Posted on 10/07/2005 3:19:02 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
I have yet to go to a Big Lots and find something I am seeking.
Big Lots is closing because enough of their customers finally realized that if they wanted to buy junk they could do better at a Salvation Army Thrift Store.
Where I live, there are Dollar Stores popping up everywhere. They go by various names, 99 Cents, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc.
> Big Lots is closing because enough of their customers
> finally realized that if they wanted to buy junk they
> could do better at a Salvation Army Thrift Store.
Well, sure, but not new-in-box junk.
The BigLots business plan relies on a steady flow of
liquidated, overstocked, closeout and otherwise
impaired(*) products.
This has fundamental problems.
1. Its continued success requires lots of other
business to continue to screw up.
2. It assumes that these products won't find some
other way to reach market (many retailers closing
stores liquidate in place, for example).
* Impaired - I've seen clear evidence that many items
BL sells are there due to packaging or even branding
that needed changing that was uneconomical. I bought
a couple of cases of a fine breakfast cereal that had
an obvious trademark conflict with another company.
This sort of thing doesn't happen often enough to build
a business around.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.