Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And nearly two weeks or so before this posting of mine that you are reading now, Payless Shoesource announced that they are closing all 2100 of their stores at once and going out-of-business.
I can understand the closings, but my wife for one is concerned about Penney's. It's the one place in town where she can find clothes styled a bit for women like here. Most of the other stores only carry product for young, hip, trendy, bean pole shaped girls in teen to maybe just out of college.
I'm 66 but still want to look good and I highly recommend Chico's. Their sticker prices are crazy but there's always good stuff to be had in the sale racks. Bonus: many items made in the US. I've also had good luck with on-line orders from Amour Vert and Karen Kane; their clothes are mostly made in the US and if they're made elsewhere they tell you.
At this point I have a closet full of very nice things, some of which I've had for 20 years but are classic styles, and a collection of freebie T-shirts I can't outlive. I focus on quality rather than quantity. I don't even look in the mall stores- everything looks alike and is mostly made by poorly-paid labor in developing countries in abysmal working conditions. As you said, they're usually not styled for older women, either. Spaghetti straps and exposed bra straps are not my style.
you can also thank the mandatory minimum wage increases and some states its mandatory time and a half on sunday
minimum wage is not a living wage its a starting wage..
and over 70% of minimum wage earners USE to be high school kids for short term jobs ..
now the businesses are closing cutting back on full timers and cutting health insurance ..
some states are 4.00 over the federal minimum wage ...its hurting the small businesses and apparently larger ones too...and lets keep in mind....the brick and mortar stores pays state taxes on every sale....online does not (in every state)
Spot on.
Its also going to speed up automation being used. Speeding up takes out employment years for the low skilled staff now.
I'm 66 but still want to look good and I highly recommend Chico's. Their sticker prices are crazy but there's always good stuff to be had in the sale racks. Bonus: many items made in the US. I've also had good luck with on-line orders from Amour Vert and Karen Kane; their clothes are mostly made in the US and if they're made elsewhere they tell you.
At this point I have a closet full of very nice things, some of which I've had for 20 years but are classic styles, and a collection of freebie T-shirts I can't outlive. I focus on quality rather than quantity. I don't even look in the mall stores- everything looks alike and is mostly made by poorly-paid labor in developing countries in abysmal working conditions. As you said, they're usually not styled for older women, either. Spaghetti straps and exposed bra straps are not my style.
They used to make much more quality clothing years ago. I used to shop sales at Nordstrom and savior every piece of my clothing I bought there. Not anymore. Nothing of quality so of course I don’t buy anymore. I buy when I’m on vacation, $3 for a t-shirt in Hawaii or 6 t-shirts for $20. Who needs expensive clothes.
I stopped shopping at Victoria's Secret once the company began using barely pubescent models, marketing towards tweens and teenaged girls instead adult women, and devoting more floor space toward their PINK line. Few of the bras fit me well, either, although I used to love their Body by Victoria and Intimissi lines as they were great for the smaller-breasted woman.
The quality of the garments isn't as high as it once was, either. The fabric from which the new cotton panties are made isn't nearly as high quality as those of some panties that I purchased nearly a decade ago.
I now spring for Natori and La Perla lingerie as it's so much nicer, if far spendier if not being sold at clearance prices.
And nearly two weeks or so before this posting of mine that you are reading now, Payless Shoesource announced that they are closing all 2100 of their stores at once and going out-of-business.
No loss there. There are plenty of alternatives that offer better quality shoes at comparable prices or even less.
Not only that, but Shoe Carnival and DW have better selections.
Time was when Apple Support was accessible and easy to use. The online site had options such as arranging a callback time, or getting an immediate callback. Or you could easily find their 1-800 number. It It was easy to find the "Genius Bar" in Apple stores and set up an appointment. All of this is still possible but only by roundabout and annoying ways. The linguistic skills of Customer Care personal has declined, though not as dramatically as accessibility.
Is Apple heading down the same road as Sears, Circuit City and most of the major department store in "escalating" the difficulty of reaching highly compensated and skilled personnel? Is this now the "American way", to start out with great service, whether in-store or online, and then slowly degrade it? Sure seems that way.
Maybe this is part of the problem. These stores start out great and then in their greed for profit cut corners.
Yes Amazon is great, hence why they are doing well, hence why I would rather buy a lot of my things from it.
However, I don't think Amazon is the reason why JC Penny is out of business (have you seen their hideous clothes?), I don't think Amazon is making Tesla close it's retail stores (they were more of a marketing thing and now everyone knows Tesla, so it's an expense not needed anymore)... etc.
In my town it looks like Shopko will be next. Thinning shelves and a lower quality of product are the first signs I notice.
Amazon is great until you need an upper echelon service representative. It took me over a month to get the correct help I needed when my account was hacked. In the attempt I talked to people in different parts of the world and would have to start over in every case because they seemed to have no system of registering complaints.
In fact, it took me over a week to get into Amazon and find the correct number to use because the hackers stole my identity and changed the password so that Amazon didn't recognize me. The hackers were so sophisticated that Amazon couldn't even find evidence that they had been there and gone again. It was a real mess and took many, many hours before we were all on the same page.
That was seven months ago and I lost time on my Prime account and still haven't gotten about $900. resolved. So there's that.
Tell your wife to look at FullBeauty.com -- It's where I shop - sizes from zero to 5x. The other store I frequent is Catherine's.
Although I am a great grandmother, I don't dress the part. I like quality. I used to shop at Macy's during their clearance sales but moving out of the NYC area to the south put a stop to that.
Thank you, I'll tell her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbgusa
Maybe this is part of the problem. These stores start out great and then in their greed for profit cut corners.
When most of these companies start out, they are run by people who believe and care about the product. Then eventually they die or sell and retire. Then the management is taken over by Harvard MBA types who couldn't run a Girl Scout cookie sale. Sam Walton built Walmart. The current executives couldn't have built that company from nothing like he did. As Walmart is now, Sears once was. As Sears is now, Walmart will be. Right now they are running on sheer massive size and momentum so it will take them about 30-40 years to run it into the ground.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
