Another one bites the dust (retail)

[bobblickle]

The Retail Holocaust continues...

The latest is Tweeter electronics stores. The Liquidation Sales have begun.

http://dealnews.com/Tweeter-Liquidation-Sales/259132.html

[bobblickle]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

Also,
Rumor has it we can expect similar news from Circuit City probably this week.

Look for "Black Friday" deals to start any minute as all the retailers try to survive the rest of this year. No kidding, the winds of change are blowing.

bb

[brianpowers27]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

I have never found any good reason to go to circuit city vs best buy. I barely even tolerate best buy.

It seems like these huge big box stores need to start providing higher levels of service. These stores are never going to be able to compete with the likes of newegg or walmart on price.

[AJ]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

Yup, online is where it's at. Pretty much every household has a computer now, and pretty much everybody that has a computer buys stuff online. Especially electronics...

[jkrutke]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

I think this is also pretty new news, but Circuit City is closing 155 stores. I never felt a reason to go there myself, though I did buy a big screen TV there about 8 years ago. Haven't walked in the door since.

"The company said it expects the stores it is shuttering, which generated about $1.4 billion in net sales in fiscal 2008, will not open on Tuesday and store closing sales will begin on Wednesday"

[echrisconnor]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

I hadn't been paying attention to the news much and needed a new power supply for my PC. So I drove down to the local CompUSA only to see it all boarded up. WTF! It's great that you can get everything you need online now, but it's also nice to be able to get in the car and go get the things you need when you need them.

[biff]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

I have never found any good reason to go to circuit city vs best buy. I barely even tolerate best buy.

It seems like these huge big box stores need to start providing higher levels of service. These stores are never going to be able to compete with the likes of newegg or walmart on price.

Having spent a good deal of my career in retail at various levels including electronics buyer for a catalog group, and specialty store operation, it is a heartbreaking reality that there is virtually nothing they can do to forestall this happening. Once the manufacturers start providing product to a non-servicing (read:bigbox) dealer there is no reason for the buyer to give their dollars to a specialist. Most of the differential in "service" is in what we considered pre-sale service - education, supporting the "line", loaning units to prospects for in home evaluation, system selction and setup, etc. Do all of the above and then a certain percentage of your customers go to the low priced option for their purchase and you are left with only the overhead. HTIBs do not require a salesman, and the reliability problems that once placed value on after sale service are not a factor because A - things hold up better now, and B - obsolesence (Dolby surround, 5.1, 7.1, blu-ray) means people aren't keeping things for 20 years, and C - manufacturing techniques and low costs mean it is usually cheaper to build than repair.

Only as long as there are manufacturers who protect their distribution and very high end products for those who can appreciate the difference (real or perceived) will specialty retailers exist within a product category. Information available to the public allows them to make a purchase decision that validates their notion of "good" stuff with no human advisor in the chain.

So if your friend invites you over to audition his new home theatre just bring a bottle of yellowtail, some well concealed earplugs, and your best smile.
Tell him it sounds fantastic, and never play what he played for him on your system. We all need our illusions.

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Another one bites the dust (retail)

I hadn't been paying attention to the news much and needed a new power supply for my PC. So I drove down to the local CompUSA only to see it all boarded up. WTF! It's great that you can get everything you need online now, but it's also nice to be able to get in the car and go get the things you need when you need them.

Agreed, although CompUSA has been a generally annoying store to be in since about 1995.

Now MicroCenter on the other hand... in a word: "heavenly." No, certainly not online prices, but sales staff that really knows the products and are nice to talk to, and they actually have stock on-hand--two things CompUSA was sorely lacking.