s nothing that spectacular to report about them…
I also think it is unfortunate that Woods may lose his endorsement deals because of this accident. When I rear ended a car four winters ago at an icy intersection, I didn’t lose my job. No one at my place of employment would have even had to know, except for the fact that I had to beg a ride from a coworker until I could get a rental car. I think it is unfair that Woods is losing his endorsements, which are like his job, just because he was in a car accident.
Besides the fact that it “just isn’t fair,” I also don’t like what that says about or to our society. I think it says that unless you are perfect, you’re not worth anything, which is such a sad statement to make. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and the punishment should fit the crime (how was that for a sentence full of clichés?!).
As we all know, Woods had a single-vehicle car accident over Thanksgiving weekend. Sounds innocent enough, right? No reason to get all bent out of shape and call in the investigative unit from the police department, right? Apparently, the answer to both of those questions is “wrong!” All anyone can seem to talk about is Woods’ accident and the supposed situation that may or may not have led to him having the accident in the first place.
Yes, it is suspicious that he is not cooperating with the police that wish to interview him. It is also rather odd that he is refusing to have his medical and other records released to the investigative unit involved with the case when he keeps insisting that nothing was the matter. A lot of media are saying that if there is nothing to hide, there should be no problem. However, I encourage all of you to think about what your reaction would be if the police or the media asked for your records after you were in a car wreck that you knew was nothing more than a momentary slipup. I know I would be upset that they didn’t believe me and felt that they had to check up on me via my records.
Whatever happened to letting people have their privacy? Or, if privacy for a celebrity is too much, what about the common courtesy to respect the Woods’ family wishes? Also, what is it about this incident that is worthy of over 16,000 articles on Google News? From what I remember about car accidents, there’s nothing that spectacular to report about them…
I also think it is unfortunate that Woods may lose his endorsement deals because of this accident. When I rear ended a car four winters ago at an icy intersection, I didn’t lose my job. No one at my place of employment would have even had to know, except for the fact that I had to beg a ride from a coworker until I could get a rental car. I think it is unfair that Woods is losing his endorsements, which are like his job, just because he was in a car accident.
Besides the fact that it “just isn’t fair,” I also don’t like what that says about or to our society. I think it says that unless you are perfect, you’re not worth anything, which is such a sad statement to make. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and the punishment should fit the crime (how was that for a sentence full of clichés?!).
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