A list of shopping in the past and present
In my 26 years of existence, which I have spent all of in
Florida,
Here are some companies I’ve stopped seeing entirely:
•
Builder’s Square (2000)- It was a
lot like Lowe’s or Home Depot but I think it was owned by Kmart or affiliated
with it. It went bankrupt.
•
Food Lion (2012) A grocery
store a little like Winn Dixie because it had membership discounts, Food Lion
was around for years but suddenly had a boom up here in North Florida that
caused 3 to be open in my town within a few years of each other, but a change in the company resulted in their complete exit from Florida. They still exist, but not here.
•
Kash N’ Karry (early 2000’s) My mom
and I shopped here when I was little. It was like another Winn Dixie style
grocery store. When I was in high school they all suddenly vanished like Food
Lion. Research shows that they all closed or converted to Sweet Bay.
•
Phar-mor (early 1990’s) –I was
almost too little to remember it, but my parents did a lot of shopping at this
convenience drug store that was like a Save-a-lot or maybe a predecessor to CVS
and Walgreens. I don't know what happened to it, but it stopped existing after 2002.
•
Eckerd’s (early 2000's)- Eckerd was
another drug store that I think competed with Phar Mor, but I also think I
remember seeing it around longer into my childhood. It would sit on the corner
opposite of another drug store just like Walgreens and CVS do. In fact, it was bought out by CVS. Eckerds faded around 2007.
•
The Sharper Image (2007?) – This
company had stores and a catalog and specialized in cutting edge technology for
the home, like special air purifiers, devices to locate your keys and special
storage organizers. It might have been too pricey or too cutting edge because
its stores closed up shop and the catalogs were discontinued while I was in
college.
•
Burdine’s (2003-2005?) I remember a large free-standing
Burdine’s downtown in our little town of Lakeland, FL. I remember later when
they vacated the store and it became a headquarters for (I dunno probably some
phone company?) and Burdines moved to the mall. Then later, it was rebranded as
Macy’s when I was just barely in my teens. By 2005, they all were.
•
Circuit City (2007 or 2008?) It sold electronics
until it announced its bankruptcy and they all vanished.
•
Borders Book Store (2011) This was a large, Seattle-themed bookstore with a cafe inside and music for sale. There was one in Jacksonville. The company went bankrupt.
•
Waldenbooks (They left the malls sometime in
the 2000’s) I don’t know what happened to these little book stores that
stayed inside the malls, but I stopped seeing them somewhere between high
school and college. According to research, they were totally defunct by 2011, but I stopped seeing them before that.
•
Hollywood Video (later 2000’s) This video rental chain was Blockbuster's competitor, but it went out of business before all of the Blockbuster stores have. There was one that my parents rented from in my childhood, but sometime while I was away at college, it closed.
•
Mervyn’s (early 2000’s?)- I don’t
think I ever shopped here, but the old mall on the north end of town had one
for most of my childhood. One day I happened to notice that it wasn’t there
anymore and the anchor space had been boarded up. I think that it has been torn
down to build a movie theater. According to the internet research, Mervyn’s
went defunct at the end of 2008.
•
Montgomery Ward (2001)- There was
one in my hometown. It was like Kmart without the grocery or garden center. The
last time I went there with my parents, it was about 1998 or 1999 and it
already looked gloomy and rundown. A few years later, the entire chain went
bankrupt. After the store closed, it was torn down and a Target sits on that
lot now.
And here are some that seem to have fallen from their pedestals
or are falling now
•
Kmart (since the early or mid 2000’s) Some are
still open, and they still get promoted on TV but the company suffered and had
to close many stores. I have seen a number of vacant KMart buildings but occasionally I see a live one.
•
Blockbuster (since the early or mid 2000’s) People
jokingly started calling it “lackluster” after the 1990’s because it was the
bees knees when it came to renting video tapes but when newer technology came
out and Netflix and RedBox arrived everywhere for everyone’s convenience, people
stopped going across town to pay $5 to rent a couple of movies. One by one,
they’ve all closed, except for one in the north Florida town where I currently
live.
•
Linens N Things This store
was meant to compete with Bed Bath and Beyond. They went defunct in 2008, but
are still hosted online. The one that was in Jacksonville closed around that
time, leaving a label-scarred building
that was adjoined to the label-scarred circuit city building, thus vacating a
large part of a Target plaza.
Here are some that have maintained their popularity (for the
most part) or are at least chugging along steadily:
•
Wal-mart – America’s famous
one-stop with “always lower prices”
•
Sam’s Club – Affiliate of Wal Mart
but only available on a membership basis and only supplying bulk items.
•
Publix- A popular grocery store of the
southeast region
•
*Winn-Dixie – a somewhat popular
grocery store nationwide, that offers discounts on the merchandise and even on
gasoline to its members.
•
JCPenney – A department store known
for affordable prices on apparel for the whole family, as well as house wares.
•
Sears – Another
middle-range department store, it also specializes in appliances and autoparts
in many cases. It doesn’t seem to be talked about like it used to, but it has a
customer base who maintains “brand loyalty”
•
Dillard’s – A department store known
for a combination of affordable and higher pricepoint designer apparel for the
whole family, as well as cosmetics some housewares.
•
Barnes and Noble- a large
bookstore that also sells coffee and the “kindle” e-book.
•
Books-a-million- another
large bookstore that sells coffee or ice cream and lots of novelties from
popular comics and tv shows. (even apparel in some cases)
•
Big Lots- A closeout store where
all of the “scratch and dent” household, electronics, seasonal and grocery
goes.
•
Best Buy- A large electronics store
that sells a wide range of computers, tv’s, phones, kitchen appliances, some
cutting edge smaller appliances and all the accessories.
•
Rooms-to-go- A furniture store known
for very low prices (and sometimes quality, oh well)
•
Toys R Us- A department-store-sized
toy store with almost anything that pertains to children, from regular toys to
educational toys to baby supplies.
•
Pier 1 Imports- A home
décor store that specializes in colorful accent piece furniture, rugs, light
fixtures, dishes, seasonal items and more, many of which appear to have come
from rich overseas cultures like those of India and Asia.
•
Marshall’s – A closeout store for the
nicer things that trickle down from department stores and brand name stores.
•
Ross- A closeout store for items of
lower price points that trickle down from brand name stores.
•
Pottery Barn*- A
collection of eclectic furniture and home decor
•
Bealls and Bealls Outlets- “The
Florida Store”, a type of department store with clothing and house wares that
are more Florida themed, and its closeout store.
•
Walgreens- A “drug store” corner
store that sells medicine, offers a pharmacy, and also supplies other
day-to-day items like shelf life food, beverages, pet food, baby supplies,
makeup, greeting cards and an assortment of simple gifts.
•
PayLess – A shoe store that sells
shoes that resemble top trends but at bottom dollar prices.
Here are some that are have risen to popularity in my region
over the last decade or so. Some are new and some are just getting a fresh
start.
•
Costco – Like another Sam’s Club, Costco
shoppers must buy a membership and then buy bulk.
•
BJ’s- Another membership-based grocery
and home store like Costco
•
Bed Bath and Beyond- A house
wares store that sells the basics and best in dishes, kitchen, bedding,
bathroom, patio and décor.
•
Ashley Furniture- A middle
ground between Rooms To Go and Pottery Barn, Ashley sells furniture for every
room of the house, with better quality material than Rooms To Go but at a more
affordable price point than Pottery Barn
•
Hobby Lobby- A
Christian owned craft store that is closed Sundays. It often takes over entire
grocery store or small movie theater spaces because of its wide range of craft
supplies, fabric, framing and home décor as well as seasonal merchandise, all
at affordable prices.
•
Macy’s- A department store with
apparel for the whole family, cosmetics and house wares. As a rule, the items
sold there follow the current trends and are usually good quality, yet there
are still reasonable discounts and prices. It is a descendant of Burdine’s.
•
Kohl’s- A department store that
typically stands on its own, but can be found in malls. The clothes and house
wares are trendy but typically come at better bargains than most other
department stores.
•
Old Navy (actually since the 1990’s)- A large,
affordable family store that is typically very patriotic (selling a tee shirt
with the American flag on it at July 4). The clothing here is a combination of
essentials and some trends, airing more on the conservative side with chinos,
slacks, denim, tee shirts, sweaters, cardigans and more. It was designed to be
the “more affordable” cousin of the Gap, and it is affiliated.
•
Ulta Beauty- A large
cosmetic store that sells brand name cosmetics as well as other products for
the hair and skin.
•
Sephora- Another large cosmetic
store that has more designer makeup and fragrance, as well as “top-shelf” skin
products.
•
Dick’s Sporting Goods- Dick’s
seems to be directed more toward athletes than Bass Pro, which attracts hunters
and fishermen the most. Tools for all sorts of outdoorsmen (and women) are
available here too, but its specialty is clothing and shoes for runners, sport
team players, swimmers and golfers, as well as people who exercise at home.
•
Burlington Coat Factory- This
closeout, bottom-dollar department store is one of the hottest places to get
not just coats but many other kinds of apparel for steal deals. It is somewhat
like a Ross.
•
CVS- Another corner drug store with a
nice assortment of groceries, pet supplies, baby care, toys, greeting cards,
cosmetics, gifts and household products.
•
Cost Plus World Market- A store
that is a little like Pier 1, but is typically at lower price points, with more
exotic seeming décor and a large selection of foreign shelf life foods, wines
and candies.
•
Famous Footwear- A family
shoe store with a mixture of middle-tier brands for trendy, comfort and
athletic shoes often at good prices.
•
Target- A one-stop shopping
experience that is a little trendier than that of Walmart or Kmart. This store
has probably been around since the late 1980’s or the early 1990’s, but I
didn’t see one come to my hometown until I was in high school. A second one
opened on the other side of town by the time I was getting ready to graduate. They
seemed to have carved a niche for themselves among the middle class market with
a sort of trendy, “designer” vibe and slightly more upscale atmosphere. Also,
in the past few years, Target stores have been adding a grocery store much like
the way all the Walmart stores have become “Super Walmart”
Of course, there are probably many many more stores that I am
not thinking of off the top of my head. And this list doesn’t even begin to
cover other venues like restaurants, gyms and entertainment. My specialty is
retail.
Feel free to contact me if you see something crucial that I left
out, or any facts that I haven’t posted correctly.
