Retail Stores are dying

[tpols]

link (https://www.businessinsider.com/the-american-retail-apocalypse-in-photos-2017-3)

so many huge chains shutting down.

Amazon will be god.

:biggums:

[Velocirap31]

Lots of pictures of abandoned shopping malls got me thinking. I don't think I've been to a mall in at least 3 years.

[Ben Simmons 25]

Sears has been in the process of going out of business for 25-30+ years.

Toys R Us has been dying for about the same amount of time.

Gap isn't a shocker, either. Overpriced trash.

Walgreens is actually a bit surprising... they're probably losing market share to CVS... I doubt Amazon is eating into their customer base. The people that go to Walgreens are people going for medication or... people looking for extreme convenience in their neighborhood.

Although... once drones become a thing, if someone is able to get it through regulators that medication will be delivered to your doorstep via drone, CVS and Walgreens will be dead overnight.

But yeah... Amazon and online commerce in general are coming rapidly for brick and mortar retail.

I am most curious to see what happens once Amazon has put as many stores out of business as possible and if they will reverse policy on their free shipping associated with Prime.

Sorta like what Netflix did to Blockbuster sort of thing... put everyone else out of business and start jacking up the prices.

[kennethgriffen]

my local mall is half boarded up

[warriorfan]

Sears has been in the process of going out of business for 25-30+ years.

Toys R Us has been dying for about the same amount of time.

Gap isn't a shocker, either. Overpriced trash.

Walgreens is actually a bit surprising... they're probably losing market share to CVS... I doubt Amazon is eating into their customer base. The people that go to Walgreens are people going for medication or... people looking for extreme convenience in their neighborhood.

Although... once drones become a thing, if someone is able to get it through regulators that medication will be delivered to your doorstep via drone, CVS and Walgreens will be dead overnight.

But yeah... Amazon and online commerce in general are coming rapidly for brick and mortar retail.

I am most curious to see what happens once Amazon has put as many stores out of business as possible and if they will reverse policy on their free shipping associated with Prime.

Sorta like what Netflix did to Blockbuster sort of thing... put everyone else out of business and start jacking up the prices.

Of course they are. I would say that

[Ben Simmons 25]

Of course they are. I would say that’s capitalism but Amazon gets so much money in government subsideraries, is it even capitalism anymore?

Crony capitalism. It has permeated itself throughout our society and never was that more obvious than the last economic crisis when all these companies that should have been allowed to fail got bailed out. I am not sure what the solution is.

But an even bigger issue than crony capitalism is the overwhelming amount of automation that is in the process of coming down the pipeline. We're talking unemployment levels in excess of the great depression that won't be able to be fixed. Paradigm shift is required.

[Jasper]

told the wife - she is putting the retail stores out of business , by buying online and NOT making America great AGAIN.

:yaohappy:

[egokiller]

told the wife - she is putting the retail stores out of business , by buying online and NOT making America great AGAIN.

:yaohappy:

:roll:

[sammichoffate]

Crony capitalism. It has permeated itself throughout our society and never was that more obvious than the last economic crisis when all these companies that should have been allowed to fail got bailed out. I am not sure what the solution is.

But an even bigger issue than crony capitalism is the overwhelming amount of automation that is in the process of coming down the pipeline. We're talking unemployment levels in excess of the great depression that won't be able to be fixed. Paradigm shift is required.Some kind of New Deal or UBI?

[bigkingsfan]

Costco >

Amazon is pretty overrated.

[Ben Simmons 25]

Some kind of New Deal or UBI?

I don't think UBI is the solution but it's a start. I honestly don't know. I just know the conversation needs to start being had now before unemployment gets to that point that the shit is already hitting the fan.

And honestly nobody is having that conversation that matters. Andrew Yang is a democratic presidential nominee for 2020 and he's about it. And I don't think his presidential bid is actually serious as much as he's trying to push this very conversation.

[sammichoffate]

I don't think UBI is the solution but it's a start. I honestly don't know. I just know the conversation needs to start being had now before unemployment gets to that point that the shit is already hitting the fan.

And honestly nobody is having that conversation that matters. Andrew Yang is a democratic presidential nominee for 2020 and he's about it. And I don't think his presidential bid is actually serious as much as he's trying to push this very conversation.Thing is, it's such a radical idea that older conservatives wouldn't even give it the time of day even though it's similar to social security. I think they've done tests of it in Canada which have been relatively positive but people are too ingrained in their beliefs to consider it. Might have to wait until it's too late tbh, radical changes in policies are usually made in urgent times like Post-Depression USA(New Deal) or Post-9/11(Patriot Act).

[MrFonzworth]

Bedt Buy was actually on the verge of dying like 5 years ago but are trending upwards. Having their best years atm.

[Ben Simmons 25]

Thing is, it's such a radical idea that older conservatives wouldn't even give it the time of day even though it's similar to social security. I think they've done tests of it in Canada which have been relatively positive but people are too ingrained in their beliefs to consider it. Might have to wait until it's too late tbh, radical changes in policies are usually made in urgent times like Post-Depression USA(New Deal) or Post-9/11(Patriot Act).

Sadly you're probably right because the general public and the politicians themselves are too dumb to see it coming.


Bedt Buy was actually on the verge of dying like 5 years ago but are trending upwards. Having their best years atm.

Yeah they were doing very poorly there for a minute. And I'm surprised that they're even doing well now... if ever there was a brick and mortar retail store that was overstaffed, it's Best Buy... they have so many employees standing around doing very little and it shocks me every time I go there, which isn't often any more.

But I do know that they have extremely large margins on trivial stuff such as cables...

[dude77]

the malls around here seem to be doing ok .. dolphin mall, international, dadeland etc .. people still like going out, socializing and being around other people .. go figure

[macmac]

Bedt Buy was actually on the verge of dying like 5 years ago but are trending upwards. Having their best years atm.

Only thing that

[diamenz]

Lots of pictures of abandoned shopping malls got me thinking. I don't think I've been to a mall in at least 3 years.

i only go now to creep record the hs girls.

[DaHeezy]

It all starts with the property owners. Instead of giving lease breaks they would rather sit on retail space and wait to charge the premium. The cost of operating a brick and mortar >>> web-space and warehouse/delivery. Web owners can use that extra income to buy mass volumes and increase their margins. To keep a store operating requires at least a 35% margin. Usual mark-ups are around 50% so there's wiggle room for sales. Online kills brick and mortar pricing. That 35% margin is upwards of 40-45% for the online retailer

If these property owners, who are usually foreign, were to decrease lease rates it would give the brick and mortar a chance to compete. Otherwise the only thing they can do is provide a service you can't get online

The other problem is the customer. They don't want to pay for the service. People love going into brick and mortar, gouge the employee for as much information as they can and then go home and buy it online. Back in the day when retail was thriving people had a little more loyalty and paid for the customer service. That's also the beauty of online. It doesn't require the whole customer service aspect. They just post a pic and customers buy based on set price.

If you're going to do brick and mortar, do alcohol. Micro-brews are thriving. Alcohol will always be a destination thing.

[tpols]

i remember growing up Pathmark used to be a major super market chain everywhere... in the past 5 years everyone near me has gone out of business and replaced by an Aldi's or Lidl... german corporations taking over america lmao

[Patrick Chewing]

Not sure why Walgreens is hurting. I'm always in there.



Places like Sears and JC Penney I can understand. They sell overpriced crap.

[Akrazotile]

A ton of things are dying. Soda products, designer fashion labels, family chain restaurants, retail stores, cable television, wildlife species all over the planet.

Dawn of a new age.

[highwhey]

A ton of things are dying. Soda products, designer fashion labels, family chain restaurants, retail stores, cable television, wildlife species all over the planet.

Dawn of a new age.
everything but your virginity.

[Patrick Chewing]

Dawn of a new age.

https://media.giphy.com/media/OE1fJosuEFKZa/giphy.gif

[MrFonzworth]

i only go now to creep record the hs girls.
Dude's been saying this kind of shit for YEARS and I've NEVER seen ANYONE address it.

[highwhey]

Dude's been saying this kind of shit for YEARS and I've NEVER seen ANYONE address it.
:roll: his comments are exceptionally creepy but i take it as a joke

[Ben Simmons 25]

:roll: his comments are exceptionally creepy but i take it as a joke

http://www.quotesvalley.com/images/33/jesters-do-oft-prove-prophets-2.jpg

[hold this L]

It's horrifying what Amazon is doing to business. They're a ball of death to any corporation or company, and it's horrifying that they keep expanding into different genres.

[Ben Simmons 25]

It's horrifying what Amazon is doing to business. They're a ball of death to any corporation or company, and it's horrifying that they keep expanding into different genres.

Yeah I

[Kblaze8855]

How on earth does Amazon have a monopoly? They sell their own shit...and third party stuff almost always available direct from the producer if you can get to them. What do they have a monopoly on? Convenience?

Its a problem that I can take my phone into whole food and get shit for less than the sales price and sometimes half off for scanning my prime app? Its a problem I can watch amazon video? Or get my car parts dirt cheap from some small company id otherwise have no idea existed? How does a company that sells mostly shit you can get elsewhere have a monopoly because the public chooses to use them? Its not like windows where its pre installed on most computers. You have to make a choice to go to and use Amazon. They should be punished for hurting worse run operations?

I will never understand the desire to hurt a company that comes from the gutter to be a giant because a gang of shitty knockoffs and obsolete business models cant compete. By all means lets take down shit that works in favor of things people dont want to use because being inconvenient with a shitty product isnt profitable....

Not like Amazon is some ancient established monster with generations of name recognition nobody can fight. Amazon stock price was still 20 bucks when Shaq was on the Heat. 10 years of innovation, success, and risky expansions doesnt make them some evil company that must be stopped. Being on the ground floor of a new era gives you a leg up...doesnt make it unfair. Sounds like people mad netflix killed video rental and Uber killed cabs. Amazon is the lightbulb. You dont shut down the light bulb factory because candlemakers cant keep their lease paid. The world moves forward and old ways die as new ones rise.

My friends wife started selling cookies on facebook and now she makes more money than he does some times of the year(and he runs a property management company for its owner...makes about 25 bucks an hour). If she blows up and puts Nabisco deeper into the red must she be stopped because they didnt realize internet sales were the way to go? I will never grasp the desire to punish the great innovators and efficient well run businesses that end up shaping the world.

My life would be flat out worse without Amazon, Microsoft, Google and plenty of other giants that make shitty companies go out of business. I liked radio shack. It was nice to be able to go get a pack of resistors to bypass my cars security system to avoid getting a new ignition like 10 years ago. They are gone now. But its no other companies fault. Radioshack didnt even let you buy shit online to pick up in a local store till 2008. Walmart was doing it in the 90s. Radioshack was built on CB radios and desktop computers and didnt shift to laptops soon enough. They briefly had most of the cell phone market to themselves but refused to give cell phone companies a better cut of the related sales so guess what? We got sprint stores....and verizon stores...and Tmobile stores. Radioshack could have survived by seeing the internet coming, not being greedy with cell phone profits, and realizing people wanted laptops more than desktops. But they didnt.

They horded all the cell phone business, sold self branded accessories instead of letting the companies sell their own stuff, and ruined their customer service by hiring kids to spend an hour per customer setting up phone plans instead of helping the few electronic fanatics by keeping old computer repair people like they had back in the day. Radioshack could have turned into a specialty hop for people building gaming PCs. The PC master race are few...but they spend big. But no. Radioshack turned into a cell phone store that sold them for more than the companies who made the phones who could afford to sell the phone cheap but make money off the plans which radioshack didnt get a cut of. They lost their specialty customers who kept them afloat.

Bad decisions kill these places...not amazon.

Yes...amazon got most of their business....because Amazon isnt run by idiots.

[Ben Simmons 25]

You say all that now but I

[Ben Simmons 25]

BTW I never said anything about should or should not... just that the government would.

[jongib369]

If true from what I heard at Home Depot while working there, they want to eventually close all of their retail stores and be online only. But they will have display stores that you can go into to see certain items in person before you buy them...

[Kblaze8855]

You say all that now but I’m not sure you realize they own a third of the internet already...and when they sink an extremely high percentage of b&m retailers...

People not wanting to shop at them will sink them. Not Amazons fault in any way except being more convenient.


and I’ll be surprised if they don’t figure out food eventually...

Already trying with whole foods. Whats the problem?


and when they sink UPS and FedEx... and when they start providing healthcare etc etc etc

Will only be a success if they are good at it.

Again....whats the issue?

Why should I care if my shit comes on an amazon van or a fedex?

Whats the problem with people going with the better and more convenient option and as a result sinking business that arent as useful to them?

Am I supposed to say....pay 300 dollars for a car part Amazon can get me from a shop in Wyoming for 130?

Why should I want the superior business model punished because people worse at doing the job cant compete?

Best customer experience and value > variety in the source of it.

[Norcaliblunt]

Amazon is a good example of how the goals of capitalism and communism are the same. To create the most efficient centralized distrubution hub.

[tpols]

blaze the problem is amazon is achieving such economies of scale and efficiency they are killing any hope of people becoming business owners... like your tire shop this and that telling people to be entrepenuers. Amazon is killing that and consolidating all of business under their tiny umbrella and emporer bezos. Competition is one of the corest tenents of a healthy economy and its suprising to see you shill for a major monopoly.

[DCL]

i've owned AMZN since 2012. i was hoping they would dominate one day. but even i didn't predict they would slaughter this much and this fast. bezos is a beast.

[JohnnySic]

Walmart And other discount stores aren

[DaHeezy]

Most of you missed my post entirely. Brick and mortar can thrive. Amazon is not killing them off. It's the real estate that is.
I was a small business consultant for years. I've seen this development coming.

[Patrick Chewing]

I remember the days when all Amazon sold was books and CD's.

[Kblaze8855]

blaze the problem is amazon is achieving such economies of scale and efficiency they are killing any hope of people becoming business owners... like your tire shop this and that telling people to be entrepenuers. Amazon is killing that and consolidating all of business under their tiny umbrella and emporer bezos. Competition is one of the corest tenents of a healthy economy and its suprising to see you shill for a major monopoly.


It’s not competition to arbitrarily limit what a company can do because it’s too good at it. Artificially forcing business to be done with people who do it worse than amazon is capable of is unfair to the consumer paying more for less return.

How do you tell someone they are too good to be allowed to do all the business the public WANTS to do with them? Success bought by limiting the public’s freedom to choose is exactly the shit it sounds like you don’t want. But isn’t that exactly what keeping amazon out of an industry is doing?

Who are you to tell people they have to shop elsewhere for things amazons finances and infrastructure will allow them to do better?

If amazon can one day give me the same medical insurance I get now for less money who are you to tell me I shouldn’t be able to use them because it hurts all state?

Business is SUPPOSED to go to who does it best. Forcing a company to not provide services they can do well so some company that sucks can grow is downright absurd.

Amazon went from a garage full of books and cds to a trillion dollar monster.

They didn’t do it by being bad. A thousand other amazons went nowhere. The next one will rise up from nothing just the same. Then you will want it handicapped to make it easier for shit companies to take business they could do better.

One thing should matter....

Who does a job the best for the best value to the public. If that isn’t you then you aren’t supposed to succeed like those who can. It’s not competition if you tell the best they can’t go full speed. It’s an exhibition.

I’m for playoff ball. You want all star games.

[Norcaliblunt]

One thing should matter....

Who does a job the best for the best value to the public.



Words like

[Kblaze8855]

Wildly unrealistic shit like that is how you get normal people to see you and your cause as a joke. Don

[Norcaliblunt]

Wildly unrealistic shit like that is how you get normal people to see you and your cause as a joke. Don’t go down the Al Gore road.

Al Gore what? Lol.

[Akrazotile]

blaze the problem is amazon is achieving such economies of scale and efficiency they are killing any hope of people becoming business owners... like your tire shop this and that telling people to be entrepenuers. Amazon is killing that and consolidating all of business under their tiny umbrella and emporer bezos. Competition is one of the corest tenents of a healthy economy and its suprising to see you shill for a major monopoly.


This is rich coming from you.

"Everything should belongs to the government so they can redistribute it to the people I think deserve it whether they work/compete for a living or not."

VERY competition-oriented mantra right derr :applause:

[Akrazotile]

Amazon is a good example of how the goals of capitalism and communism are the same. To create the most efficient centralized distrubution hub.


Nah son.

The "goal" of capitalism is to allow freedom for individuals. That's the crux of it. People can choose how they want to live, whom they want to interact with, where to spend their money, etc.

The "goal" of communism is to create a society without choice, so that nobody can mess up and suffer consequences by thinking/acting on their own and making mistakes.

Capitalism protects people's freedoms and individuality. Communism protects people from weakness/poor choices by mitigating their flaws through group strength, ie protects them from themselves.

It has nothing to do with "centralized distribution hubs." :hammerhead:


Good try though :applause:

[Kblaze8855]

Im not sure how someone who is pro competition and fairness thinks the government should be able to tell people who they can and cant buy products from because some people are *gasp* too good at getting their business.

What business is it of the government to tell me that if Amazon wants to start selling cars I shouldnt have the right to make the decision on if I buy one or not? The government needs to tell them they arent allowed....because id probably buy it given the freedom to do so?

If you try to protect an industry from competition coming in and doing it better....all you do is **** over the people who would choose that product instead of the lesser existing one.

Lets just drop the whole pretense of freedom if you can stop me from expanding my business and offering a great product because too many people might want what I sell.....

[Akrazotile]

Im not sure how someone who is pro competition and fairness thinks the government should be able to tell people who they can and cant buy products from because some people are *gasp* too good at getting their business.

What business is it of the government to tell me that if Amazon wants to start selling cars I shouldnt have the right to make the decision on if I buy one or not? The government needs to tell them they arent allowed....because id probably buy it given the freedom to do so?

If you try to protect an industry from competition coming in and doing it better....all you do is **** over the people who would choose that product instead of the lesser existing one.

Lets just drop the whole pretense of freedom if you can stop me from expanding my business and offering a great product because too many people might want what I sell.....


Yes sir.


I feel like anti-trust stuff is really more about protecting certain goods than services. You don't want someone cornering the market on oil, corn, steel, etc. I think that's the spirit of those laws more than anything else.

Would it really matter if the NBA had a monopoly on producing pro basketball games? Does it matter if iTunes has a massive market share in digital music? If these services are so superior to their competition that others simply go out of business... what of it?

The people who complain about Amazon are the same old people who DO NOTHING.

That's the M.O. of average America:

Complain. DO NOTHING.

Average bozos need to shut the **** up.

[Kblaze8855]

Sears at one point was the big bad guy because they dominated with nationwide catalogs they teamed up with the postal service to get to everyone in America. Then Walmart was the evil empire putting small business down by having stores big and conveniently located enough to offer everything cheap without needing to order it through the mail. Now Amazon is running up on walmart because nobody wants to leave home for anything.

Inside 20 years someone will come for amazon. Someone will figure out how to make a transporter like star trek and just beam groceries to your fridge then amazon is ****ed.

Not literally of course but...someone will come out of the gutter. Out of someones garage. You cant stay on top forever.

[tpols]

It doesn't really get much easier than ordering shit online and having it delivered. They built their model off the internets creation which is relatively new and groundbreaking. What soon to be "internet" paradigm will a future conglomerate get to take advantage of to dethrone amazon?

[Kblaze8855]

If anyone knew what the next big thing was they would just go invent it themselves.

In this case you won’t need to invent a totally new one. Just do it better regionally until you can do it better nationally. Amazon was not the first company to sell things online. They just kicked everybody’s ass at it.

A thousand companies tried being amazon. No need to punish the one that pulled it off by customers choosing them.

In the end that always does it. There’s no reason to keep somebody from operating at their best because given freedom of choice people choose to do business with them.

If people want amazon to fail it would. They don’t. Telling them they can’t sell legal products to people who want them because they are good it is just terribly heavy handed governing. If you’re concerned about the people and freedom let them decide who they do business with. There’s no reason Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi should have any say in who I can buy My legal products from.

[nathanjizzle]

out with the old, in with the new. I remember an old white lady that worked at the local sears hardware who was racist towards me. good riddance. :lol

[tpols]

some of the monopoly logic does make sense to me the more i hear... the main cause for concern is once the market is fully cornered, the monopolizer will jack up prices. But if they did that, it would kill what makes them draw so much demand... low prices on everything. It's not like they have a monopoly on a single resource that everybody relies on that they can jack... their model is purely horizontal.

so maybe they are ok.

but i do think about what the repercussions are of them having so much leverage over government they literally pay no taxes. And USA deficit is ballooning... makes you wonder if they are complicit in the dollars eventual collapse. If the government goes full insolvent because none of the big money makers are funding it... all their business wont mean anything when shit hits the fan. They'd be wise to not allow that to happen, but short term greed doesnt consider the long term and we all live day by day, or for these CEO's and execs, quarter by quarter.

[Kblaze8855]

There have been cases where a monopoly jacked up prices and times they didnt. In the end the market always handles it. Some rinky dink operation pops up to compete.

Far as the taxes...they were paying...the trump tax cut to the corporate rate while leaving some loopholes open allowed them to get a rebate this year. That isnt normal. Trumps plan gave them the cut then he complained on twitter they paid no taxes.

Of course theres a big difference between paying no taxes and creating no taxable income.

[Hawker]

some of the monopoly logic does make sense to me the more i hear... the main cause for concern is once the market is fully cornered, the monopolizer will jack up prices. But if they did that, it would kill what makes them draw so much demand... low prices on everything. It's not like they have a monopoly on a single resource that everybody relies on that they can jack... their model is purely horizontal.

so maybe they are ok.

but i do think about what the repercussions are of them having so much leverage over government they literally pay no taxes. And USA deficit is ballooning... makes you wonder if they are complicit in the dollars eventual collapse. If the government goes full insolvent because none of the big money makers are funding it... all their business wont mean anything when shit hits the fan. They'd be wise to not allow that to happen, but short term greed doesnt consider the long term and we all live day by day, or for these CEO's and execs, quarter by quarter.

Taxes from Amazon aint paying for the deficit.

[tpols]

Taxes from Amazon aint paying for the deficit.


it's about the culture and its extension throughout the private market. Amazon has every local government completely by the balls from a leverage standpoint. As does Walmart and some other big conglomerates, maybe not to the same extent.

they basically say... we will pay no taxes, you will give us subsidies, or we will go somewhere else who will give us all these perks. it works til the main protection for the currency behind all their profit collapses.

unless Amazon starts building nukes and armies to secure it. Boy wont that be fun.

[warriorfan]

If anyone knew what the next big thing was they would just go invent it themselves.

In this case you won’t need to invent a totally new one. Just do it better regionally until you can do it better nationally. Amazon was not the first company to sell things online. They just kicked everybody’s ass at it.

A thousand companies tried being amazon. No need to punish the one that pulled it off by customers choosing them.

In the end that always does it. There’s no reason to keep somebody from operating at their best because given freedom of choice people choose to do business with them.

If people want amazon to fail it would. They don’t. Telling them they can’t sell legal products to people who want them because they are good it is just terribly heavy handed governing. If you’re concerned about the people and freedom let them decide who they do business with. There’s no reason Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi should have any say in who I can buy My legal products from.
I just want companies like Amazon and Tesla to stop getting free shit from the government. If they are so successful why do we have to pay for their shit? :confusedshrug:

[diamenz]

out with the old, in with the new. I remember an old white lady that worked at the local sears hardware who was racist towards me. good riddance. :lol

maybe it was just the way u sag ur pants to ur knees?

[Kblaze8855]

I just want companies like Amazon and Tesla to stop getting free shit from the government. If they are so successful why do we have to pay for their shit? :confusedshrug:


When a place can drop 30,000 high paying jobs into your community you will give them tax incentives to do so. Its really that simple. The money it brings in will far outweigh lose tax revenue in the short term.

Cities have accounts too. They run these numbers. Its people who go off feelings that have a problem not the people who judge off the facts.

I heard the same shit in my area about BMW 25 years ago. Now both sides of the aisle suck up to them because they support 50 thousand jobs and rebuilt half the state to support their operation.

[Akrazotile]

it's about the culture and its extension throughout the private market. Amazon has every local government completely by the balls from a leverage standpoint. As does Walmart and some other big conglomerates, maybe not to the same extent.

they basically say... we will pay no taxes, you will give us subsidies, or we will go somewhere else who will give us all these perks. it works til the main protection for the currency behind all their profit collapses.

unless Amazon starts building nukes and armies to secure it. Boy wont that be fun.


That’s because every municipality is made up mostly of people who type “#resist!” on the internet, but in practice they arent resisting SHIT :roll:

The world is full of suckers. You blame the wolves. I blame the sheep. In the end we’ll never stop either group from being what they are. Das life mane.

[Akrazotile]

I just want companies like Amazon and Tesla to stop getting free shit from the government. If they are so successful why do we have to pay for their shit? :confusedshrug:


There

[tpols]

[QUOTE=Akrazotile]That

[Akrazotile]

they have hardcore con fundies and liberuls by the balls alike plato.

We are all sheep to their wolf, slowly to be consumed by automation.

:coleman:


Hey, I started a competitor. Obviously it hasnt taken off for exactly the reasons I stated, but I know I sure as hell did something. Put in a bunch of hours writing up a very sound concept, making a website, ordering merch, pushing it online and door to door etc. I may not be able to fight them off but Im certainly no sheep.

What have you done?

What has ANYONE YOU KNOW done?

Tell me. :confusedshrug:

[tpols]

Hey, I started a competitor. Obviously it hasnt taken off for exactly the reasons I stated, but I know I sure as hell did something. Put in a bunch of hours writing up a very sound concept, making a website, ordering merch, pushing it online and door to door etc. I may not be able to fight them off but Im certainly no sheep.

What have you done?

What has ANYONE YOU KNOW done?

Tell me. :confusedshrug:


:roll:


Amaz0n could buy your company out with 7 bucks and a half pack of cigarretes.

foh

[warriorfan]

Hey, I started a competitor. Obviously it hasnt taken off for exactly the reasons I stated, but I know I sure as hell did something. Put in a bunch of hours writing up a very sound concept, making a website, ordering merch, pushing it online and door to door etc. I may not be able to fight them off but Im certainly no sheep.

What have you done?

What has ANYONE YOU KNOW done?

Tell me. :confusedshrug:

Hey all in good fun you just painted a mental image of you going door to door with a moving box full of razors ranting to people about political correctness. Damn quite a few people must have thought you were legitimately insane. Not saying you are sane but like mistook you for shitting your pants talking to imaginary people insane. Do you have any stories about doing it? Did anyone ever call the cops? :lol

[Akrazotile]

:roll:


Amaz0n could buy your company out with 7 bucks and a half pack of cigarretes.

foh


Clearly not the point. Obviously just deflection from admitting that you have never in your life done a single meaningful thing about the dozens and dozens of “injustices” you complain about daily on ISH.

Think about what a scrub you always sound like. ALWAYS whining and complaining that not enough is done by others. Everything is unfair, everyone else is too good, youre not being given enough.

You have never done anything for yourself.

Your mentality always remind me of a newborn chick. Cant fly, cant walk, cant do shit but cry out and cry out and cry out, and raise your beak for mama bird to come feed you.

You have an impotent, cuckold mentaity.

[Akrazotile]

Hey all in good fun you just painted a mental image of you going door to door with a moving box full of razors ranting to people about political correctness. Damn quite a few people must have thought you were legitimately insane. Not saying you are sane but like mistook you for shitting your pants talking to imaginary people insane. Do you have any stories about doing it? Did anyone ever call the cops? :lol


Quite the opposite, door to door provides by far my most efficient conversion rate. Probably like 1/2 of people who answer end up buying a product. And with those sales I dont have to deal with card fees and shipping costs so the margin is terrific. Im presentable, coherent, and passionate, and many people like the fundamental idea itself. Plus I provide more product per dollar than anywhere else.

The only reason it isnt more effective is that naturally the amount of people who answer the door is fairly low. It’s so much walking for relatively few opportunities. But the ratio of conversions to opportunities is actually very solid for product sales.

[SomeBlackDude]

meh, a lot of them are going out of business because they could not see where society was heading and could not/refused to adapt to change. they were too comfortable in their business models that up to a certain point (the mid-late 00s) had made them kings for decades.

blockbuster is the perfect example. from the early 90s through 2004ish they were litrally the only game in town when it came to video rental service. then some nothing company called netflix offered to sell their company to them for $50 mil, pocket change for them at the time. but blockbuster thought people would be going to their brick n mortar establishments to rent vhs tapes forever and turned them down. they didn't think they needed an internet-based subscription service.

i don't need to tell you how that turned out in the end. :lol

[Akrazotile]

meh, a lot of them are going out of business because they could not see where society was heading and could not/refused to adapt to change. they were too comfortable in their business models that up to a certain point (the mid-late 00s) had made them kings for decades.

blockbuster is the perfect example. from the early 90s through 2004ish they were litrally the only game in town when it came to video rental service. then some nothing company called netflix offered to sell their company to them for $50 mil, pocket change for them at the time. but blockbuster thought people would be going to their brick n mortar establishments to rent vhs tapes forever and turned them down. they didn't think they needed an internet-based subscription service.

i don't need to tell you how that turned out in the end. :lol


This is exactly right. Many businesses were too slow to react to the new technologies and priorities of emerging generations.

My vision was that eventually people would demand more political integrity/loyalty from the businesses they make profitable with their patronage.

I started “Boycott Political Correctness” before Trump even announced his candidacy for the primaries. I could sense the temperature in the country, and how fed up people were with disingenuous corporations and the PC agendas they push for the sake of profit. Trump gaining support to become President was an attestation to something Id already been predicting and starting a business model for before others were even paying attention.

And I still believe in the business, but ofc I have to fight against the enormous complacency endemic to humans in general. So who knows what will happen.

But business is competitive. As you said, many companies had the hubris to believe they were too big to fail. And now theyre failing.

[warriorfan]

[QUOTE=Akrazotile]Quite the opposite, door to door provides by far my most efficient conversion rate. Probably like 1/2 of people who answer end up buying a product. And with those sales I dont have to deal with card fees and shipping costs so the margin is terrific. Im presentable, coherent, and passionate, and many people like the fundamental idea itself. Plus I provide more product per dollar than anywhere else.

The only reason it isnt more effective is that naturally the amount of people who answer the door is fairly low. It

[SomeBlackDude]

the smart companies now are moving towards more political advertising, whereas the perceived best model in the past was staying apolitical. the nikes and proctors understand that the target demo that is coming up now is far, far more politically aware and active than past generations. generation x was apathetic. that was the grunge, gangsta rap generation. gen y/z is the antithesis of that. they are all about "woke".

you may disagree with their stances/messages or even argue they are disingenuous, but they are smart moves.

Colin Kaepernick Has NFL's Top-Selling Jersey Since National Anthem Protest (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2661838-colin-kaepernick-has-49ers-top-selling-jersey-since-national-anthem-protest)

^that dude is an out of work backup qb and he has the best selling merchandise in the nfl.

nike gets it.

[Akrazotile]

the smart companies now are moving towards more political advertising, whereas the perceived best model in the past was staying apolitical. the nikes and proctors understand that the target demo that is coming up now is far, far more politically aware and active than past generations. generation x was apathetic. that was the grunge, gangsta rap generation. gen y/z is the antithesis of that. they are all about "woke".

you may disagree with their stances/messages or even argue they are disingenuous, but they are smart moves.

Colin Kaepernick Has NFL's Top-Selling Jersey Since National Anthem Protest (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2661838-colin-kaepernick-has-49ers-top-selling-jersey-since-national-anthem-protest)

^that dude is an out of work backup qb and he has the best selling merchandise in the nfl.

nike gets it.


Yeah. Going with LCD messages based on emotion is an easy way to get surefire sales returns at the moment (seriously). That’s what most people respond to.


My big gamble was hoping there’d be enough people who can see and understand things in an intelligent and rational way, as I can.


Whoops :hammerhead: :facepalm

[Smoke117]

Welcome to 8 years ago. Good to see you've got up with the present.

[Nanners]

the smart companies now are moving towards more political advertising, whereas the perceived best model in the past was staying apolitical. the nikes and proctors understand that the target demo that is coming up now is far, far more politically aware and active than past generations. generation x was apathetic. that was the grunge, gangsta rap generation. gen y/z is the antithesis of that. they are all about "woke".

you may disagree with their stances/messages or even argue they are disingenuous, but they are smart moves.

Colin Kaepernick Has NFL's Top-Selling Jersey Since National Anthem Protest (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2661838-colin-kaepernick-has-49ers-top-selling-jersey-since-national-anthem-protest)

^that dude is an out of work backup qb and he has the best selling merchandise in the nfl.

nike gets it.

I am skeptical about the value of political marketing, especially for multinational giants. Attaching yourself to the wrong wedge issue can alienate 50% (or more) of your potential customers, does the increase in sales to people who align with your politics really outweigh the lost sales to those who disagree?

Also, when a company like Nike (a company that was built on exploiting third world child slave laborers, and a company that currently pays their factory workers an average of just $74/month) tries to act like they care about issues like inequality and opression, I find it hard to take them seriously...

[Akrazotile]

I am skeptical about the value of political marketing, especially for multinational giants. Attaching yourself to the wrong wedge issue can alienate 50% (or more) of your potential customers, does the increase in sales to people who align with your politics really outweigh the lost sales to those who disagree?

Also, when a company like Nike (a company that was built on exploiting third world child slave laborers, and a company that currently pays their factory workers an average of just $74/month) tries to act like they care about issues like inequality and opression, I find it hard to take them seriously...


Age is the big issue.

50% of people that ever bought something Nike may be conservative. But a lot of them are now 30, 40 years old. How much more athletic gear will they buy in their lifetime?

Younger people spend more on these kinds of things, plus will be around longer. For companies like Nike, the big target is 18-32. Generation P (Pansy) are brainwashed big time on SJWism, and in that demographic it’s prob 70% cuck politics, or more.

Businesses know kids are stupid, rebellious, and perpetually in search of an identity.

[Charlie Sheen]

[QUOTE=Akrazotile]Yeah. Going with LCD messages based on emotion is an easy way to get surefire sales returns at the moment (seriously). That

[Akrazotile]

I'm not attacking you man, but your whole business plan is confusing. Are you selling merch or your ideals? How does buying a razor from you boycott political correctness? What is this level of fundraising being put towards? As an example, I know what I'm buying girl scout cookies for when the little girl down the street hits me up for a sale. You... you've never made it very clear why I should give you money. What does boycott political correctness even mean and what are your goals long and short term?


https://www.porcupineco.com/about


It's laid out pretty clear.

If you don't get it, it's not for you.

[Charlie Sheen]

https://www.porcupineco.com/about


It's laid out pretty clear.

If you don't get it, it's not for you.
It's not clear. Why do you identify as a business? Wtf is your product? Who do you employ besides yourself? If the product is you, sell that. Create content. Slap your slogan on merch after you've built something. This is putting the cart before the horse.

[Akrazotile]

It's not clear. Why do you identify as a business? Wtf is your product? Who do you employ besides yourself? If the product is you, sell that. Create content. Slap your slogan on merch after you've built something. This is putting the cart before the horse.


Porcupine Co sells consumer goods. Just like Amazon, or Walmart.

The appeal of our model is that we implement business practices more favorable for consumers. You dig?

Walmart will lobby the hell out of the government to get its way, even if its own customers are on the other side of the issue. Our business won't lobby Congress at all, thus no interference in our customers' democratic will.

Amazon uses affirmative action in their business, excluding many qualified candidates who've never wronged anyone. We don't discriminate.

Virtually no business allows employees to take unpopular sides of social issues on their own time, because they're worried about corporate image. We give employees the freedom to exercise any legal speech, without risking their job.



So, you have a choice. When you shop with Amazon, or you shop with Porcupine, you're making a choice about the way in which YOUR purchases will mold society. If Amazon's business succeeds, society will reflect their values. If our business succeeds, society will reflect those of ours and our customers. The choice is up to the consumers.

See?

[Ben Simmons 25]

Where are the blades of freedom manufactured?

[Akrazotile]

Where are the blades of freedom manufactured?


The steel blades are produced by Advanced Steel Recovery, an American company based in Fontana. The handles are produced overseas, as any handle will be of any razor you buy today. There are no American factories currently producing plastic shaving handles. Blades of Freedom, Gillette, Bic, Unilever all rely on foreign-made handles.

Basically the same production model as the big boys. The difference is in social impact.

[Charlie Sheen]

Porcupine Co sells consumer goods. Just like Amazon, or Walmart.

The appeal of our model is that we implement business practices more favorable for consumers. You dig?

Walmart will lobby the hell out of the government to get its way, even if its own customers are on the other side of the issue. Our business won't lobby Congress at all, thus no interference in our customers' democratic will.

Amazon uses affirmative action in their business, excluding many qualified candidates who've never wronged anyone. We don't discriminate.

Virtually no business allows employees to take unpopular sides of social issues on their own time, because they're worried about corporate image. We give employees the freedom to exercise any legal speech, without risking their job.



So, you have a choice. When you shop with Amazon, or you shop with Porcupine, you're making a choice about the way in which YOUR purchases will mold society. If Amazon's business succeeds, society will reflect their values. If our business succeeds, society will reflect those of ours and our customers. The choice is up to the consumers.

See?

Are you using the royal we here? I asked earlier who you employ besides yourself.

[Kblaze8855]

Virtually no business allows employees to take unpopular sides of social issues on their own time, because they're worried about corporate image


If people couldn

[Akrazotile]

Are you using the royal we here? I asked earlier who you employ besides yourself.


You asked me a number of questions.

I answered the most significant one first. Why don't you offer some feedback on that before we go any further.

Is it still unclear to you what this business is about?

[Akrazotile]

If people couldn’t take the unpopular sides of social issues on their own time and work a lot less people would be arguing on the internet.

Most of the people with wild takes on social media are employed.


Well it's debatable whether anonymous discussion = public discussion.

People frequently DO get fired for unpopular opinions once their names are dug up and sent to an employer.

Unlike other businesses whose ONLY priority is profit, we'll tell people who dont like us or how we do things to **** off.

Overzealous SJW's can **** off. Campus marxists, NPC mobs can all **** off. We have no problem giving them a pair of middle fingers when they cry out about some phony injustice in our operating policy. Other businesses grovel because they're scared to lose those people. I'll show them my dick. If they dont wanna shop with us, that's okay.

[Akrazotile]

You asked me a number of questions.

I answered the most significant one first. Why don't you offer some feedback on that before we go any further.

Is it still unclear to you what this business is about?


Guess he doesn't have anything to say anymore :confusedshrug:

[Charlie Sheen]

You asked me a number of questions.

I answered the most significant one first. Why don't you offer some feedback on that before we go any further.

Is it still unclear to you what this business is about?
You haven't answered anything. All you've done is direct the conversation towards Walmart and Amazon, preaching how you aren't them. The question was and still is Why you? I don't care who you aren't. What makes you special? Everyone out there works hard for what they have. It doesn't make anyone a sheep because they aren't bending over backwards to hand you cash for knick knacks so you can live the dream.

[Akrazotile]

You haven't answered anything. All you've done is direct the conversation towards Walmart and Amazon, preaching how you aren't them. The question was and still is Why you? I don't care who you aren't. What makes you special? Everyone out there works hard for what they have. It doesn't make anyone a sheep because they aren't bending over backwards to hand you cash for knick knacks so you can live the dream.


I literally just answered this clearly and directly enough for ANY basically intelligent person to understand.

If you still dont get it, that’s fine. Youre not someone whom this business is directed toward. But as a personal aside, I would recommend you look into some community programs for adults with special educational needs.

[The Iron Fist]

Well it's debatable whether anonymous discussion = public discussion.

People frequently DO get fired for unpopular opinions once their names are dug up and sent to an employer.

Unlike other businesses whose ONLY priority is profit, we'll tell people who dont like us or how we do things to **** off.

Overzealous SJW's can **** off. Campus marxists, NPC mobs can all **** off. We have no problem giving them a pair of middle fingers when they cry out about some phony injustice in our operating policy. Other businesses grovel because they're scared to lose those people. I'll show them my dick. If they dont wanna shop with us, that's okay.
Do you sell microscopes?



It might help to sell those so people can see your dick.

[Charlie Sheen]

[QUOTE=Akrazotile]I literally just answered this clearly and directly enough for ANY basically intelligent person to understand.

If you still dont get it, that

[Akrazotile]

Since you want to be a dick, let me break it down for you...

You're the bored housewife with too much time on her hands. You don't employ anyone. Your hundred dollar product order isn't stimulating growth in the steel industry. You're role-playing. Colleges, Amazon, Walmart aren't restricting your life. :cheers:


Im not stimulating growth in the steep industry....???

Did I make anything close to a claim like that!? :wtf:


Again, it

[tpols]

I'm not attacking you man, but your whole business plan is confusing. Are you selling merch or your ideals? How does buying a razor from you boycott political correctness?



Porcupine Co sells consumer goods.

Walmart will lobby the hell out of the government to get its way, even if its own customers are on the other side of the issue. Our business won't lobby Congress at all, thus no interference in our customers' democratic will.


:biggums:

the **** you lobbying? your company's net worth wouldnt buy a quarter of a single bribe.

:roll:




Amazon uses affirmative action in their business, excluding many qualified candidates who've never wronged anyone. We don't discriminate.


:biggums:

You have one employee.




Virtually no business allows employees to take unpopular sides of social issues on their own time, because they're worried about corporate image. We give employees the freedom to exercise any legal speech, without risking their job.



So you say stupid shit on the internet, and dont have to risk losing your job...because you work for yourself for a no money making company that you created solely to give yourself more credence when anonymously discussing politics on the off court section of a discrete basketball forum?

That's some poser shit.

:coleman:

[Akrazotile]

:biggums:

the **** you lobbying? your company's net worth wouldnt buy a quarter of a single bribe.

You have one employee.

So you say stupid shit on the internet, and dont have to risk losing your job...because you work for yourself for a no money making company that you created solely to give yourself more credence when anonymously discussing politics on the off court section of a discrete basketball forum?

That's some poser shit.

:coleman:


Nope, I created the company because I identified this concept as being THE solution to the problems so many have been complaining about the last few years. I saw an opportunity so I took a shot with it. Did I underestimate the number of people who talk political on the internet, but at the end of the day just follow the crowd? Yeah, it seems like it. But still, I didnt put the effort into it for superficial reasons. This is the ACTUAL route Americans would have to take if they wanted to do something about the suffocating culture of PC corporate leftism. This is the answer Adam Smith wrote about in The Wealth of Nations. This is how you do it.

Im all about problem solving and truth. If there was a different, better way to address the issue then I would have modeled my business that way. Obviously this is not the most

[Andrei89]

I remember in NL you had this company called V & D. It was really famous here in Holland and it thrived for 130 years.

However, when other stores started opening an online section, V & D refused to sell or deliver any of their products online saying that people that like their shop and products will come in personally.


Guess what, they went insolvent 3 years ago after 130 years of existence and all the Dutch were screaming "unfair competition, make V & D great again!". Truth is they were stubborn and cocky and did it to themselves.

[insidehoops]

It's insane how everything is on our phone now. Or on one laptop.

[coin24]

Lot of big retailers here are closing stores.. economy looks to be sliding into the toilet, but don't worry, house prices are still sky high

[BarberSchool]

Brick and mortar are done it’s oniy a matter of time. Even amazon will be done eventually. Direct to consumer will kill amazon when we’re all old farts in Phoenix.

[HylianNightmare]

Malls are too expensive. The outlets are the move in Orlando

[Patrick Chewing]

Brick and mortar are done it’s oniy a matter of time. Even amazon will be done eventually. Direct to consumer will kill amazon when we’re all old farts in Phoenix.


Not sure I follow why Amazon will be done eventually. Amazon is basically a delivery service. They'll always be around.

[rawimpact]

Malls are too expensive. The outlets are the move in Orlando

My wife was all about outlets until we read an article talking about outlets and how the products were different than retail. So for example, purses which is what she would go there for would be a good amount off - and she would think it was only because it was going out of style or whatever.

Well, the article we read talks about how the outlet products look similar, but in fact are made in a different place (usually china), made out of different materials and completely different SKU.

[red1]

Malls are too expensive. The outlets are the move in Orlando
my dude. thats been a cheat code for years. driving down to buffalo NY and getting swagged out for cheap hitting up nike and other factory outlets :oldlol:


nowadays everything is ordered online. I feel sick when I walk into a mall and see full-priced sneakers - people actually $200 for those shitty shoes? :oldlol: