The stores shut down early today and will open tomorrow @10AM local. The stores will shut - permanently - on 26 Jan, 2018. 64 other stores in other States are being shuttered as well. Guess tomorrow I'll be in stocking up on paper goods, tea and other non-shelf-life items. This hurts - given the cost of living in Alaska. Another sign the ship is really sinking here?
More opportunity for Costco, I never see a lack of customers when I go to Tucson (3 there, none here). Rancher
It is the shipping to Alaska that is killing Wallmart... That is what closed the Wally World, in Juneau last year... Th ey just can’t compete with their National Pricing Policy, with the added shipping costs...
Sam's and Costco both are on the opposite side of town from me, so no reason to bother getting a membership at either, as I can use Amazon and have the stuff delivered to me. I save a lot on not burning the gas.
Most are closing . Just watch NO CNN or MSNBS will post it out , Lets say 400K folks are TiTs UP & screwed . They might also miss the unemployment stats . This is because they will say attrition BS . Many were a 4 hr type , so PT & no bennies
Looks like shipping is the industry to be in, at least until they get those drones advanced enough. I wonder how many people that will leave unemployed in Alaska? How will they support their families?
Have a Sam's here, never go. Been in the past, prices don't seem all that competitive, and I hate paying just to be able to give them my money.
In our area, Costco always has 3 times the business that Sam's does. I am really surprised that the local Sam's is not on the closing list. I liked Sam's over Costco but then realized that Costco focused on healthier products and allowed all levels of membership to have access to the monthly specials.
Wally World killed all the small business of old. MIA is Western Auto, a long time staple of small towns. Western Auto - Wikipedia
They are not closing the one near my future AO for now. It's pretty tough to compete with Amazon and Costco. Pre Amazon they had enough muscle to duke it out with Costco. Cheap fuel gives Amazon the edge.
We have other big Box stores here in town. One of the big impacts is the "Pick and Ship" service. Bush Alaska has few to no retail outlets and the ones that exist are expensive. Sam's allowed folks to place an order via the net and have it bulk shipped. Sears is also closing their only retail store here as well - 'about' 500 jobs lost in total. Alaska is losing people at a rate not seen since the 'pre-crash' days in 1982 - 84.....
Yes, If you can find a Store in town, that will Box Up and Ship to your local Bush Pilot, you have a Gold Mine.... We have one such Store in Juneau... SuperBear Foods.... They have been a staple in town for over 50 years, even thru 2 or three owners, simply because they Pull Product, box it and Ship it to the Carrier, for a small Fee, and have built a substantial Business in doing so... To the tune of over 50% of their Total Business... Costco, Wally World, Kmart, and Safeway, have tried to copy their success, in the Business and ALL have failed.... Wally World went out of Business. Costco will only do it for an order of $500US or more. Safeway dropped the service after a few months.. and Kmart did the same... and SuperBear still plugs along with Great Service, and quality goods....