BlogHer - Which of Your Favorite Businesses Will Disappear in 2009? - Comments

I lost my favourite craft shop

kazari — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:34:01 -0600

I don't mind so much about the big chain stores, but losing a locally owned family business really sucked. They have two other stores in other centres near me, but it's still sad.

Huh?

abelee — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:44:54 -0600

"This suggests that the lower income group is feeling the pinch more
than we thought and this is clearly reflected in the
lower-than-expected numbers at Wal-Mart," said Ken Perkins, president
of research company RetailMetrics LLC. "I think it says the economy is
in more dire straits than we thought."

Has this man been living on the moon? In a cave? Forgive me, but I'm just gonna say it: What a monumentally stupid thing to say. Did he think that lower income families were sailing through this recession? Exempt from being laid off? Did he not realize that in a lower income family, getting laid off is equivalent to disaster? There's no "two months salary" saved in the bank; there's no downsizing because lower income families already live in the parts of town you don't want to get out of your car in after dark.

Every time I truly think I've heard it all.... well, apparently, I haven't.

*.Lee
Abelee's Handcrafted
http://abelees.1000Markets.com

Breakfast spots

Denise — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:34:46 -0600

In November, we discovered the Cinnabon in Wilmette had closed. Today, I discovered the restaurant across the street from our neighborhood is closed - Hamilton's. The kids are going to be disappointed when they find out. RJ loved their "Hamilton's special" and Liz had a whole list of breakfast items she wanted to try there.

What's next? I don't wanna think about it.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Don't worry, Peter Fox Shoes

Peter Fox Shoes — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:04:07 -0600

Don't worry, Peter Fox Shoes is still in business! We are in the process of rebuilding our website

and see to have a glitch that shows up on Macs. We should be up in a few days.

Our phone number, 212-431-7426, and email:peterfox@verizon.net, remain the same.

Thank-you for your concern, it's nice to know we have such great customers out there!

-Peter Fox Employee

Which of Your Favorite Businesses Will Disappear in 2009?

Elana Centor — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:39:47 -0600

My favorite shoe store in New York City closed --just one of the estimated 73,000 stores that some say will bite the dust because of this thing we call the economy.

As far as shoe shopping goes,I am not the target audience for the Zappos $50,000 T-shirt campaign that Erin Kotecki Vest shares in her post Zappo: Sexist Marketing Ploy or Brilliant Viral Humor?

Unlike Zappos, my favorite shoe store had a small selection that was not very diverse. Almost every shoe had a two-inch heel and a rounded toe. While not fashion-forward, I always get compliments on my shoes--even though several are a decade old.

They were Peter Fox shoes--well known in the bridal shoe market sector and I just loved them.
When you are a size 11 with a bunion that doesn't quit on one foot and a surgery-corrected bunion with nerve damage on the other foot,having shoes that successfully make your feet look smaller and,at the same time, accommodates the bunion bulges creates the kind of customer devotion and loyalty that Zappos enjoys with its customers.

At one time there were multiple Peter Fox stores but they started closing stores a couple of years ago.

For the past couple of years, it's only been the SoHo store along with their website. A couple of weeks ago the website said that while the SoHo store was closing,the shoes would still be available online.

I was optimistic.

However, yesterday, when I went to the website, this is what I saw.

In the scheme of life having a shoe store close is really not a big deal ---except that it is. It was my shoe store and part of my ritual when I went to New York. I'm going to miss those shoe

I'm not alone.Jennifer L who blogs at Collected Thoughts lost her favorite shoe store this week.

I got out of my car today and the Liz Clairborne shoe store has closed. There was just a locked door and empty shelves. So sad! I have at least 15 pairs of shoes in my closet from there, what is a girl to do know

Sara Says, has a running list of stores that have announced closings.Since her post in November which she includes , KB stores, The Gap,Dillards, Pep Boys, Foot Locker, The Gap,and Eddie Bauer, more stores have announced shutterings including Macy's, Linen N Things and Sharper Image.

There's more. As Liz Gumbinner warned last month, in her post The CPSIA puts handmade toys and kids clothes in danger of extinction, many stores that cater to the 12 and under crowd will have to close their doors because of new federal regulations requiring elaborate and expensive testing of products to ensure they are lead-free.What is the connection to the economy? The Congress implemented the regulations in response to the lead infested products imported from China.

If our economy wasn't so dependent on China produced merchandise than the regulation would never have been introduced and hundreds of businesses would not be facing bankruptcy.

The regulations become effective February 10th - a day that is now being dubbed National Bankrupt Day.

For book lovers, it's probably the last chapter for Borders.

It's not just stores that are closing. Newspapers throughout the country are on the brink - including the Gray Lady -- some are predicting The New York Times could be gone by May.

When you read the reasons why the newspaper could easily fail,from a business perspective ,it makes perfect sense. Newspapers are a business and the current model is fractured. But that doesn't change the magnitude of the potential loss.

How bad will it get? Well it seems the economy has even gotten to Wal-Mart.

But the biggest surprise came from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, which posted a smaller sales gain than what Wall Street expected and cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook.

"This suggests that the lower income group is feeling the pinch more than we thought and this is clearly reflected in the lower-than-expected numbers at Wal-Mart," said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC. "I think it says the economy is in more dire straits than we thought."

So Goes Wal-Mart, So goes the nation.
Elana writes about business culture at FunnyBusiness.