The evil chain store

[Mishap]

If you were in Times Square or anywhere near tourist areas, the rents are so astronomical that only chains/tourist traps can survive and many are loss leaders meant to promote brand awareness. No amount of M&M sales can make up for $650-1300/sf annual rent. You have to go outside those areas to see where boutiques/mom&pop shops/bodegas still thrive and even then it's a lean existence based solely on accepting cash (and underreporting taxes/revenue).

The Home Depots in NYC are very different from the ones everywhere else...it's catered heavily toward renters vs. the traditional building supplies/appliances/outdoor. Basically, you'll find storage, paint, minor repair stuff, and catalogs for pro remodeling. They've ringed the city w/ traditional stores since most contractors live in the outer boroughs anyway. I recall Home Depot maintains the stores just for brand awareness so people will be closer to the brand when they head out to Long Island or Jersey. The whole supply chain into Manhattan is nightmarish and Walmart just skipped it altogether and they're complete embodiment of chain stores. It's also why you find a Kroger, Publix, or it's NY equivalent (Wegman's) in any of the denser parts. Ikea just provides bus service to Manhattan from Newark.

In smaller cities, chains do have the ability to crowd out smaller retailers. Atlanta's downtown already looks like a catalog of manufactured restaurants. That said, there's definitely something comforting about going to an unfamiliar city and finding the nearest SBX or McDonald's to get your bearings. I've used SBX as a quick base to deal w/ calls/work stuff in Boston, NYC, Chicago, LA, and even Hong Kong. Drop a 200k sf Walmart at 42nd and Broadway (or at the foot of AmericasMart for that matter) and you'd wind up w/ a very different vibe.

[SWAMPBUCK62]

main street USA fails when the chain come to to town because they fail to adapt to the changes... As a mom and pop you have have something to offer that chains don't friendly personal service, you need to put emphasis on that or you are doomed to fail.. Price will not matter as much if customers like you..

[bryantm3]

manhattan seems to have gotten to the point where it's so expensive to live there that it's become an island of elitists, much less diverse than it used to be and what with all the nanny state crap bloomberg is pushing, i think new york is honestly past its prime.

that being said, i don't think chain stores are necessarily a bad thing. for example nowadays, mom and pop grocery stores are rare even out in the sticks, and it's cheaper and more efficient for the chain stores to deliver food and groceries to everyone, while still giving folks the opportunity to open franchises and whatnot. opening a franchise is also a lot easier for a first time business owner since the company supplies pretty much everything, so it gives them a good launching off point to start another business. i also think chain stores are good in rough neighbourhoods because they have the capital to be able to invest in security and be able to write off shoplifting and whatnot much easier than a mom and pop store could, keeping the store open and providing a valuable service to the neighbourhood and possibly creating a renewed interest in the neighbourhood, such as what wal-mart is doing with vine city now.

where i don't like chain stores is when they dominate the entire market, this is especially bad in the suburbs. when you've got a best buy, target, circuit city, etc. all within a 5 mile area, it's damned hard to enter the market or stay in it if you're already there. also it's a shame when an area is full of independently owned shops and restaurants that are relatively affordable, and chains move in to try and take advantage of the market, making business a lot tougher for the shop owners— it's sort of like this in l5p where they opened a shopping centre right down moreland in edgewood. in these sorts of cases i can see the disdain for chains.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

A lot of people complain about chain stores.

I'm not saying chain stores are the best things going, but I think they are fine mixed in with a good mix of all kinds of businesses.

Anyway, I was in New York last week. And guess what I saw everywhere? That's right....chains! Chains as far as the eye could see, right there in the middle of MIDTOWN MANHATTAN!

The days of having to go to New Jersey to go to a chain seem to be over. There's even a Home Depot right there in the middle of everything.

Bottom line: chains do not ruin an urban core. Unless you think New York has been ruined.

Exactly. Personally, I give my business to the company that provides me with the best value. I don't care if that business is owned directly by a little old lady who lived in the neighborhood for 100 years, or by a billion stockholders who are my friends, neighbors, or large investors. The contention that unless a business is owned directly by a local sole proprietor it's somehow bad, or that owning stock in a large corporation owned chain isn't owning a piece of the business just shows the ignorance of those who believe those fallacies.

[ATLTJL]

I'd just like to say that mom & pop stores are okay in some areas, but for the most part, I don't really miss them.

For example, I went to college in a small college town in the mid 90s, and a lot of chains hadn't gotten there yet. I remember having to buy a TV. It sucked. The electronics store had an incredibly lame selection and no real return policy. When Circuit City came, it was a blessing.

When my parents first moved to their town in the 90s, it was the same way. They had a horrible time trying to do anything around the house without a Home Depot nearby. The local hardware store was constantly having to special order things for them and they knew they were overpaying. When Home Depot came, it made their lives much easier.

Chain stores are capitalism. They beat mom & pop stores because they offer better selection, better prices, and return policies. A lot of times, mom & pop stores go out of business because they deserve to.

I only really care about mom & pop stores for a few niche things. Of course, for restaurants they can be good. Sometimes for little gift stores they can offer unique items. And I always liked the local alternative non-corporate record store. But I would never buy an electronic or appliance from a mom & pop store and I don't care if they all go out of business.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by SWAMPBUCK62

main street USA fails when the chain come to to town because they fail to adapt to the changes... As a mom and pop you have have something to offer that chains don't friendly personal service, you need to put emphasis on that or you are doomed to fail.. Price will not matter as much if customers like you..

Customer service is usually not enough. As the behavior of thousands (millions) of box box store customers, airline passengers, and other similar consumer groups have shown, even a small savings can override just about anything else a company can offer.

People say they're willing to pay for service, but their actions speak otherwise.

One exception might be restaurants. But retail stores?