The New Retail Thread

The developers of The Street seem to earnestly buy into some kind of commercialized New Urbanism. I'm surprised that they didn't think to include a safe walking/biking path from Hammond Street by the T, running adjacent to the pond, and out to the new crosswalk at Hammond Pond Parkway.
 
I worked at the CH mall one winter, its not thatttt bad to get to. The 60 is infrequent, but runs almost perfectly on schedule, and drops you off near the door by the parking garage. Walking from the D is a bit harder, but if you cut through the "street" parking lot and walk up the driveway from route 9 its decently fast, and you can cross the Hammond Pond where it's separated by three medians. The biggest issue is NO ONE shovels, so you need boots, and ice sucks.

There is no push to fix it, because from riding the bus I can say no one goes there by public transit but the employees. Also walking in the snow in a suit + boots is super fun.
 
BosDevelop said:
Rude? You're kidding, right? So I walk into the foot locker and see a pair of shoes I have been eying. I try them on and like the way they feel. I see the price tag and notice that the shoes are $100. A 30 second google search on my phone shows the shoes are available via an online retailer for $80 with free shipping. Am I supposed to buy the more expensive shoes simply because I tried them on in the store? .
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Imagine for a second everyone does this.

Now the store closes and all shopping is online. How do you try it on?

Good job, youve fucked everyone over. And killed your local economy too.
 
jass said:
Imagine for a second everyone does this.

Now the store closes and all shopping is online. How do you try it on?

Good job, youve fucked everyone over. And killed your local economy too.
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But cellphones and the google exist. Comparison shopping for the best price is at the root of any market economy. I understand your point, but it seems crazy to say "consumers have an obligation to sublimate their own economic well-being to benefit local retailers." Maybe this is the beginning of the end of brick-and-mortar shops as we know them, but I don't see how keeping Foot Locker in business is a moral imperative. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
 
Foot Locker has an extremely loyal following from "sneaker heads" - people that MUST have the latest Jordans the MOMENT they are released. They are typically urban youth, both guys and girls. These are the people that will drop $200 on each colorway for the same shoe just to "own them." I agree that shopping is trending toward internet-centric, but shopping as we know it will likely never be completely replaced by the internet. They need to coexist for the sake of the economy/employment.
 
Shepard said:
Bloomingdales is in the Simon mall, not The Street. The latter has relatively ok access to the T. The mall as Data said is a far more dangerous haul.
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I get them confused all the time--thank you for the correction!
 
datadyne007 said:
Foot Locker has an extremely loyal following from "sneaker heads" - people that MUST have the latest Jordans the MOMENT they are released. They are typically urban youth, both guys and girls. These are the people that will drop $200 on each colorway for the same shoe just to "own them." I agree that shopping is trending toward internet-centric, but shopping as we know it will likely never be completely replaced by the internet. They need to coexist for the sake of the economy/employment.
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Replace "Footlocker" with "Expressions" (the shoe store adjacent to Macy's on Washington St. in DTC) and you describe exactly the situation that transpired this morning. There were at least a dozen kids in line at 9 a.m. waiting for Expressions to open at 10 a.m. These rituals happen in Downtown Crossing at least twice a year.
 
how are "cellphones and the google" going to help me try shoes on to see if they fit?
 
Ron Newman said:
how are "cellphones and the google" going to help me try shoes on to see if they fit?
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Ron,

A good point however -- have you seen the UPS commercial with the folks from the shoe company sitting around a table and talking about a customer:

1) Senior Guy -- customer bought shoes and they didn't fit -- no easy way to return them she's not happy -- unhappy customer I'm not happy
2) lots of comments by somewhat lower level people and cut to dissatisfied customer
2) some low level person mentions UPS has the solution with pre-printed return labels, etc.
3) group is much happier they discus increasing sales, etc all say they are happy
4) cut to customer -- she's Happy Happy
5) cut to Old Guy -- He says repeat customers then I'm Happy
6) Old guy says it all for UPS at the end I love logistics

Here's the modern model in a nutshell -- Courtesy of UPS and Amazon and a company at the old Fort Devens called Quite Logistics [uses robotic moving shelves made by a company in Billerica called Kiva Systems -- bought by Amazon a couple of years ago] :
1) -- whether you see the shoes online or in person in a kiosk or a kiosk+ shoppette -- they don't have your size to try on -- you click, touch the screen or use your smart cel to order
3) Quite Logistics, Amazon, etc. can take your order and give it to UPS, USPS, Fedex, etc in less than 30 minutes
4) day or two or perhaps minutes via drone helicopter the shoes arrive
5) you try them on -- if it fits Great
6) if not then you send them back and the process can begin again

Might not be for everyone so there is still likely going to be some places where you can try on the shoes until you find the ones you want and carry them home with you
 
699 Boylston

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Ron Newman said:
how are "cellphones and the google" going to help me try shoes on to see if they fit?
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Actually, my point was different. Jass was doing the Kantian imperative thing, and I was just saying that (assuming brick and mortar stores still exist) the genie of internet comparison shopping is not going back into the bottle. As my post suggests, maybe it drives brick and mortar shopping out of business. If the technology points in that direction, you can't expect people to disadvantage themselves economically to accomodate private enterprise.
 
I take it you haven't been to uniqlo yet... That place is the shit!! 50$ for a ultralight down jacket.
 
From the article about Uniqio:

The Herald reported last month that plans submitted to the city by Faneuil Hall Marketplace operator Ashkenazy Acquisition included Uniqlo as a tenant for one of two new two-story tenant spaces in a proposed redesign of Quincy Market.
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Anyone know anything about the "two new two-story tenant spaces in a proposed redesign of Quincy Market"?
 
Subdivisions said:
Well funny you should mention that, I ended up getting mine from patagonia store on newbury on sale for 150$. But thats before I knew about uniqlos one.
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That's essentially my point though. Higher quality and/or higher price Patagonia jacket vs. lower price and/or lower quality Uniqlo jacket, Addo Novo couch vs. Ikea couch, Hermes necktie vs. Sears necktie, Anderson & Sheppard suit vs. Men's Wearhouse suit, J. Crew chinos vs. Old Navy chinos.
 
kmp1284 said:
That's essentially my point though. Higher quality and/or higher price Patagonia jacket vs. lower price and/or lower quality Uniqlo jacket, Addo Novo couch vs. Ikea couch, Hermes necktie vs. Sears necktie, Anderson & Sheppard suit vs. Men's Wearhouse suit, J. Crew chinos vs. Old Navy chinos.
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Uniqlo is good for young people following trends who change over their wardrobes frequently or are really just starting out out building a wardrobe. And for lower and middle class people that can't buy a $100+ Hermes tie. The quality is better than Old Navy or H&M at a similar price point. It's not for everyone (I shopped at the one in SoHo in my 20's, but probably wouldn't spend much there now) but it is a good addition to Boston's retail environment. The flagship will be a destination store for college kids, young professionals, and tourists for a long time until they make it into the suburban malls.
 
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