Middle class retailers dying a slow death: Don Pittis

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Middle class retailers dying a slow death: Don Pittis
Topic Started: Feb 19 2014, 01:16 PM (571 Views)
Darcie	Feb 19 2014, 01:16 PM Post #1
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	Quote: e visited two dying Sears stores this month. They were both very depressing. Racks of jackets on hangers that told the wrong size. Empty cardboard boxes in big empty spaces. Despite another commitment last week by Sears Canada president Doug Campbell that the chain would continue to target the middle class, the trouble at Sears is a sign that middle class retailing itself is in decline. Aldwin Era is convinced that retailing is dividing in two, one for the rich and one for the poor. He has a simple theory about why: People no longer want to be seen as middle-class shoppers. Quote: "It's either you want to live above and beyond your means, or you really absolutely cannot and so you really have to shop at stores like Wal-Mart," says Era. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/middle-class-retailers-dying-a-slow-death-don-pittis-1.2535685?cmp=rss Not difficult to figure out, the middle class is disappearing, and the money they used to have is now in the hands of the super-rich. The poor have only a limited number of bucks even to spend at Walmart type stores. How to kill capitalism, they have a good start at it.

Replies:
pcmustard	Feb 21 2014, 12:51 PM Post #16
Blue Star Member Posts: 1,136 Group: Member Member #781 Joined: June 6, 2010	I am an IN and OUT guy when it comes to shopping...gotta know what I want....... Go IN, get what I want and get the heck OUT.



goldengal	Feb 21 2014, 02:02 PM Post #17
Mistress, House of Dogs Posts: 11,674 Group: Member Member #715 Joined: March 31, 2010	Aw shucks ..... No one listened when I said a mall is not what these outside large box stores are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall Take care, Pat



Darcie	Feb 21 2014, 02:08 PM Post #18
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	goldengal Feb 21 2014, 02:02 PM Aw shucks ..... No one listened when I said a mall is not what these outside large box stores are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mall Take care, Pat I got it Pat, I usually don't go to those unless I only have to go to one store specifically. I don't know how they are doing financially because I don't see all that many cars in the parking lots.



goldengal	Feb 21 2014, 03:21 PM Post #19
Mistress, House of Dogs Posts: 11,674 Group: Member Member #715 Joined: March 31, 2010	The only mall I go to is near my older daughter and I go there mainly for No Frills and Dollarama. lol Take care, Pat



erka	Feb 21 2014, 03:30 PM Post #20
Gold Star Member Posts: 5,330 Group: Member Member #233 Joined: February 8, 2006	Heatseeker wrote: Quote: Once you hit your 50s or so, spending on things slows a lot, as I'm sure people on here have noticed. I know what you mean about slowing down on buying. today, I bought 3 LED light bulbs that are suppose to last 20 years. Am I throwing caution to the wind by buying for such a long term item? Edited by erka, Feb 21 2014, 03:30 PM.



Trotsky	Feb 22 2014, 12:39 AM Post #21
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	I hate articles that gas on and on about the "middle class" and never define what they are talking about. And it is not just this one but a MILLION articles just like it. "The middle class this, the middle class that." Are they worried about offending somebody who thinks he is in the middle class but finds he isn't if authors state clearly what comprises this nebulous term? Without definition these fluff articles fall into meaninglessness. Never has a phrase that has no meaning been so overused. Edited by Trotsky, Feb 22 2014, 12:41 AM.



Darcie	Feb 22 2014, 01:46 AM Post #22
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	I have always thought that the middle class are the people who can afford to get what they NEED and the occasional what they WANT. On the other hand the 'lower' middle class can only afford what they NEED. Now we have the people who can't afford what they NEED and have to pick between FOOD and HEAT.



margaret	Feb 22 2014, 01:51 AM Post #23
Red Star Member Posts: 2,276 Group: Member Member #1,032 Joined: October 3, 2013	You are right on Darcie, general middle class in nebulous. A lot of us were lower middle class and a lot have sunk much lower. Again denial, a while ago on here I was accused of lying when I noted that some many of the low income jobs, Tims and walmart are older people. On the news just now about Tims dropping some items take a look at the people working there, I don't see any young people.



haili	Feb 22 2014, 05:57 AM Post #24
Gold Star Member Posts: 7,084 Group: Member Member #387 Joined: September 15, 2006	Our mall consists of a Target store and a bunch of assorted clothing and jewelry stores. I rarely go there as all the stores I shop in are scattered in the outskirts around massive parking lots. I'd love to have an indoor mall with a Sears and some shoe stores. What happened to shoe stores anyway? We are left with Payless, Walmart and a couple of expensive stores in those outlying areas.



heatseeker	Feb 22 2014, 06:51 AM Post #25
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	What happened to shoe stores anyway? Maybe it is a big city thing, but there are probably half a dozen shoe stores within a five minute walk of our house. Plus an excellent shoe repair shop. This is why density is a good thing. laugh123 Edited by heatseeker, Feb 22 2014, 06:51 AM.



Trotsky	Feb 22 2014, 07:06 AM Post #26
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	You know what Middle Class USED to mean? Those who owned their own companies and employed others. Lower Classes worked for others and peasants worked the land owned by the Gentry. Now "Middle Class" is bandied about to mean those who have managed to hold onto a job for the whole of last year and can afford to go to the movies on Friday. The terms are all turned on their head to mean whatever some politician or plutocrat wants them to mean at any given moment. And IF you give credence to the existence of a Middle Class then you must define UPPER Class and LOWER Class.



FuzzyO	Feb 22 2014, 08:25 AM Post #27
Posts: 16,968 Group: Administration Member #710 Joined: March 30, 2010	Is class economic, social, or both?



heatseeker	Feb 22 2014, 12:13 PM Post #28
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	Marx, who, it is seldom remembered, invented sociology, would of course insist that it is economic. But all economic markers are inevitably class markers. Edited by heatseeker, Feb 22 2014, 12:14 PM.



Trotsky	Feb 23 2014, 01:31 AM Post #29
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	In the United States it's all MONEY.



Trotsky	Feb 23 2014, 01:31 AM Post #30
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	In the United States it's all MONEY.



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