Friday, December 12, 2008

I really shouldn't be enjoying this....

Enjoying may not be the right word. Interested. Engaged. Fascinated.

All the activity in Bend, both good and bad.

And nationally; KB Toys is down for the count, ToyRUs is on the ropes (with KB's liquidations not helping much), and Walmart is triumphant.

Powell's Books is telling it's staff to take time off...with an implied, "Or Else."
They have 500 people working for them!!?!? Wow.

4 new fitness centers in Bend. Maybe I just don't understand exercisers, but I suspect in down times people are less motivated to get all sweaty than up times. But maybe it's the opposite....?

I've been making the joke (?) that all over town in back rooms of stores and restaurants owners are having nervous breakdowns. You know, the kind where you go out and see all the things your staff is doing wrong and fire the lot of them. That kind of thing.

So I fall back on my old (and hard won by experience) sayings:

Whatever is happening to you, is most likely happening to others.

It isn't personal.

Don't blame the customer.

You can't spend your way into profitability.

Promotion is more seductive but probably even less useful than normal.

Don't do anything drastic.

Try to see the bright side.

This too shall pass.

1 comment:

RDC said...

Welcome to an economy with all the criteria of being in a deflationary period (the Japanese Experience of the 90's).

As a store goes bankrupt and liquidates it put pressure of its surviving competitors until it has totally disappeared. The failure of Linens and Things negatively impacting Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.

Consequently the liquidations are attracting a higher percentage of the decreasing consumer spend.