What took the place of former big-box stores?

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

In BR several former grocery store locations have been reused as self-storage facilities. Not enough grocery chains exist anymore to fill these old strip mall anchors (and even if there were, Walmart would presumably eat their lunch anyway) so I guess it was the logical thing to do.

[jbnv]

In BR several former grocery store locations have been reused as self-storage facilities. Not enough grocery chains exist anymore to fill these old strip mall anchors (and even if there were, Walmart would presumably eat their lunch anyway) so I guess it was the logical thing to do.

Lafayette used to have a big-box marketplace that they named Bridge Market. It had a large covered bridge at the entrance. The market closed, and they converted it to a storage facility named "Bridge Storage." Then a hurricane knocked down the bridge, but the facility is still in business as Bridge Storage.

[agentsteel53]

A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.

I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.

it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around.  I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also someone's name.

[roadman65]

My uncle who was big into retail as he was a former salesman for a few local and regional chain stores before he retired told me this: "Stores go out of business not because of lack of sales, but because of bad management!"  If you look at Wal Mart doing what a small NJ chain once tried to do you can see that. 

Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company.  Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries.  Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside.  However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct.  Need I say more.

Back to main discussion, Best Buy I always found to be good even though you had to chase down a sales associate to ask a simple question.  Always had great products and in the days of CDs their selection was totally unbeatable!  Circuit City I cannot vouch for as I never was a patron of theirs, as well as many, but from what I see lately it seems to support what Uncle Henry once told me.

Tops was another one that was around that started to be a big box chain as he went from one location in Edison, NJ to about seven  around NYC area before filing for his papers.  He was great on prices, but sometimes that can run you into trouble in the business world.

Oh and yes, no one even mentioned Crazy Eddie, a defunct chain in the NYC area with announcer Jerry Carol and his "insane" commercials.  They were big and closed abruptly in the late 90's, but their stores were small and many divvied up into smaller stores or locations flattened for something else. 

[agentsteel53]

Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company.  Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries.  Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside.  However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct.  Need I say more.

actually, yes.  this paragraph made no sense.

"these guys did A and failed!  those guys did A and succeeded!  this makes perfect sense and I don't need to further explain!"

[roadman65]

Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company.  Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries.  Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside.  However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct.  Need I say more.

actually, yes.  this paragraph made no sense.

"these guys did A and failed!  those guys did A and succeeded!  this makes perfect sense and I don't need to further explain!"

Well I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.

Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do!  Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing!  It is quite clear my original post.

[agentsteel53]

Well I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.

Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do!  Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing!  It is quite clear my original post.

no, that really doesn't make any sense!  because part of "management" is figuring out how to lay out the store!  so you've got two identical experiments!  yielding different results!  and you're trying to draw conclusions!  and somehow ended up with circular reasoning!  uncle!  kindergarten!  how many exclamation points would Jesus use!

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.

I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.

it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around.  I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also someone's name.

I count 12 Ann and Hope "Curtain and Bath Outlet" locations on the web. The two in RI were former Ann and Hope discount stores according to their website. One location in Warwick on Post Road (US 1) is fairly close to the TF Green State Airport and is still signed as an Ann and Hope - that was a treat to discover!

[PColumbus73]

In Chillicothe, OH, an old Harts store was converted into the Ross County Service Center building on Western Avenue

[spooky]

A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.

I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.

it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around.  I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also someone's name.

I count 12 Ann and Hope "Curtain and Bath Outlet" locations on the web. The two in RI were former Ann and Hope discount stores according to their website. One location in Warwick on Post Road (US 1) is fairly close to the TF Green State Airport and is still signed as an Ann and Hope - that was a treat to discover!

Correct, the Warwick location by the airport and the aforementioned Cumberland location now house Ann & Hope Curtain and Bath Outlets. The department stores closed sometime in the late 90s/early 00s.

[JMoses24]

In Florence:

Walmart left a location at Houston Road and Spiral Drive in 2005, to move roughly half a mile up Houston Road. The old Walmart then split into several stores: A Half Price Books, a Michael's art store, and a Babies R Us store.
Further north on Houston Road, a Biggs Hypermarket (which was a grocery store) became a Garden Ridge store.
Down along Mall Road, Circuit City is now a Phantom Fireworks store.
In that same area, a former Old Time Pottery became a church.
There was at one time an...ahem...Gentlemen's club along Tanners Lane. That has since become a church and a law office.

[Pete from Boston]

Here's a great article on the poison Ames bought in Zayre:

http://www.yake.com/article_shrinkage.html

Two Guys, on the other hand, shouldn't simply be regarded as a retail failure, since it is a multi-billion-dollar success. 

It merged with one of its vendors, adopted its name (Vornado), liquidated its retail assets, and developed them into a real estate empire.  Most other retail discounters of its era are just gone.   With better management, how much longer would Two Guys have lasted?  Ten years?  Fifteen?

[Scott5114]

Well I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.

Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do!  Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing!  It is quite clear my original post.

no, that really doesn't make any sense!  because part of "management" is figuring out how to lay out the store!  so you've got two identical experiments!  yielding different results!  and you're trying to draw conclusions!  and somehow ended up with circular reasoning!  uncle!  kindergarten!  how many exclamation points would Jesus use!

I wouldn't say that store layout is "management". While that is done by corporate, I believe "retail store design" is more of a science that is practiced by people with specific training. There was one such guy, who worked for Walgreens, participating in the Chicago road meet in 2008; I got a business card from him and his title was "Store Designer" or something like that. That sort of decision is carried out at headquarters; manager of store #356 doesn't have the authority to make his employees swap the cat food and bread aisles at his leisure.

I think what he is trying to get at is that Two Guys and Walmart had substantially similar business models, but because Walmart's people made better decisions, they thrived in retail while Two Guys failed.

[agentsteel53]

I wouldn't say that store layout is "management". While that is done by corporate, I believe "retail store design" is more of a science that is practiced by people with specific training. There was one such guy, who worked for Walgreens, participating in the Chicago road meet in 2008; I got a business card from him and his title was "Store Designer" or something like that. That sort of decision is carried out at headquarters; manager of store #356 doesn't have the authority to make his employees swap the cat food and bread aisles at his leisure.

I think what he is trying to get at is that Two Guys and Walmart had substantially similar business models, but because Walmart's people made better decisions, they thrived in retail while Two Guys failed.

fair enough.  thank you for writing that in coherent English, without a single need to yell at me.

good point on store layouts being nearly identical all over.  Fresh N Easy is one store where I've seen every instance be identical - with the exception that some are mirror-image reversed.  must just be a way to handle the store space's front door being at a particular position along the front wall.

[english si]

My local TESCOs puts up Christmas decorations in early October, for a week, before taking them down until mid-November ish. This is because even that is something closely regulated by the company, and the October airing is to show other managers how to do it (and a bit of beta testing).

They did do a consultation about 2 years ago, and changed the floor design (swapped fruit/veg and clothes, plus where stuff was in the entire refrigeration department), and it seems like various big TESCOs have had that done as they have stopped being the same. Part of that is different features, part is the lack of uniformity of store size and shape.

[1995hoo]

....

good point on store layouts being nearly identical all over.  Fresh N Easy is one store where I've seen every instance be identical - with the exception that some are mirror-image reversed.  must just be a way to handle the store space's front door being at a particular position along the front wall.

The funny thing is, I feel like hardware stores are often an exception to this. The long-defunct Hechinger's chain (part of the Haft family saga, I believe) was a nuisance because no two stores were ever laid out the same way. The fact that you knew where to find, say, light bulbs in one store was completely irrelevant if you visited another of their stores. I find many Home Depot stores seem to suffer from the same problem but to a lesser degree. Of course I know there are always bound to be some variations due to the shape of a particular lot dictating adjustments to the building, but generally you expect that sort of thing to be relatively minor. Yet at Home Depot stores I often find there's not a lot of consistency from one to another.

[agentsteel53]

Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle.  generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision). 

(those are the sections I go to most often.  I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)

also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.

[jeffandnicole]

Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle.  generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision). 

(those are the sections I go to most often.  I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)

also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.

Maybe Home Depot is maddening because my view of their inconsistency differs from your version of inconsistency.

I'm used to the following layout: Garden area on one far end (but generally near the main entrance); Lumber area on the other far end (usually far away from the main entrance). 

As you walk in, off to the side are aisles stacked side to side, rather than front to back.  Generally, the closest section has seasonal stuff.  But the further back you go, the items will vary from store to store.  Sometimes just a few aisles difference; other times they're in completely different parts of the store.

Lowes isn't much different.

I generally go to Lowes more than HD mostly because of the 5% discount Lowes offers by using their credit card.

[Brandon]

Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle.  generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision). 

(those are the sections I go to most often.  I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)

also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.

Home Depot is consistently inconsistent in this regard.  Menards, on the other hand, is very consistent in store design.  The biggest differences when going from one Menards to another is that they may be flipped the other way (mirror image).

[froggie]

good point on store layouts being nearly identical all over.

This may depend on the chain.  I can walk into three different Price Chopper's in Vermont (Berlin, Morrisville, St. J) and see three VERY different layouts.


As for former big-box examples, a somewhat unique one that hasn't been mentioned yet:  a former K-Mart in Austin, MN is now the SPAM Museum.

[Takumi]

CVS has been inconsistent over the years with its store layouts. The three I work at all have different layouts, although my regular store is newer than the other two. Even newer stores of the same size have different layouts.

[roadman65]

Walgreens I have found too are laid out the same inside with some being mirrored images and of course the pharmacy counter are different.  Some face the front while some face the side.

Cracker Barrel Stores are all laid out pretty much with the gift shop on the right and the restaurant to the left, and all have the restrooms directly across from the main entrance with the traffic signal pointing the way.  One place in Georgia was mirrored imaged where the store was on the left and the dining room on the right.  I  imagine that there are a few like that, but still keeping the overall design.

[Alps]

Walgreens I have found too are laid out the same inside with some being mirrored images and of course the pharmacy counter are different.  Some face the front while some face the side.

Cracker Barrel Stores are all laid out pretty much with the gift shop on the right and the restaurant to the left, and all have the restrooms directly across from the main entrance with the traffic signal pointing the way.  One place in Georgia was mirrored imaged where the store was on the left and the dining room on the right.  I  imagine that there are a few like that, but still keeping the overall design.

I've been to enough Cracker Barrels to know that the men's room is almost always on the left. I have found at least one, if not two, instances where the men's room was on the right. Fortunately, I always look before I leap.

[GaryV]

In a case of "double repurposing", the Mervyns' store in Madison Hts, MI, became a Circuit City.  It's now a Big Lots.

The building about a mile north, on the back side of Oakland Mall that was the previous location for Circuit City is now a showroom for classic cars.

[MDOTFanFB]

There are at least two former big-box stores in the Downriver suburbs of Wayne County, MI, that are now mega-churches: the old Kmart on Outer Drive in Melvindale and the old Sports Authority at I-75 and Eureka Road in Taylor. In addition, about a mile west, the former Mervyn's anchor spot at Southland Center is still vacant.