Retail Watchers

From a brand perspective Joann should close since it is a blight on their name and does no real volume. Yet they've kept many of the old House of Fabrics and Cloth World dreadful stores open probably because of the financials I explained above. They really needed to find a savior who would be happy...

They are aggressively trying to address the overloaded locations. I suspect that after many years of just adding staff they're realizing with rising labor costs that it is just plain inefficient to keep throwing absurd amounts of labor at one store that is so busy it requires a full stocking crew d...

Home Depot allows any dogs in its store. It says the dogs will be accompanied by the security guard at all times. The shoplifters can send in people who "like the dogs" and want to pet the dogs to help serve as a distraction for both the dog and the security guard while the others in their...

Another new POS system? I wonder when these guys will quit changing their POS system. This is like the third time they've changed it in the past few years. The system has seemed pretty quick to me the whole time so it has been a mystery why they keep changing it. The system I've seen them using most...

Yeah, I never heard or witnessed that about Ralphs. The 2 Ralphs in the Koreatown area are quite busy. I noticed many Asian folks at the Westwood Fresh Fare as well. Come to think about it, the Fresh Fare by UCSD was usually packed with (I think) mostly Chinese students shopping. I think I need to ...

It's hard for me to see how Albertsons and Kroger thought this new deal would entice the FTC any better. I know someone said maybe it was simply to get the states that were suing off their backs, but the FTC was very clear that C&S is simply a questionable buyer, and it's going to take actual l...

I think this is worthy of its own thread given the baggage surrounding the Haggen name. Somehow I missed this before, but it is in the official release: "Under the amended agreement, Kroger will also sell the Haggen banner to C&S. " So they are dumping off the QFC, Haggen, and Marianos...

On reddit, a couple of Dom's employees mentioned Mariano looked ill and frail when he would visit prior to the sale to Foxtrot. Others have speculated the sale was precipitated by him being ill. Regardless, the majority of posts I've seen think Dom's and Foxtrot were not a good match and that Dom's...

If a chain is in long-term decline, then rising rents will give them more reason to keep closing stores. I'm surprised when I see any of these places that have been named, because they've gotten fewer and fewer. International operations probably keep some of them afloat--chains like Shkey's and Ken...

Chili's closed both the Irvine and Aliso Viejo locations recently. Both locations were always super busy with waits on weekends. Both were featuring trial menus in which the "3 For Me" was priced at $16.99 and above. I suspect the rents swelled so they closed up shop... I think it's diffi...