Retail Watchers

I guess it would better be explained that the banks preferred to see Circuit City acquired by another company which was what we thought was going to happen all the way down to the wire. The richest businessman in Mexico had a bid in to buy the company and merge it with his operations down there. If...

Been a few years, showing a number of interesting trends so I'm taking in a few notes about the evolution of Best Buy. Closings are still commonplace in the chain. I assume these are primarily to decrease store density, limiting the spread to only a few per metro area (equivalent to the density of ...

As a Circuit City veteran, I can tell you that the shock at Best Buy was the fact that their revenue was completely flat in the year after the Circuit City liquidation. They didn't get a dime of additional sales after expecting billions to flow in. All those sales went to other companies like Targe...

With today's sad news about Jack in the Box acquiring Del Taco, likely to milk the system dry by selling the restaurants to franchisee owners - and the obviously negative impact similar decisions have made on Panera, Coffee Bean, Baja Fresh, Pick Up Stix, Jamba, Peets, Carl's Jr., various Bagel plac...

I can give you two words that sum up Best Buy's lack of activity: Circuit City Their collapse scared Best Buy to its core, and while they have made *some* changes, it really doesn't amount to much. Best Buy is now an Electronics Convenience Store and Showroom. Folks don't go there to buy. They go t...

Really disappointed to see this. Del Taco has improved substantially the last few years, especially since they started focusing on larger, higher quality products instead of the dollar menu type junk Taco Bell leans towards. If you're in a market where good fresh avocados are available then their gu...

Based on my experience across multiple big box retailers on the field leadership and real estate side - California almost universally has the worst retail real estate for nearly every chain in operation. Always the smallest back rooms, smaller sales floors, more logistical challenges such as noise ...

War on retail? That sounds a bit dramatic to me. It is well documented that the US is overstored, with far more retail space per capita than other countries. In post-Porp 13 California, there is the added issue of "cash box zoning", where cities have historically favored retail over resid...

First off, I am always infuriated when the media says there isn't data on theft. The store takes inventory. There's the data. Where it gets sticky is that generally Wall Street hates to hear about shrink in quarterly earnings reports and anywhere else because they consider it completely preventable ...

The very posh outdoor mall called Broadway Plaza Walnut Creek, California had 2 Macy's up until a few years ago. One was a former I. Magnin and the other was an Emporium Capwell. That mall is so successful that the sales are out of control. The customers are rich and the stores are crowded. However...