Retailer

Nostalgic Retail Series #2 - BORDERS

Founded in Michigan in 1971, Borders heyday was in the early 2000s. In 1992, Borders was acquired by Kmart (who already owned Waldenbooks) and grew to close to 1,250 stores by 2003.

But Amazon and electronic book readers changed the game. The company shuttered all locations and filed for bankruptcy in February of 2011, followed by closing its online store in September of that same year.

Barnes & Noble acquired some of Border’s assets and brand trademarks in 2011, with international locations being purchased by various entities.

Struggles but differing outcome for rival Barnes & Noble and local bookstores have certainly been resilient and are thriving again.

Interesting to compare the strategies.

Sales Was Never the Warning Light

I walked into a Nordstrom Rack recently, and a large chunk of the front of the store was sealed off. It wasn't a remodel or a pop-up. It was boxes, stacked and waiting for pickup customers. That space is still in the denominator of the store'

𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 #60 - 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 + 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢'𝘴 𝘕𝘰. 2 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘢, 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢. If you grew up in a small Southern town, your video store was probably a Movie Gallery. Empty boxes on the wall, the tapes behind the counter, a bin of Sega and Nintendo games by the register, and a late fee waiting for you on Monday. In 1985,

Nostalgic Retail Series #59: W.T. GRANT

Grants sat somewhere between the five-and-dime and the department store. It had a Bradford House restaurant inside and Bradford brand electronics in the back. Near the end, the clerk at the register was told to hand you a credit application whether you asked for one or not. William

The Household Has a Rent Roll Too

In 2024 the average American household spent $1,993 on vehicle insurance and $1,985 on all apparel and services combined. Shoes, coats, work clothes, school clothes, alterations, dry cleaning, the whole category. Car insurance edged it out by eight dollars. That number comes from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey,

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Sales Was Never the Warning Light

𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 #60 - 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 + 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

Nostalgic Retail Series #59: W.T. GRANT

The Household Has a Rent Roll Too