Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

Yes

I'd prefer that the area be a mix of shops and stores (er, what's the difference? Ha ha.)

The problem is there is not a mix, I don't think. I think the jewelry stores are basically still there only because they can't afford to move elsewhere, and/or they have such a trade built-up over the years that they are successful enough, as is.

But that isn't the point I wanted to make. All I wanted to say is, I think the new Filene's building will go upscale with the retail. I don't know where I'm getting this idea, maybe I read it somewhere. But I think they're looking for "suburban-mall" type tenants.

Oh, right. Like the Mayor wants - Target.

And, they want a supermarket down there, I thought I heard.

Where they plan on getting the foot traffic from this, I don't know.

Yes, Chinatown is nearby, but will that be enough of a draw?

Of course, Vornado is smatter than I am, right?
 
Re: Yes

JimboJones said:
And, they want a supermarket down there, I thought I heard.

Where they plan on getting the foot traffic from this, I don't know.
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A giant Stop and Shop that sells everything from spaghetti o's to inflatable rafts wouldn't work, but a market geared towards city dwellers, and workers, would. I grabbed lunch yesterday at the Charles Street Whole Foods and that store couldn't have been more jumping. I walked there from the direction of the Financial District, and I passed a lot of people carrying WF shopping bags. That kind of place in DTX could be transformative.

I also think you might be surprised by how many people already live in that neighborhood, they just don't do much living there, yet. Put in a good market and the residents will come down to street level.
 
He probably meant the Cambridge Street one.
 
Some good news for a change: a store opening in DTX. Even better, its their first one in North America.

CeX and the City: Shop buys sells used DVDs

With a name like CeX, it?s certain to grab some attention.

And those tired of watching their collection of DVDs for the umpteenth time, or looking to upgrade from their current cell phone or notebook computer, can soon turn to CeX to sell them.

The British company, whose stores buy and sell secondhand video games, DVDs, computing products, cell phones, and electronics such as iPods and digital cameras, has chosen Boston for its first U.S. location.

CeX - pronounced ?sex? and short for Complete Entertainment Exchange - is slated to open Sept. 25 at 46 Winter St. in Downtown Crossing. The company also plans a Cambridge store.

Founded 15 years ago, CeX has grown from a small, 300-square-foot London store to a chain of 50 in the United Kingdom and Spain with annual revenue of $100 million, said founder Robert Dudani. It?s starting big here, with a 6,000-square-foot store in the former Homer?s space, next to Manhattan Clothing.

?We thought we?d give it a go over here,? Dudani said. ?We?re a unique proposition, and we don?t see that we have any competition.?

Here?s how the stores work: A customer brings in his cell phone, and a CeX employee inspects it to ensure it?s operable before appraising it. The customer can choose to receive cash for the product, or a higher exchange value that?s redeemable toward a purchase in the store.

?We trade every single product on a supply and demand (basis) like a stock market,? Dudani said.

If the store buys a product for a certain price and can?t sell it, it will pay less for that same product the next time, and sell it for less, until it finds the optimal price.

All products sold by CeX come with a one-year warranty in case of failure. The company also offers a two-day ?no quibble? guarantee for returns.

CeX is bringing in used inventory from the United Kingdom to stock the Boston store until it builds up a local inventory.

?We?re hoping a lot of people come in with big black bags of all the video games and DVDs they no longer watch,? Dudani said.
 
belmont square said:
Beton Brut said:
My mom feels sketched out there at high noon. She'd rather drive to a mall. That's a shame.
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...I would hope most of us would agree that people who prefer driving to the mall because they are sketched out by the district at noon...should not be the target demographic for planned improvements.
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It think you've taken me out of context here. If you go back and read my entire statement, I was suggesting (through a personal example) that DTX has slipped in the past 20-25 years, both in appearance (cleanliness, occupancy of retail locations) and atmosphere (the behavior of some of its patrons). I believe the combination of these two factors contribute to some folks, who shopped there historically, taking their business elsewhere.

If it means anything, my mom is in her 70's. She grew up in Boston, worked downtown for many years, misses R.H. White's and Kennedy's, and prefers city streets to parking lots.

Perhaps this is clearer than my previous example.
 
Ron Newman said:
The British company, whose stores buy and sell secondhand video games, DVDs, computing products, cell phones, and electronics such as iPods and digital cameras, has chosen Boston for its first U.S. location.



CeX is bringing in used inventory from the United Kingdom to stock the Boston store until it builds up a local inventory.
.
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Unless they plan on only selling cameras and Cds at first, that might be an issue...

DVDs and games have region locks, and electronics use 220v. And if it supports 110, the plug will still be different
 
^^ Good point. Still, it seems like an interesting addition to DTX --- essentially an upscale 21st Century pawn shop. I wonder how they'll compete with eBay.
 
There was a place on Winter St called CD Spins a year or so back. They also sold used CD and DVDs. Emphasis on was.
 
CD Spins still exists in Davis Square, and I think other places. I don't know why they closed the DTX store, or whether it reopened under a different name.
 
CD Spin used to be everywhere. For that matter, used CD stores in general used to be everywhere. I think they're scaling back is just a sign of changing technology.
 
I buy all songs off of iTunes. It's good. No longer can artists get me to pay 16$ for an entire CD when all I want are 2 songs.
 
CD stores are history. Online music is going to wipe them out completely, eventually. There are some novel ideas about "electronic music boutiques." Selling music at a cafe style atmosphere. Plug your iPod into the bar, and select the music right there.
 
I don't know exactly when this happened, but some time in the last week or two, Strawberries closed and was replaced by a store called "f y e" that appears to sell the same sort of merchandise.
 
f y e = for your entertainment

CDs priced to move at $21.99.

Good luck finding anything worth listening to, Ron.

I miss Second Coming and Planet Records.
 
FYE bougt the strawberries chain and is eliminating the name.

FYE is a national brand
 
One more local brand going away, then. (Jordan Marsh, Filene's, Bradlees, Coffee Connection, Sack Theatres...)
 
as for sacks theaters, we got amc which is local and national...what a concept...
 
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