Store Closings Dominate the Headlines Today

Reading headlines this morning provoked thoughts of a changing retail landscape. Here are five that caught my attention:

• Future Shop stores closed across Canada.
• Target moves to accelerate - Closing 80 stores by Easter weekend.
• Ricki's, Bootlegger and Cleo owner Comark to close stores and restructure.
• Smart Set stores set to vanish as Reitmans restructures.
• Jacob to close all 92 stores. 

I remember in the mid 80's being sent to visit an Iranian family in Vancouver that owned the Future Shop brand. They outlined a plan for a new kind of electronics store. As one of Canada's largest distributors of electronics, they asked us to supply them with truckloads of entertainment merchandise to support a move across Canada as the dominant retailer. Lining up transport trucks of product was heady stuff, but it put us in the center of controversy as they disrupted our existing distribution in each major urban center. One by one, independent retailers surrendered and even regional chains were acquired or sacrificed to progress. Eventually Future Shop surrendered to Best Buy (2001 - $580 million) and now thirty years after my meeting the Future Shop brand is being eliminated from the retail landscape.

Looking around, there are few examples of independent retailers who have survived the changes of the past six decades. However, Bay Bloor Radio, (my first stereo client) was started by Sol Mandlsohn in 1946 and is still serving clients today. That they have survived is a credit to the vision of Sol and his wife Peppie as well as the hard work and evolution brought about by their son Mark. Bay Bloor was the toughest customer I ever had but I learned much about supporting a retailer, negotiating balanced deals and adopting good business principles from this family. One of their employees, Don Archer became my mentor in the audio business and was largely responsible for helping me become a subject matter expert in the sound reinforcement industry. The Bay Bloor story should inspire independent retailers who have built a reputation around long standing client relationships and personal service. Bravo Mark!

Whether an independent retailer or a big box store embracing change and positioning a brand to be relevant for the future is the primary element of sustainability. Standing still is not an option.