The grocery list

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Tracy Turner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

The two grocery chains that attract the most shoppers in the Columbus market ranked near the bottom of a new survey by Consumer Reports. The magazine surveyed 24,000 readers on what they like and don’t like about the nations’ grocery-store chains. It also ranked the chains based on ratings received for product selection, price and ease of shopping. Kroger, market leader in central Ohio, ranked 39 th out of the 54 chains on the list. Wal-Mart, the area’s No. 2 chain, came in at 45 th.

 

[email protected]

 

http://dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/09/13/20060913-D1-00.html

Meijer over Giant Eagle.  And Sam's...Club...

 

Trash...ALL OF IT'S TRASH!!!!!!

hell, all of them except giant eagle are worthless piles of garbage  :-D

Where's my Fresh Market!? What about Aldi's? Marc's gets no love? I call foul on Consumer Reports!

hell, all of them except giant eagle are worthless piles of garbage  :-D

 

Giant "Iggle" is trash with overpriced 2% milk.

Giant Eagle's milk is the worst milk of any grocery chain ever... It starts to smell after 2 days... I hate it.   :whip:

I'll take Meijer anyday.  Great sale ads and double coupons, though I hate how often they "run out" of the good sale items :whip:.  Giant Eagle is too damn expensive, but uncrowded and nice. Their best sale prices are still higher than Meijer or Wal-Mart's everyday price. 

 

 

And for Kroger... I worked at their small Gahanna store for three years and now they're going to give up prime location, high priced, easy in-and-out store and open a behemoth triple the size.  Screw that, sales at the old one were already better than the much bigger store at Stoneridge.  Oh, and Monica Gordon (article) = one of my former bosses. Woooo. 

 

The new Kroger location in Gahanna is only like 2 minutes away from the current location!

Chris, where was that Kroger where we stopped last month?  A "marketplace" Kroger, supposedly with everything you need from outdoor furniture to groceries to chimney sweeps or something...and it was awful.  Not awful, but bad meat selection, bad selection of everything, didn't carry risotto...decent produce, but that's all I can say for it.  If I lived next door to it, I'd drive somewhere else to shop, no doubt.

 

But the Meier's and Giant Eagle's I've shopped at in Columbus have always worked just fine.  Depth and bredth of selection, quality produce and meats, maybe a little weak on the wine and cheese selection, but still plenty for every day shopping.  They've all been just about as good as Cincinnati's best grocery stores, and far better than most of ours...actually, that's kinda weird, I wonder why that is...maybe I only notice the faults!

 

Yeah, Kroger Marketplace.

Perspectives

Columbus downtown needs masterplan for retail

Business First of Columbus - by Saleha Ghani, Business First

Friday, May 11, 2007

 

So the city of Columbus is attracting at least some residents to live downtown, which has been helped along by an explosion of condominium developments in the past few years.  However, local retail analyst Chris Boring says whether the area can support the retail needs of those new residents remains a big question.  Boring, who runs Boulevard Strategies, says in addition to a housing master plan, the city needs one entity to coordinate how retail development evolves downtown.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/05/14/smallb5.html

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/01/15/meijer.ART_ART_01-15-08_C10_3692CI3.html?sid=101

 

Columbus' loss of two Meijer stores is suburbs' gain

Workers to be offered jobs at new Canal Winchester, Grove City locations

Tuesday,  January 15, 2008 - 6:52 AM

By Monique Curet, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Meijer will close two Columbus stores and open two new ones in outlying areas, the company said.

 

The 441 employees at the stores slated to close -- at 5800 N. Chantry Dr. and 775 Georgesville Rd. -- will be offered jobs at new or existing stores in their area.

 

...

Another longtime Columbus brand will fade into history.  The Schottenstein's name, like Lazarus and Big Bear, will fall victim to larger corporate moves. 

 

 

SCHOTTENSTEIN'S

Longtime Columbus brand will be closed

Saturday,  February 9, 2008 - 3:06 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

The Schottenstein's brand name will disappear next month, ending a nearly century-long tradition in Columbus discount retailing, as a result of the sale of the Value City Department Store chain by its parent, Retail Ventures.  The three Columbus Schottenstein's stores will close soon.  Two will reopen as Burlington Coat Factory stores, while the West Side location will close permanently.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/02/09/value_closings.ART_ART_02-09-08_C10_D49A6O8.html?sid=101 

Retailers shunning Downtown

Monday,  April 7, 2008 - 6:28 AM

By Mike Pramik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Every day, Downtown residents and workers walk past dozens of High Street locations that once housed stores.  Get used to it.  Significantly improving the Downtown shopping scene is all but a hopeless cause, say two of the city's pre-eminent retail developers.

 

During a forum last week presented by the local chapter of the Urban Land Institute, developers Don Casto and Frank Kass painted a bleak picture of Downtown's retail fortunes.  Yaromir Steiner, co-developer of Easton Town Center, said better times could be coming -- in about 40 years, if planning begins today.

 

What has happened to the city's Downtown retail base is apparent but not easily fixed, the developers say.  As the city ponders what to do with its retail crypt called Columbus City Center, those whose job is to recruit retailers say they can't bring them Downtown.

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/04/07/ZONE0407.ART_ART_04-07-08_C10_DU9QVOI.html

 

 

Urban Surfin Comment:

Too many developers and national retailers look at the past, rather than the future. They see urban consumers willing to drive the the sprawlburbs to shop and assume that translates to a demand for sprawl shopping. Because they live outside the city, too, they don't realize that we urban dwellers HATE driving to malls and would flock to something closer and more urban. Look at Lennox in Columbus. While it looks like a suburban shopping center, it is in the middle of urban areas and is a huge draw among people who were tired of driving to Sawmill. Downtown is filled with office workers who can't afford Macys, who buy their clothes at Kohl's and Target after work. Those employees, and transit riders to and from under-retailed neighborhoods, would shop at affordable downtown stores. But the developers look at what has worked in the past, not at innovations for the future.

 

 

Interesting that Mr. Steiner & the developers of Easton should be consulted on the retail future of Downtown Columbus, since their efforts are in large part the reason for the demise of City Center.

 

BTW: I agree with you on Lennox.  Did you know that the Target store at Lennox Center is the busiest and highest-grossing Target in the State of Ohio and has been since the day it opened?

That store is never not busy.

 

Message to Steiner & Co: Your advise and wisdom is duly noted and worthless. 

 

I would respond by asking why Easton's developers forced COTA to build a transit center way across Morse Road, instead of the original plan to have it as an intergral part of the Easton Town Center?  Who wants to ride a bus to what amounts to a remote parking lot and then have to walk across 8-plus lanes of speeding traffic on Morse road and still have a quarter-mile walk into the interior of Easton?

 

But then they asked COTA to retrofit circulating mini-buses and trolley-buses into Easton, which flopped because Easton wouldn't support it in their marketing efforts.  That went bust and now they have their diesel trolley-bus that functions as an overly cute tourist draw, and not a very good one at that.

http://www.columbusing.com/?p=711

 

<b>Downtown Optimists vs. Grumpy Old Men</b>

by Don Kass The Big Box Ass April 8, 2008

 

Last week I attended a meeting sponsored by the Urban Land Institute. The topic “Downtown Retail” and the panel, to be further recognized as “Don Kass the Big Box Ass” sparked my interest. Over 150 people attended the event at the Athletic Club of Columbus, home turf for DKBBA. What I thought would be valuable information for a small downtown developer turned out to be manipulation and political rhetoric by a few of the old city’ finest titans. I left the meeting passionately angry and decided that I was determined to prove these grumpy old men wrong.

 

Obviously the story hit the Dispatch today and was an accurate account of DKBBA’s rhetoric. As a supporter of downtown and a member of the streetcar commission I was appalled at DKBBA’s assessment of the streetcar. It is obvious to me that they are completely uninformed about the streetcar, its goals, and the proposed funding plan. The Mayor, the streetcar commission and other transportation and economic development consultants continue to make it a point that this is not a trolley, but in fact a tram or a contemporary rail system designed to connect workers and residents in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Trolleys are historical rail cars that look like the fake ones that you see at Easton, the town center that has street names plagiarized from New York City.

 

Why should it surprise us that a few fat cats who continue to replicate the same old shit, would have any confidence in revitalizing downtown. What it will take is young vibrant creative’s who think outside of the box. Human Capital combined with the city officials recognizing its value will save our downtown; much like the group who transformed a ghetto into the best urban arts, entertainment, and living neighborhoods in the country, “THE SHORT NORTH”.

 

For the remainder of my rant, I am going to refer to DKBBA as The Big Ass because I think it will be easier for all to follow. The Big Ass said that there is not a market for retail in downtown because there are not enough residents, as there were in the 40’s and 50’s. Which is true…? If you look at the statistics, Downtown has continued to lose residents for 50 years….UNTIL NOW. Downtown lost residents to the suburbs in droves when THE ASS continued to build STRIP CENTERS and MALLS. It could be argued that THE BIG ASS helped destroy the market by inventing the strip center, the mall, and now the lifestyle center. Having said that I give them the benefit or the doubt, they were doing what made business sense and made them rich which I have no problem with, and believe their intention was not to kill downtown but only to make $.

 

THE BIG ASS offered many negative comments but absolutely no solutions. It was as if they were attempting to create a negative campaign about downtown, so that they can drive down the values even more than they are and leverage the city for incentives so that they could swoop in and conquer. They continued to bash the Mayor and the city about its revitalization plan and the street car initiative. The recent funding proposal by Mayor Coleman was purposely misconstrued by the panel in an effort to bring negative publicity. The plan is clearly not a tax plan intended to hurt downtown developers or city taxpayers. The funding plan diverts existing parking meter revenue from the general fund to the streetcar. As a downtown business owner who has customers that fill meters by the hour, I think this is a positive use of these funds and would make our customers feel better that they were paying for something they may get benefit from. Secondly and why I think the BIG ASS is most disgruntled with the plan is that a 4% surcharge for all off-street parking near or on the line will be assessed. THE BIG ASS was recently a big lobbyist for two large parking garages, one which is basically a garage for his office. The Parking garage situation is a separate rant in itself and I will save you my fury…but I will say that the locations for the proposed garage will make it very easy for downtown workers to park, go to work, get in their vehicles and flee to the lifestyle centers after work…plus a little walk doesn’t hurt and might help cure our Midwestern obesity epidemic.

 

The BIG ASS also forgot to tell us that THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY has endorsed the project and is paying a significant portion of the construction cost and has committed to assist in annual operating costs. The final funding mechanism is a surcharge on admissions. For example if you purchase a blue jackets ticket for $ 50.00, you will now pay $ 52.00 or if you go to the Broadway Series downtown you will be charged an additional 4%. Compared to other major metropolitan cities in our country these fees are low. In summary this is not a trolley meant for suburbanites and tourists to take joy rides as are the ones at our famous lifestyle center. Please understand that I think Easton is a wildly successful business venture, just not my cup of tea, nor has it been very friendly to the local independents who tried to make a go of it…PO furnishings, Modern Object, Mozart’s, and some of our other local favorites. These are the same people who were the pioneers in the short north. They were the guinea pigs who are now replaced by the large national retailers. They are also the same types we need to lure downtown to bring back the vibrancy and fill the vacant storefronts.

 

THE BIG ASS told us that markets are made by TENANTS, TENANTS, TENANTS and that no tenants are calling them and asking to move downtown. I am sure that is true. But I propose this is because the tenants that are there customers are not fit for the downtown market. If I was Target, Cabellas, or Tiffany’s I would not move downtown yet either and if I was the BIG ASS I wouldn’t spend my time trying to fill the vacant spaces…but why persist on creating a negative perception about downtown. There are two options, we can change it or kill it. We can wait a lifetime for tenants to come or we can create a market.

 

I choose to create a market and we do not need the endorsement of these voices of yesteryear. We need the energy, creativity, and focus of the people who want to live, work, and change downtown. It would be nice if the naysayers would take there agenda’s elsewhere and get out of the way and come back another day as they will and they did once short north was built by independent artists and entrepreneurs.

 

We all can do our part by taking action….don’t rant about the problems start working on the solution.

 

I had lunch with a local artist yesterday and he and his group of artists are taking aim at creating a working arts community in downtown. They want to be here….yes a prospective tenant. They continue to grow their existing community virally through taking action and never saying die. I suspect that in 20 years we will be saying remember when those artist landed on High Street in the rundown building owned by that absentee landlord and this will be just one of many tales.

 

To make this happen we need the city, state, county and other non-profits to create incentives targeted at us and not targeted at the BIG ASS. If they don’t believe they can do it, then why make them a part of the team.

 

I OFFICIALLY CAST MY VOTE IN FAVOR OF NAMING OUR NEW STREETCAR “THE BIG ASS”

LOL!

Right on Walker !!!!  :clap: :banger:

 

 

And to the Big ASS....  :behind:

It's amazing that this kind of stuff actually gets published as if it is unbiased and legit reporting (the original Dispatch article that is).  I'm sure this bullcrap won't slow down Cbus' efforts though...as it has a good track record of actually getting things done.  Keep on keepin' on.

Actually, I was told by someone who was at the meeting that led to the story that the reporter did a good job of capturing what went on at a freewheeling session. My problem is not with the reporting, but with the narrow outlook of the retail world.

 

Nor am I optimistic about Columbus getting things done. I don't see much of a track record. Instead, I see grand ideas turned into pilot projects, and even that takes a while.

From here: http://walker.columbusunderground.com/?p=565

 

<b>Don Casto and Frank Kass hate Downtown Columbus</b>

 

I think that would have been a much better headline for <a href="http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/04/07/ZONE0407.ART_ART_04-07-08_C10_DU9QVOI.html?sid=101">this Dispatch article</a> titled "Retailers shunning Downtown", because obviously, not all retailers are shunning downtown. Just these two guys.

 

While I'm not going to go on a total rant like the guys over on <a href="http://www.columbusing.com/?p=711">ColumbusING</a> did (nice job BTW), I will say that I was disappointed to read the opinions of these speakers at this event last week. Their suburban developments contributed a lot to the demise of downtown retail, and their bleak visions of the future make it sound like they're going to continue to chase the money wherever's easiest.

 

While downtown isn't going to be easy,  it's not going to be impossible either despite what Casto & Kass might want you to believe. What is needed isn't a traditional retail approach. The anchor-stores of yesteryear are either going under or consolidating, so there's fewer of them to fill in the large spaces. Downtown retail needs to consist of smaller stores, more local developments, entrepreneurialism, and a creative energy that you can find in the Short North, but you can't find at Polaris. Once that's established, some of the retail chains will then tag along for the ride.

 

Some people have also been quick to say that "retail follows rooftops", which to some extent is true. But the real problem with downtown Columbus retail is transportation. The streets have been reconfigured so that downtown is a place that's easy to drive into and park, work 8 hours, and drive home, all as quickly as possible. Pedestrian traffic has taken a back seat to the drivers and retail hurts because of it.

 

Look at the way the "town center" portion of Easton is configured. The streets are a single car wide and the sidewalks are just as big on each side. It's much less intimidating to patronize stores there when you don't have a roaring highway (ie: Third St, Fourth St, Spring St, Main St, Long St, Front St, and on and on) 5 lanes wide with cars zooming 45 MPH next to you.

 

If we want downtown retail to return we need to start by reconfiguring the environment to be something more pedestrian friendly. The Gay Street revamp is a good start. Let's get the rest of the streets done and the retail blanks can start to fill in by themselves.

I think retail in any DT except for you know ... the obvious cities ... lacks heavily.

 

People like to complain about why they wouldn't live DT because the lack of retail. So what comes first, the retail or the residents? I think the obvious is the residential base and the retail will then follow.

 

So how do you draw DT residents? You answer this question and the retail one as well.

So how do you draw DT residents? You answer this question and the retail one as well.

 

You build a streetcar to connect them to the flourishing retail in the Short North, or just remind them that their once/month trips to Easton are only 15 minutes by car.   :wink:

 

Also, people don't necessarily move downtown to be close to a Puma store.  They want to be close to work, restaurants/cafes, public parks, and cultural/entertainment venues.

 

I guess I just don't buy that downtown columbus really needs retail.

^Along the lines of what Brewmaster just said.  Here's a pro-streetcar letter to the editor from Liz Lessner.  She's the owner of three successful downtown/short north restaurants and she thinks a streetcar line will help her businesses.  She just might know what she's talking about!

 

 

Fewer would drive if there were streetcars

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Dispatch Letter To The Editor

 

I own three restaurants within the benefit district of the proposed streetcar line, where parking is at a premium.  I employ roughly 100 workers and cater to hundreds more, seven days per week from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.  Eighty percent of my staff would use the proposed streetcar line, eliminating up to 80 cars per day.

 

While it is uncertain just how many customers would benefit, the customer response from my restaurants has been overwhelmingly positive, and most of our regulars agree that they would prefer to take a streetcar to eat in the Short North or on Gay Street rather than have to battle for parking spaces.  The proposed streetcar line would bring relief to the traffic and parking gridlock in the Short North and Downtown.

 

ELIZABETH LESSNER

CEO/President

Betty's Fine Food and Spirits

The Surly Girl Saloon

Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/04/09/Lessner_ART_04-09-08_A10_AO9SE0K.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

Columbus is headquarters for five of the biggest retail brands

Wednesday,  January 21, 2009 - 3:18 AM

By Margaret Harding, The Columbus Dispatch

 

Columbus is home to five of the 50 most valuable retail brands in the U.S., and it is the only city of its size in the country to be able to say so, according to a new study.  Local officials and experts said the rankings speak well for the area, which has become a hub for retail activity nationally.  Limited Brands' Victoria's Secret had the highest ranking of Columbus-based brands, at 16th.  Abercrombie & Fitch was next-highest at 27th.  Limited's Bath & Body Works ranked 35th, while Abercrombie-owned Hollister was 40th on the list.  Big Lots, the closeout retailer, came in at 43rd.

 

Read more at http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/01/21/top_brands.ART_ART_01-21-09_D8_NQCKDCM.html?sid=101

Retail Ventures dumps Filene’s

Business First of Columbus

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 8:44am EDT

 

Retail Ventures Inc. has unloaded its Filene’s Basement division, telling investors late Tuesday that the future of the chain remains uncertain under new ownership.  Columbus-based Retail Ventures, which last year sold off its Value City Department Stores chain, said it sold Filene’s to FB II Acquisition Corp., a new entity owned by Agoura Hills, Calif.-based liquidation and turnaround firm Buxbaum Group.

 

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/04/20/daily19.html?surround=lfn

<b>The Past, Present and Future of Retail in Columbus</b>

By Walker | May 5, 2009

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/chris-boring-s.jpg">

 

If you’ve read any article about retail development in Central Ohio in the past decade, then Chris Boring is a name already familiar to you. Chris is the President of Boulevard Strategies, a local market research company that focuses on retail development in the Columbus region.

 

We recently sat down with Chris to talk about the the history of retail development in Columbus, his thoughts on current projects and proposals, and what he thinks the future can hold for retail development throughout the region.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-retail-in-columbus

<b>The Past, Present and Future of Retail in Columbus</b>

By Walker | May 5, 2009

http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-retail-in-columbus

Thanks Walker.  That was a great interview with Columbus retail guru Chris Boring.  I found this much more informative than the usual sound bite/brief quote you usually find from the local TV or print news.  Great job!

<b>The Past, Present and Future of Retail in Columbus</b>

By Walker | May 5, 2009

http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-retail-in-columbus

Thanks Walker. That was a great interview with Columbus retail guru Chris Boring. I found this much more informative than the usual sound bite/brief quote you usually find from the local TV or print news. Great job!

 

 

Glad you liked it! I've always wanted to hear more indepth answers from him on some of the topics he regularly is asked about. Very interesting to hear his opinions on what the future could hold.

Pearl Market coordinator named to recruit retail downtown

Business First of Columbus - by Jeff Bell

Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 4:00pm EST

 

Boosters of the downtown business scene are hoping the creation of a retail recruiter position and some development incentives will attract retailers to the district.  City of Columbus and Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District officials said Wednesday that Capital Crossroads staff member Kacey Campbell will become the district’s retail recruiter.  She will serve as a matchmaker between interested businesses and leasing agents, city assistance programs and other sources of financing.

 

Campbell, 27, has been Capital Crossroads’ promotions coordinator since April 2006.  Much of her time has been spent working with vendors at Pearl Market, which serves as a farmer’s market and incubator for downtown retailers.

 

Full story at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/11/16/daily27.html?surround=lfn

Push is on for Downtown retail

Thursday,  November 19, 2009 - 3:14 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Efforts to add retail stores Downtown are beginning anew, with incentives and grants to spruce up storefronts -- and the hiring of a matchmaker to pair up shops and spaces.  The notion of a retail matchmaker is a tactic that has had success in cities such as St. Louis, Milwaukee and Nashville, Tenn., said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.  The city of Columbus is funding the new position.  Kacey Campbell, who serves as marketing and promotions coordinator for Capital Crossroads, will fill the position. 

 

Word of the new position and a renewed emphasis on existing incentives for retailers came as Capital Crossroads held its annual meeting at the Statehouse yesterday, just a block from the site that once was home to Columbus City Center mall.  Ricksecker said it's not retail chains but independent stores that are more likely to make a home Downtown.  "They travel in packs," he said, referring to the clustering of chain stores in expansive shopping areas such as Easton Town Center and Polaris Fashion Place.  Instead, Ricksecker said, Campbell will focus on attracting independent and startup stores.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/11/19/downtown_retail.ART_ART_11-19-09_A13_E3FNL4R.html?sid=101

Razing cuts retail vacancy rate

Sunday,  February 14, 2010 - 3:26 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Fewer storefronts were empty last year in Columbus than the year before, but only because two white-elephant malls were torn down, according to a report released last week by Integra Realty Resources of Columbus.

 

The demolition of the Columbus City Center mall Downtown and Consumer Square East in the Brice Road area took 1.1 million square feet of empty retail space out of the market.  That cut retail vacancies to 15.1 percent in 2009 from 16.9 percent in 2008.  If those two centers had still been in operation, the vacancy rate would have risen slightly, said Curtis P. Hannah, an Integra director.

 

Integra predicts that retail vacancy rates in Columbus will remain in the 14 percent to 15 percent range through 2012, with a fairly modest 275,500 square feet of retail space under construction.  The largest of these projects is Continental Real Estate's redevelopment of the Kingsdale shopping center in Upper Arlington.

 

CHART OF RETAIL VACANCY RATES

 

Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/02/14/retail_outlook_use_this.ART_ART_02-14-10_D6_DSGJ1FQ.html

What's a healthy vacancy rate? 5-6 percent?

I'm no retail expert - but I've got to think that any vacancy rate lower than 10% would be considered healthy.

2nd Sears outlet in area opens on Sawmill

Prices discounted up to 60 percent

Monday,  March 8, 2010 - 2:46 AM

By Tracy Turner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Sears is expanding its outlet-store concept in central Ohio with the opening of its second such center in the Columbus area.  The new Sears Outlet store opened last week at 6020 Sawmill Rd. on the Northwest Side.

 

The store sells major and small appliances, electronics, exercise equipment, mattresses and lawn equipment at 20 percent to 60 percent off original prices, Sears spokeswoman Kimberly Freely said.  The store also will carry some apparel, including Lands End merchandise.  The items include discontinued, surplus, returned and refurbished merchandise, she said.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/03/08/2nd-sears-outlet-in-area-opens-on-sawmill.html?sid=101

I figured that I'd do a shameless plug for my new store in 5xNW here since it is technically on topic in this section. It opened up about 3 weeks ago. We buy sell and trade video games and movies.

 

SUPER GAME TEAM is your source for preowned recent and vintage video games and movies. Located at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Chambers Road in Columbus, Ohio in the Fifth by Northwest (5xNW) neighborhood -- between Grandview and Upper Arlington --, SUPER GAME TEAM is your classic gaming source with an emphasis on video games and systems from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

 

 

Super Game Team

 

1724 Northwest Blvd.

 

Columbus, OH 43212

 

614-725-4987

 

 

I hope to see an UOer or two stop by!

From Columbus Underground:

 

Spoonful Records Brings Vintage Vinyl Downtown

 

Brett Ruland is a lifelong record collector, and on July 17th he’ll be opening up that collection to share with the public.  Spoonful Records is the name of his new vintage vinyl shop opening at 116 E. Long Street, next door to B1 Bicycles.  Over the past two months Brett has been working to transform the retail space with hand-built record shelves, a new checker-board floor, several vintage pinball machines and some additional seating areas.  “I want to create a space that people like to hang out in,” he explained.

 

Additionally, a small transformable performance area is set up in the back of the store where the occasional in-store live music performance will be held.  “We want to provide a space for bands who have a sound that maybe doesn’t work well in a bar,” said Brett.  “I think performing in a record store environment provides an audience who will listen to live music in a more attentive way.”

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/spoonful-records-brings-vintage-vinyl-downtown

<b>The Future of Retail in Downtown Columbus - Part 1</b>

By Walker | August 3, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/archives/retail-downtown.jpg">

 

In November 2009, the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District announced a new retail incentive program that included the creation of a dedicated Retail Recruiter for Downtown. We spoke with Retail Recruiter Kacey Campbell in February, to find out more about what exactly she’d be working on, and one of the things she mentioned was an information gathering process and retail analysis already underway by Chris Boring of Boulevard Strategies. That report was completed earlier this year, and we recently had the opportunity to sit down with Chris to further discuss the findings in that report and what it could mean for the ongoing retail recruitment efforts of Capital Crossroads.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-future-of-retail-in-downtown-columbus-part-i

<b>The Future of Retail in Downtown Columbus – Part 2</b>

Community Support — By Walker Evans on August 2, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/wp-content/themes/yamidoo/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/chris-boring-downtown.jpg&w=390&h=228&zc=1">

 

Walker Evans: Having identified all of the spending potential in these six downtown submarkets, what sort of tangible, actionable efforts can the city of Columbus or the SID take to attract private investment and development?

 

Chris Boring: Let me first say that I think we are pretty early in the recruitment process. That being said, I did already have the opportunity to put this research into action. Joe Spinelli of Spinelli’s Deli was recently thinking about looking for another location and downtown seemed to be a logical choice. He called up retail recruiter Kacey Campbell (contact info) and she showed him several locations, and he settled on the space at 50 N. High St.

 

READ MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/the-future-of-retail-in-downtown-columbus-part-ii/

Downtown landlords all smiles after dentists commit to spaces

Business First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose

Monday, August 9, 2010, 8:00am EDT

 

For a signal of the crossroads of health care and retail, look no further than the 21-foot-long aluminum toothbrush soon to appear in the Arena District, to be followed by a marquee crawl at Broad & High touting dentists upstairs.  Three dentists not long out of Ohio State University dental school each looked in the suburbs to start their practices before deciding to follow condominium dwellers downtown.  Their chosen high-profile addresses were not random picks, but the product of precise plans based on retailing principles.

 

More than 10,000 office workers, not to mention residents of some 1,500 condos and apartments, are a short walk from the Arena District storefront across from Buca di Beppo where Dr. Angela Gum plans to open a practice in late August.  Drs. Kristin Piper and Matthew Snipes, meanwhile, plan in November to open Capstone Dental LLC on the fourth floor of developer Casto’s Broad & High development surrounded by some 5,000 residents and 122,000 workers.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/08/09/story4.html?b=1281326400^3764851

Ethnic businesses ending vacancies

Business First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

 

The Short North has the market cornered on funky.  Worthington is considered posh and German Village quaint.  What’s the quick image of Northland, besides sprawling?  How about global?

 

The Morse Road commercial corridor past the former Northland Mall is likely the only place in Columbus where you can get a temporary henna tattoo and then cross the street for a pinata.  It’s immigrant-owned businesses along Morse Road that are credited with preventing the widespread vacancies that were feared when the mall closed in 2002.  According to neighborhood groups, ethnic stores sprinkled amid national discount chains have created a diverse destination that is attracting traffic and thus more businesses.

 

David Walker, a cultural geographer at Ohio Wesleyan University, has a word for it: “Immigrantification,” or gentrification by immigrants.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/08/23/story2.html?b=1282536000^3831041

 

Ethnic businesses ending vacancies

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/08/23/story2.html?b=1282536000^3831041

More about this from the Ohio Wesleyan University researchers quoted in the above article:

 

Urban ‘Immigrantification’

OWU Theory-to-Practice project studies change in Columbus's Northland area

 

During the summer, Ohio Wesleyan University student Jack Schemenauer worked with assistant professor of geography David Walker, Ph.D., to study how an influx of Somali and Latino residents and merchants is helping to revitalize the Northland area of Columbus.  Once a thriving “go-to” spot, the Northland area began to deteriorate when shoppers and merchants migrated to adjacent suburban areas.

 

Walker and Schemenauer coined the term “immigrantification,” to describe how immigrants can revitalize blighted neighborhoods affected by businesses and residents seeking suburban development and by “white flight.”  Walker says investments made by the new small businesses and the re-creation of vibrant urban landscapes has provided an excellent laboratory for study.

 

 

MORE: http://connect2.owu.edu/issues/20100909/newsAndViews/immigrantification.html

I figured that I'd do a shameless plug for my new store in 5xNW here since it is technically on topic in this section. It opened up about 3 weeks ago. We buy sell and trade video games and movies.

 

SUPER GAME TEAM is your source for preowned recent and vintage video games and movies. Located at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Chambers Road in Columbus, Ohio in the Fifth by Northwest (5xNW) neighborhood -- between Grandview and Upper Arlington --, SUPER GAME TEAM is your classic gaming source with an emphasis on video games and systems from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

 

 

Super Game Team

1724 Northwest Blvd.

Columbus, OH 43212

614-725-4987

 

I hope to see an UOer or two stop by!

Congrats on the shout-out from the Dispatch today, GCrites!

 

Retro gaming: Simplicity propels older systems' appeal to wide range of ages

Thanks! The article turned out very well. The phone was ringing a lot before the OSU game started.

J.C. Penney to close outlet, add call-center jobs

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

By Tim Feran

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

J.C. Penney plans to close its popular outlet store on the Far East Side as part of a series of moves including closing its catalog business and consolidating its call-center operations in Columbus and two other cities.

 

For decades, the outlet store has attracted shoppers from central Ohio and beyond.  The store, along with other JCPenney outlets, carries a large amount of catalog merchandise.

 

"That store has been an important part of our lives in numerous ways, and it will truly be a shame to see it close its doors," said Eric Roberts of Hilliard, who grew up about a mile away and whose mother worked at the store for more than 30 years.

 

The consolidation of call-center operations is expected to mean the addition of 150 jobs at the Columbus call center, near the outlet center, a spokesman said.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/01/25/j-c-penneytocloseoutletaddcall-centerjobs.html

Abercrombie & Fitch To Close 180 U.S. Stores

 

NEW ALBANY, Ohio -- Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, based in New Albany, will close 180 U.S. stores.

 

It’s all part of the company’s two-year-old plan to downsize American stores.

 

The company will have closed about 300 stores in the United States by 2015.

 

 

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/feb/17/abercrombie-fitch-close-180-us-stores-ar-936657/

 

 

 

I blame hipsters.

^Blame an overpriced, sub-par product. Blame massive overexpansion ala Starbucks.  Blame the attitude of the store, treating customers with contempt.  Blame the fact that it's not the 90's anymore.  Hipsters can be blamed for a lot of things, but not this :-D

I hear you on the "treating the customer with contempt" angle at A&F. As a father of a teen, I've bought any number of things there over the years - and always get the feeling they think everybody's a criminal - either shoplifting or using a stolen credit card. They always talk down the adults, asking for ID with credit card purchases (which Visa/MC rules say they cannot require for a credit card purchase). Say what you will about the "for your protection angle" of asking for IDs with credit cards - but when the vacuous teen behind the counter demanded my ID to use  - with PIN on the keyapd - my debit card one day, I'd finally had it - isn't that what my PIN is for? They also 2nd guess my 15 year old - who has a credit card in her name - thinking she has mommy's card and is performing some evil deed by buying... Give me a break. If folks are stealing from you - figure out more transparent ways to police the guilty than simply interrogating everyone

"I blame hipsters" was a simplified way of saying that kids aren't demanding expensive clothing as much these days, opting for more novelty items. Also, with unemployment and underemployment so high their folks are more likely to refuse to buy premium clothing or can't afford it new anyway.

 

I actually never got 'tude at Abercrombie since the City Center one was staffed mostly by my schoolmates, though I didn't spend much money there.

 

And stores that check people's IDs for credit cards hear literally 100X as many "thanks for checking"s than they do "F.U."s. Notice that retailers can't require ID for purchases, but can still ask. As long as stores continue to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback for checking IDs, they will. Big box stores and supermarkets don't ask to make the line move faster since they're in the volume rater than margin business. Getting grumpy about it does seem shady, sorry. So few people do it that it sends up a red flag.

Getting grumpy about it does seem shady, sorry. So few people do it that it sends up a red flag.

 

Perhaps, but i really despise the request as well.