Quote:
Originally posted by honeychile
I have said for years that, if we don't keep shopping at the little stores, there's going to come a time when we will go to STORE, or HARDWARE STORE, or COFFEE SHOP, or RESTAURANT, etc. It's the chaining of America, where we can't really choose where we want to shop, eat, or drink. Decent BBQ? Forget it! One of a kind clothing? Done. Books that aren't PC? Gone.
It's a massive blow for both the independent store keeper AND the independent shopper!
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Well, actually, Kaufmann's hasn't been "independent" for quite a while now. Go to Hecht's in Maryland/DC and you'll see the same signage, same slogans etc. But this is a whole different deal - for many smaller cities, we'll have NO CHOICE in department stores unless Dillard's, Neiman-Marcus or Nordstrom decides to expand. Even if that happens, some of those options might be too expensive for many Kauf/Horne's shoppers (like Saks is).
I think, or should I say I hope, that this will backfire to the point of encouraging independent regional department stores to make a comeback (Troutman's and Hess's, I'm looking at you). There are still people out there who want to shop someplace classier than Wal-Mart (thank God).