If you don't wish to read ranting, leave now,
We have a smallish Village close by. It was recently given a swish makeover, being remodelled into one large-ish Mall. It now has airconditioning, which makes it pleasant in both Summer & Winter. In the area surrounding the Mall, there is a Hotel, a Bottle Shop, and various professional people such as Solicitors, Dentists, Doctors & Sports Therapist, who are close enough to walk comfortably to visit. There are also two Medical Centres, within shouting distance. If you require entertainment, there is a large Video outlet.
Within the Mall, there is a large Supermarket-read one of the Big Two monopolies-also a large Chemist shop, a Bakery and two Coffee shop franchises. There is a Hot Bread outlet, a Fruit shop, a Newsagent, plus the newly relocated Post Office. A Butchery
Sounds as if we are well catered for. However there was a large shop occupying one large corner of the Mall. It was one of those "Swell Dollar" (not it's real name) shops. You know the type, all things stocked in various sizes & guises. All at reasonable prices. If you wanted a pen or pencil, go to the "Swell Dollar". You could find any number to choose from, all at very reasonable prices.
A keyring, an extension cord, a DVD, a colander, a bucket a pair of all purpose spectacles, sewing requirements, toys, pins, nails, tools, pliers, cutlery china, mugs, garden utensils, clocks.... you name it, "Swell Dollar" probably had a version.
If you wanted to say Thankyou to someone, you could purchase a card for $1, Paper to wrap your item, for $1. Even a suitable gift could be found for as little as $1. It was, to use one of my Grandmother's favourite words, an absolute boon to the district.
The "Swell Dollar" was always well patronised. I suspect it was one of those high turnover, low profit shops. It was one of the most used outlets in the Mall.
It has now closed & gone. The owners said they could no longer afford the rental for the premises.
The person who owns this Mall seems to be someone who has no partner, no children & perhaps family, though none are evident about the Mall.
My whinge is why not accept a lower rental? Why does greed govern everything. There are gaping holes in this Mall, where businesses have failed and left. There are huge boarded up spaces, with no occupants. In fact, some of the spaces have never had a tennant since the Mall opened.
If a survey was done of visitors to the Mall, I am sure all would say they had visited & purchased from the "Swell Dollar" at one time or another.
I know I don't understand big business, but I would really like to know what the owner's thinking is? Perhaps one day, when I am waiting for a script, I will approach her, and ask her the reason.
End of Rant.
It is cold, and I am feeling tetchy!
We had Small Grandson for a spell yesterday.. I am kicking myself, because one more time, I forgot to get photos. He swept up the pavers out the back, making a nice neat job. He used Stickle Bricks to build furniture for an imaginary house. He read books. He sat with me, trying to find Graeme Base in each picture of Animalia. Fun for both of us.
His mother came home tense & upset. All the fibres of her being were standing on end, after an encounter with a very nasty person.
"What makes people tick" will be a neverending interest to me.
I love to hear or read their stories.
11 comments:
Wow, we had (have) a mall here just like that. The owner went bankrupt during construction and it sat empty for 10 years. Now that it's finally open, they don't seem to be able to keep the individual stores open. The rents are too high to cover the costs of finishing the half-done monstrosity. There was some sort of dollar store in there, but they raised their prices from one dollar to $1, $4, and $10, then they closed. Seems they couldn't keep up with the rent either. I'm fairly certain the movie theatre that anchors the mall will be closed soon too, only so many people are willing to pay $12.50 for popcorn and a soda! It's a pity, but the economy is driving so may people out of business and the greed is taking care of a number of them too.
I have no issue with you ranting, and I think should I be there beside you I would be ranting as well!
When profit, not service, is the bottom line, the quality of service declines. I'm with you - I don't get big business. Look how much harm it's done here in the US to have large conglomerates running everything! Rant away, Meggie. It shows you care.
I once worked at a mall and even attended a mall meeting for my manager. The owner of the Mall said it takes most businesses (and this was back in the '80's) at least three years to start to make a profit... (might be longer now).. at that time they had a number of business that were not paying as high rent as some of the more established stores. They worked with those smaller business trying to do all they could to help them prosper... We watched as one by one fell by the wayside... other business came in and they fell too... the two anchor stores were there the longest... finally... the whole Mall was torn down except the one Anchor store. It was left as a stand alone store... now we mostly have strip malls... Walmart is the only business that looks as if it is really thriving... all the other stores have slow traffic... sign of the times?
We've learned here in the U.S.A. that businessmen making $2.5 million dollars a year (plus a bonus) do not always know what they are doing. The bailouts for the car companies and banks are astounding. The companies said they had to pay high wages to attract the "best and brightest" workers. They could have paid me a lot less to do the same thing (or maybe not).
These gluttons are everywhere! I had a friend who owned a Kebab shop in a mall and ther ent was horrendous, suffice to say he doesn't work there in the mall any longer. We visited a similar type mall when in Queensland (the one to the left of Kippa Ring actually - we go there cos the kids think its a funny name!) and the new mall has all but eclipsed the tiny wee one that it feeds off.
Greed is prevalent everywhere it would seem. With some 500 pipeliners headed to my little world here in the midwest I have seen most of the surrounding campground owners around me raise their monthly rates to almost double what I am charging the families in my campground. We have a captive audience as there are a limited number of camping spots for theses folk, but I can't see gouging these good people just because I can. I am afraid I will pay for it ultimately if I do so..... Rant away, I am listening.
Ahhh, ranting is good for the soul. And I always love your rants Meggie!
Rant away, Meggie. I'm with you.
Shopping malls near me have done the exact same thing: price-freeze out all but the generic stores.
If the malls had it their way, we'd all do the same thing; buy the same stuff we see advertised on TV; think the same way.
Makes me enjoy the internet all the more. Home of the different.
We love dollar stores. They're a special kind of lifeblood after Wal-Mart. I'll join in your rant gladly.
Meggie,
I am not sure what I would do without the dollar store for school stuff. It does make you wonder why they would rather have an empty space instead of having the space bringing in some money..
You go ahead and rant away- I always enjoy them.
Hugs,
Anna
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