Comments on: Retail Newsbrief: Tim Horton’s, JCPenney, Smith & Hawken, Ritz Camera, Goody’s

By: Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)

Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:14:59 +0000

The Goody’s in town recently had its doors reopened with activity going on. Turns out they were just removed the last of the fixtures, and the sign has finally been dismantled.

By: J. Smith

J. Smith — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:56:25 +0000

JCPenney did a lay off of close to 300 assistant store managers as well as gave over several thousand full time associates the option to either step down to part time or be out of a job. They preach about being middle America’s store yet those who are middle America need not work there. Everyday matters but their people don’t!

By: Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)

Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:31:31 +0000

A bit late, but I’m surprised I haven’t seen myGofer, a new Kmart concept, sort of like the failed Epicenter Collection.

By: SEAN

SEAN — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:49:49 +0000

@BonRegis,

This is the 5th incarnation of the Gimbles building including Manhattan Mall.

By: BonRegis

BonRegis — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:47:14 +0000

Ah, I see now. 150K isn’t rather large for a department store, especially in Manhattan. My comment was based on Labelscar describing the future store as ‘giant’. Perhaps its arrival will help the apparently ailing Manhattan Mall that it anchors.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:07:37 +0000

At 150,000 suare feet on 2 levels, Penney’s New York store can hardly be considered a ‘giant’ store. Considering that Gimbels had 10 floors and covered the entire block, I’m sure this isn’t giving Macy’s many sleepness nights (they have other problems to deal with). Personally, I’d be more excited if Gimbels made a comeback, but I’m old and in nobody’s target demographic anymore.

By: BonRegis

BonRegis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:52:34 +0000

I thought JCPenney had a presence in Manhattan or further north in Harlem. I wonder what type of vendor shops this hulking flagship will feature.

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:32:59 +0000

Tim Hortons has somewhat better donuts than Dunkin or the overhyped Krispy Kreme. I’ve had them in Canada. They seem to have built their own rather quiet, not exactly cult following.The sour creame blueberry fritter (which I haven’t had) has many fans, in particular.

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:14:35 +0000

Steve Swain is right about what Ritz/Wolf did to indies, at least in some places. They basically became extinct in Atlanta where Wolf (the bankrupt chain that helped kill Ritz) was dominant. In other cities, indies hold on, along with wonderful local chains like Penn Camera in DC and Dodd Camera in Cleveland. Ritz/Wolf had horrible selections (Caldor must live some place where they never had competition) and lousy customer servicet. This will be a boon to the surviving indies and might help revive the business in bigger cities. The Wolf stores, in particular, were the absolute worst and should have been liquidated–the prototypical Atlanta chain with narrow selection and terrible, dimwitted service, but no competition. Serious camera users in ATL that I knew used mail order from places in NYC, whic is what I did, too.

I didn’t realize Smith & Hawken was part of Scott’s. I wonder if their branded merchandise at Target will go, too.

Goody’s might actually be a good fit for some small markets, at least until Kohl’s gets interested.

Mainstream chains like K-Mart have done fine in New York. JC Penney used to be based there. I suspect they will do fine and will use the store to try out new concepts.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:36:13 +0000

Ritz has seen better days. On the upside, it’ll open more prime retail space for retailers that still have yet to be represented at malls across the country. No one’s opening any stores right now but wait a year or two down the road and they’ll be back at it again.