Retail Watchers

It does seem a little slower this year. Perhaps it is just the cold weather. It has been really cold and rainy lately, and there just are fewer people out late at night. Malls need to bring back what made them popular back in the 80s. They need more variety and more popular attractions to get those ...

The fire looks like it burned some sections of solar panels and left some areas with no solar panels unscathed. There is no damage to the facade of the store. Perhaps it was limited to a roof fire.

I totally agree about malls these days. Back in the 1980s there were really fun pet stores at most malls. You could see the puppies and kittens. There were aquariums and birds on display. There were also arcades and skating rinks. Many malls had movie theaters and really nice food courts. There was ...

The new owners have opened up a new Toys R Us store at the entertainment and retail center called American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is a global flagship and features 10,000 items. There is a cafe and ice cream parlor along with a 2 story slide. The new company plans to open 400 store...

It seems that higher prices might have caused more people to shift to buying online for cheaper prices. It could also be that inflation could be causing people to do more shopping at discount retailers such as Walmart or Target instead of the other full priced retailers. I was at Costco last night n...

There seems to be a tremendous amount of bad blood between the company and the previous founder. I do not blame them. There are many toxic and unpleasant CEOs of companies. They rise to power and become very controlling. There are times when it is not just one incident that leads to someone being re...

Since the Christmas shopping season is over, I have noticed a major slowdown in retail sales. Even Walmart seems eerily empty than before. Everywhere I go, the parking lots are more empty and people do not seem to be buying as much. Is it due to increased prices or is it due to Omnicron fears? Perha...

Life was better when everything was in paper packaging and most containers at stores were glass. Ketchup, soda, mouthwash, salad dressing, mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, syrup, etc. were all in glass containers. They were easily recycled here in the US and provided many jobs. Then plastic recycli...

The plastic bags laws began so that plastic bags might be replaced by paper bags which are somewhat more environmentally friendly. Thin plastic bags were blowing in the wind and littering many areas. The thin bags were also mistakenly eaten by sea turtles. Paper bags would have eliminated some of th...

The theory is that Christmas Eve is the time when you are desperate for last minute food items for get-togethers. Also since Walmart and other big box stores are closed on Christmas Day, Safeway wanted to take all of that business too by opening 24 hours. New Year's Eve is different. Most people buy...