The Effect of Big Box Stores on Retail

Article first published as The Effect of Big Box Stores on Retail on Technorati.

Borders book stores have announced that they are going out of business.  Best Buy has decided to reduce the size of their buildings.  Both claim that other businesses and the internet have dramatically curtailed sales.  The economic downturn has also played a significant role in their demise.  What many big box retailers seem to have forgotten is that they did exactly the same to thousands of independent business owners years ago.

I remember when Home Depot was opening in the small cities and suburbs.  The immediate concern was that they would put all the small hardware stores out of business.  They were told not to worry.  That competition would improve business for all, and that what they carried would not affect the small stores.  In a matter of a few years, all the independent hardware stores in the area where out of business.  They could not compete with inventory, price, and store hours. 

Large stores and malls also had an effect on the downtown areas of many towns and cities.  It became more convenient to drive to large stores rather that walk up and down a street to shop.  Small clothing, book, toy, video, and drug stores slowly disappeared from the landscape.  Instead the country has become more and more generic in retail choices.

The loss of these large stores has left a void in many cities and towns.   Huge buildings sit vacant for years with signs advertising leasing opportunities.  Given the current economic climate, the small store owner cannot start up a business as easily before retail was dominated by big business.  The small store knew their customers, employed a steady group of workers, and provided a level of service that went unmatched.

The public is upset to see the demise of Borders.  There is a feeling that literacy in America has suffered a blow.  There may some truth in the sentiment, but wouldn’t it be nice if small stores could make a comeback. It would improve the economy and the retail experience many of us miss.

A Precious Little Life

       Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her daughter this week.  Apparently there wasn’t enough evidence for a conviction.  I, along with the majority of the public, find this hard to believe.  Regardless of the emotional outpour, she has been found not guilty by a jury of her peers.  It is a system of justice that we need to uphold.  The saddest part of this whole story is that it involved a helpless little 2-year-old child.  A little girl who it seems was living among a family that had problems.  She was a child born to a young woman who partied while her daughter was supposedly missing.  I have a feeling that someday there will be justice for Caylee.  Why?  I think one day, her mother is going to slip up.

    This is a family who told a number of stories.  There were a significant number that changed over the years and during the trial.  I didn’t watch the full coverage, but I did see the headlines in the news every morning for months.  Every day there seemed to be some new revelation.  There were new insights into the relationships between all members of the family.   It came down to a realization that this was a highly dysfunctional family with absolutely no common sense.

   Who doesn’t call 911 when someone drowns?  Unfortunately these accidents occur every day.  While tragic, not many cases involve parents or other individuals going to jail.  Who goes missing for 30 days with no one wondering where they are?  Why didn’t the grandparents call police if they were concerned?  Who had the best interest of this child at heart?  There are too many questions that don’t have answers.

   Casey Anthony now stands to make a great deal of money from this case.  Eventually she will have to talk to someone.  Any interview, or book, or article, or movie, will only add to the suspicion that she knows what happened to her daughter.  Every time she smiles, people will wonder if she is a grieving parent.  They say that you never get over the death of a child.  The fact that she partied and seemed to move on with life so fast is what infuriates so many people.

   This case has been compared to the O.J. Simpson trial.  A case where what seemed so obvious to most, didn’t add up for the jury.  O.J. never lived a normal life after that ruling and I don’t think Casey Anthony will either.  The pressure and the cloud of doubt surrounding her will eventually lead to something reckless happening.  Until that day, the country needs to remember an innocent little girl who didn’t deserve what happened to her.   She was a sweet, innocent, helpless child who never got a chance to live a full life.  May Caylee Anthony rest in peace.