Businesses You're Amazed Are Still Around

[OCGuy81]

Talk of bad smelling businesses, and dying shopping malls on the Off-Topic board leaves me with yet another topic that could tie into these.

What are some businesses that you're, for lack of a better term, amazed are still around? 

A few for me that I'm surprised are still in business.

-Arcades.  Theses certainly are dying, but when I see one it amazes me it's still open in an age of great home consoles, and easy availability of games on the cloud, or even on one's phone.

- Sears.  I GUESS appliance sales keep them alive, but from a clothing and other department store item standpoint, I'm amazed they're still around.

And last, but not least, I'm amazed Radio Shack is still around.  Is there that much of a market for radio controlled cars and off brand batteries?  Reminds me of this great article from The Onion.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/

[Big John]

Radio Shack was just delisted from the stock exchange.  Don't look for them to be around too much longer: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hopes-radioshack-revival-fade-stock-delisted-28703886

[kkt]

Radio Shack used to sell electrical and electronic parts, to people who used to assemble and repair electrical things.

[spooky]

Radio Shack used to sell electrical and electronic parts, to people who used to assemble and repair electrical things.

Radio Shack now sells things that you can get other places at a higher price than you would pay at those other places.

[kkt]

Radio Shack used to sell electrical and electronic parts, to people who used to assemble and repair electrical things.

Radio Shack now sells things that you can get other places at a higher price than you would pay at those other places.

Yep.  With customer service that doesn't know where anything is, or what it's for.

[Takumi]

FYE, the high-priced music/movie store.

[jeffandnicole]

Best Buy.  They're not great, but they're relatively healthy considering people had them written off for dead a number of years ago.

Kmart.  High Priced.  Zero employees.  I've never walked into stores elsewhere and see every checkout lane closed.   I think the only thing keeping them afloat is sales of Sears' appliances!

Hallmark.  Although I think they're secretly a Yankee Candle Shop, which also sells Grandma's Arts & Crafts.

Friendly's.  I now set aside a week of vacation time if I want to order dinner there.

McDonalds & Walmart.  No one ever eats there or shops there.  Really...Ever read comment sections?  Everything written about them is negative.  And gosh-forbid their stock goes down, or their sales are less than forecasted.  If I had a business where I only sold $2 Billion of stuff rather than $2.001 Billion of stuff, I don't think I would worry about going out of business anytime soon.

[OCGuy81]

McDonalds & Walmart.  No one ever eats there or shops there.  Really...Ever read comment sections?  Everything written about them is negative.  And gosh-forbid their stock goes down, or their sales are less than forecasted.  If I had a business where I only sold $2 Billion of stuff rather than $2.001 Billion of stuff, I don't think I would worry about going out of business anytime soon.

I think the biggest thing that's saved McDonalds has been their McCafe.  It's basically a cheaper alternative to Starbucks, and actually, IMO, have better coffee.  Most of the AM drive thru crowd I see at a nearby McDonalds are getting just coffee, no food.

[algorerhythms]

Thinking of two businesses I'm surprised are still around: http://www.times-news.com/news/staples-buying-office-depot-for-billion-to-keep-pace-with/article_aeb50a18-ac9b-11e4-8cc5-c735f8364d2f.html

[OCGuy81]

Thinking of two businesses I'm surprised are still around: http://www.times-news.com/news/staples-buying-office-depot-for-billion-to-keep-pace-with/article_aeb50a18-ac9b-11e4-8cc5-c735f8364d2f.html

I think they're still viable business models, but don't really need all the space that they encompass.

I've had my company for about 10 years now, and myself or any of my employees have yet to walk into an actual location.  We always opt for delivery.  They could easily close and downsize stores and focus more on being an online retailer.

[PHLBOS]

-Arcades.  Theses certainly are dying, but when I see one it amazes me it's still open in an age of great home consoles, and easy availability of games on the cloud, or even on one's phone.

You are aware that most go to arcades as a hang-out place first, games (as a means of something to do) second?

Heck, Dave & Busters is kind of like an arcade casino for kids.

- Sears.  I GUESS appliance sales keep them alive, but from a clothing and other department store item standpoint, I'm amazed they're still around.

Some still use them for automotive needs and tools.

[jeffandnicole]

Thinking of two businesses I'm surprised are still around: http://www.times-news.com/news/staples-buying-office-depot-for-billion-to-keep-pace-with/article_aeb50a18-ac9b-11e4-8cc5-c735f8364d2f.html

I think they're still viable business models, but don't really need all the space that they encompass.

I've had my company for about 10 years now, and myself or any of my employees have yet to walk into an actual location.  We always opt for delivery.  They could easily close and downsize stores and focus more on being an online retailer.

The article missed one huge point.  Actually, they didn't miss it, they simply got it wrong:  "...putting up a front of 4,000 stores to hold off encroachments..."

Um, no. While the 2 companies currently have about 4,000 stores in total, you can bet that of locations close to each other, one of them will close.  Even if the merged company (if the merger is approved) decides to keep the existing names on their stores, they're not going to compete against themselves when there's additional competitors next to them or just across the street.

-Arcades.  Theses certainly are dying, but when I see one it amazes me it's still open in an age of great home consoles, and easy availability of games on the cloud, or even on one's phone.

You are aware that most go to arcades as a hang-out place first, games (as a means of something to do) second?

As long as they pop enough quarters in the machines for the owner to pay rent and payroll, all is good.

[1995hoo]

This may be un-PC, but I wonder if there is a racial divide on the perception of McDonald's. White people are always talking about them being in decline, but whenever I go into a McDonald's (I never use the drive-thru), there are always a decent number of people inside and almost all of them are either black (the majority) or some other minority group. Based on my entirely unscientific observation, McDonald's appears to be doing quite well with people who aren't white. I think plenty of white people go there too but use the drive-thru. It's just trendy these days to bash McDonald's.

As far as businesses that I'm surprised are still around, I agree on K-Mart because I would have thought places like Wal-Mart and Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond would have put them out of business.

Another I'd list is JC Penney. There are a couple of them around here (including the one the Prince and Princess of Wales visited in the 1980s), but it seems like few people go there and they don't carry anything you couldn't find elsewhere. They also expanded quickly in the 1990s and then just as quickly contracted (as I noted in the shopping malls thread, they opened several stores in former Woodward & Lothrop locations and none of them made it, probably because they are perceived as a lower-tier retailer than Woodies was).

[SidS1045]

Radio Shack used to sell electrical and electronic parts, to people who used to assemble and repair electrical things.

Radio Shack now sells things that you can get other places at a higher price than you would pay at those other places.

Yep.  With customer service that doesn't know where anything is, or what it's for.

"You've Got Questions...We've Got Batteries."

[briantroutman]

Reminds me of the apocryphal "I don't know how Nixon won–I don't know a single person who voted for him"  quote.

McDonalds & Walmart.  No one ever eats there or shops there.  Really...Ever read comment sections?  Everything written about them is negative.

McDonald's revenues are declining, but in the year that just ended, the company still managed a profit of $4.7 billion out of sales of $27 billion. Walmart, loathsome though it may be, took in nearly half a trillion in annual sales with a profit of about $16 billion. Any of these companies, unless they're being operated as the hobby of an eccentric multi-billionaire, will cease to exist in the face of continued operating losses, evaporated cash reserves, and denied access to credit.

This may be un-PC, but I wonder if there is a racial divide on the perception of McDonald's.

Judging by the few ads I've seen recently, it appears that McDonald's has more or less ceded the middle-class suburban family demographic which ostensibly was the cornerstone of their customer base for decades. Today, if those people are going to burger joints at all, they're probably more expensive places that focus on fresh, organic, or local ingredients–places like Five Guys, Smashburger, or The Counter. But more likely, they're going to anti-burger quick service places like Panera or Chipotle.

McDonald's does seem to have a half-hearted campaign (What We're Made Of) to win back some of those people, but most of the McDonald's ads I've seen seem to be targeting a young "urban"  demographic on the basis of price.

[jeffandnicole]

I liked the recent ad which shows McDonalds acknowledging, honoring and supporting various events.   Usually ads show their place of business in its most brightest moments: Happy Employees.  Spotless Store.  Sharp Colors. 

You don't see ads where the marquee is off center with letters spaced unevenly.  Signs blown out from storms.  Advertising spaced used to wish someone a happy birthday.  Give McDonalds some credit for going out of the box on that commercial.

(Note: I looked up the commercial on Google to re-view it before writing this comment.  I think the entire first page of Google was made up of stories questioning or criticizing the ad.)

[SignGeek101]

- Sears.  I GUESS appliance sales keep them alive, but from a clothing and other department store item standpoint, I'm amazed they're still around.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I admit to shopping there, but I dont like their atmosphere. Years ago, they would always pressure you to go buy this or that at a particular area of the store, taking to the PA system to make an announcement. I think the PA was playing an annoying Sears employee voice more than the dull music they have. I tend to shop at the Bay since I'm in Canada, but if Macy's were up here, I'd go there instead of Sears. I dont think the quality or prices are any better IMO.

EDIT: phone autocorrect 

[1995hoo]

The Sears nearest to us has a pretty busy auto repair center. Aside from that, they seem to do quite well selling appliances, Craftsman tools (I own some of them, it's quality stuff), yard care stuff like mowers, "small electrics" like vacuum cleaners, and TVs. We got our laundry machine from that Sears and were quite satisfied with the service and the price.

Again an un-PC comment, but the clothing department seems to be popular with the Latin American community. My brother used to work at that store as the head of loss prevention and confirms that demographic as a major source of clothing sales (and, unfortunately, shoplifting), far more sales than you might expect. I would not be surprised if part of this is due to many Sears stores being located in places easily served by bus lines. Around here, members of the Latin American community are very heavy users of suburban bus transit.

[Zmapper]

K-Mart. The shelves at my local store are half empty, the flooring cracked, the ceiling leaking - and yet they still remain in business.

[OCGuy81]

K-Mart. The shelves at my local store are half empty, the flooring cracked, the ceiling leaking - and yet they still remain in business.

I wasn't even aware the chain was still in business until I recently drove by one in Anaheim.

I thought they went bankrupt some years ago, but looks like they re-emerged only to be on life support, from what it sounds like.

[J N Winkler]

Radio Shack used to sell electrical and electronic parts, to people who used to assemble and repair electrical things.

To an extent it still does, but its electrical component merchandise is really convenient only as a "quick grab" for people who have already bought the bulk of what they need elsewhere and just need a few odds and ends without having to turn a general discounter upside down or wait for an Amazon delivery.  In December I had to repair a damaged connector for the transmission temperature sensor in my car, and the only useful parts I bought for that project at RadioShack were 1/4-watt resistors (for use as connector probes) and a heat-shrink tubing assortment.  The rest of what I needed--replacement sensor, wire cutter-stripper, 200 W soldering gun, Kester No. 44 soldering flux, multimeter, and heat gun--came from other sources or was already in hand.

And quite a lot of what RadioShack does sell is grossly overpriced.  I bought a multimeter from them for $20 and discovered it required special batteries and the case was so badly designed I would have had to pry it open with a screwdriver whenever I wanted to use the meter.  I took it back for a refund and later discovered Walmart was selling a much better multimeter (Innova 3320, uses two AA alkaline batteries) for around $18 (online for in-store pickup; shelf price was about $26).

I had originally been interested in the RadioShack multimeter because it was the budget alternative to buying a set of needle probes for $20 (the only multimeter I had at the time was an ancient Sunpro engine analyzer, with alligator clips only, and I realized needle probes would be better for certain jobs like checking resistances across male pin connectors).  With a proper multimeter in hand now (the Sunpro has no ammeter function, for example, but the Innova has an unfused input rated for up to 10 V DC), I really don't need to shop for needle probes anymore, but I'd think those could be found on Amazon for less than $5.  Of course, there's the wait for delivery if you don't have Amazon Plus and are looking to get a project out of the way . . .

[1995hoo]

Frankly, I just find it convenient to be able to walk to the Radio Shack for those annoying button-style batteries. If they close, I'll find some other source, but for now, why bother with ordering online and the like when I can get what I need within half a mile of home?

[PHLBOS]

K-Mart. The shelves at my local store are half empty, the flooring cracked, the ceiling leaking - and yet they still remain in business.

I wasn't even aware the chain was still in business until I recently drove by one in Anaheim.

I thought they went bankrupt some years ago, but looks like they re-emerged only to be on life support, from what it sounds like.

K-mart & Sears have been owned by the same corporation (Sears Holdings Corporation) since 2005.

[kkt]

]K-mart & Sears have been owned by the same corporation (Sears Holdings Corporation) since 2005.

The drowning, clinging to each other for help because nothing that floats would have anything to do with either of them.

[jeffandnicole]

Newspapers - the paper version - have somehow survived.  And I'm talking about as a whole, since there are several examples of papers that have gone out of business.  Maybe because their main audience is people over the age of 70 that shy away from the internet.  Lord knows they've gotten rid of editors, photographers, reporters, spellcheckers, punctuation checkers, making sure the story on the front page actually continues on the page it's supposed to continue on checkers, and fact checkers.

I bought a newspaper on Sunday for the first time since probably Thanksgiving, mostly due to the fact that I was going to be sitting around for 8 hours without the ability to watch the Superbowl (at least I could listen to it on the radio), and didn't want to use up all the data on my cell phone as I wouldn't have Wifi access either.

I remember back a few decades ago when some papers used to hold surveys to determine which comics to keep and get rid of.  Back then, the survey would return a good mix of results, and the result was a majority of comics appealed to a majority of readers.  Today, papers that hold these surveys get results very skewed to the older population, such as the Born Loser, Peanuts, and other comics that this age group grew up with.  More current, 'edgy' comics like Pearls before Swine generally don't appeal to these oldtimers.

As the population ages, and today's younger elderly remain computer-competent, newspapers will no longer have any audience to support them.