Shopping Seasons Change

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.