The Borders near me closed the other month. Wasn’t surprising. Ditto for Circuit City. Gone. A few years prior to that it was Hollywood Video that rolled its end credits. The problem is, none of them had to go. They each died of self-inflicted wounds. Sure, a lot of their CEOs came out and blamed Iraq, the economy, e-commerce, etc., for their failures. But while these external forces may have played a part, they weren’t the death knell. It’s like the guy dying from heart disease blaming the doughnut shop.
What happened to Circuit City?
So what happened? Was it competition from Best Buy? Was it a change in consumer behavior? Was it a poor business model? Was it the layoffs?
Steve Harmon has written a really engaging article and clearly knows retail in it's true form; the meeting of customer needs irrespective if your store is made of light or stone.
One possible improvement..Steve takes for granted that, had the dead and dying created a ginchy buying experience and lowered price [each a margin killer],they could have actually survived. Walmart has been killing competitors with price and selection since b4 Amazon listed it's first book. There may just be room for x retail business per human being and as Amazon et al come in, somebody must exit.
Does Steve have any good examples of traditional stores who ARE surviving by "doing it right"? I personally think that, long-term, they are all doomed except for fresh bread, used clothes and the odd 7-11.
Lowell Hussey
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Retail Autopsy: What Killed Borders, Circuit City and Hollywood Video
Posted by: Steve Harmon January 24, 2012 05:00 AMThe Borders near me closed the other month. Wasn’t surprising. Ditto for Circuit City. Gone. A few years prior to that it was Hollywood Video that rolled its end credits. The problem is, none of them had to go. They each died of self-inflicted wounds. Sure, a lot of their CEOs came out and blamed Iraq, the economy, e-commerce, etc., for their failures. But while these external forces may have played a part, they weren’t the death knell. It’s like the guy dying from heart disease blaming the doughnut shop.
So what happened? Was it competition from Best Buy? Was it a change in consumer behavior? Was it a poor business model? Was it the layoffs?
whatever it is
they are outta the picture
One possible improvement..Steve takes for granted that, had the dead and dying created a ginchy buying experience and lowered price [each a margin killer],they could have actually survived. Walmart has been killing competitors with price and selection since b4 Amazon listed it's first book. There may just be room for x retail business per human being and as Amazon et al come in, somebody must exit.
Does Steve have any good examples of traditional stores who ARE surviving by "doing it right"? I personally think that, long-term, they are all doomed except for fresh bread, used clothes and the odd 7-11.
Lowell Hussey