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A Sense of Desperation

March 8th, 2009 at 05:08 pm

Yesterday while on a little outing with my niece and grandniece, we were enjoying the beautiful day and some treats at the outdoor dining area of a local Starbuck's. While we sat there, a lady came up to our table and asked if we lived locally, and we said we did. Then she proceeded to tell us about a line of clothes she was selling at "wholesale" prices at the store across the street. The sale would be just for the day and the store was Costco.

Well, intrigued, we decided to go over and check it out. The clothes were cute, a well known brand that is made in the USA. But I found the prices still too high, at least for what I was willing to spend on items I really did not need. And, sadly, there seemed to be very little interest in the "sale" from other customers. People are sticking to basics these days.

What really hit home for me, though, is the sense of desperation I am seeing with so many retailers nowadays. It seems more and more businesses are struggling or on the brink of collapse. I'm seeing it too often in the faces and the voices of people at the smaller stores and businesses. The lady that told us about the sale tried so hard to sell us something that I almost bought out of pity. In the end, I decided it would not be money well spent for me.

On a positive note, I did find three very cute items for a baby shower I am attending on Thursday for the baby boy of a colleague at the university. So, now I can cross that off my "to do" list for Monday.

Posted in Family & Friends | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “A Sense of Desperation”

  1. my english castle Says:
    March 8th, 2009 at 05:19 pm 1236532752
    1236532752

    I've been thinking the same thing--especially with smaller retailers. We've seen so many small shops near us close. I'm trying to buy local and keep local businesses alive, but as people are tightening their grips on their pennies, it seems it's only the Wal-Marts of the world that are doing OK.

  2. Amber Says:
    March 8th, 2009 at 08:31 pm 1236544270
    1236544270

    You're right I read an article were Americans are saving too much money and Wal-Mart(WM) is definitely turning making a profit. My friend who is a WM assistant manager said her store's sales were up almost 10%

  3. fern Says:
    March 9th, 2009 at 01:06 am 1236560795
    1236560795

    I think that stores like Walmart, costco and sam's club are doing ok becus they sell what people need: the basics and food. Wal-Mart sales are up mostly becus of food sales there, too.

    IMO, there are far too many little gift shops that just feed into the i've-got-to-buy-this-little-doo-dad-that's-totally-useless-but-i've-got-to-have-it-anyway mentality.

    You mgiht say there's not only a "correction" going on in the once over-priced stock market but there's also a "correction" going on in the amount of retail stores out there that goad us into buying stuff we really don't need.

  4. boomeyers Says:
    March 9th, 2009 at 04:34 am 1236573244
    1236573244

    One Walmart employee told me all major cities will have a SuperWalMart in it by 2015. It just makes smart sense to expand into groceries... what everyone needs. That is why WalMart is still profitable.

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