Yesterday we learned via WHIO that JC Penney will soon be closing up their Greenville location as part of a plan to address "under performing" stores. Unless I missed one (or more), Penney's joins Staples, Sonic, Big Lots, and K Mart as stores to have closed up in that part of town over the last few months. Most or all of these were closed in tandem with other locations of the chain as they give in to corporate financial challenges.
Rural King seems close to opening in the old K Mart building and the old Staples will now hold two businesses (one apparently is Buffalo Wild Wings and I've heard rumors but nothing concrete about the other), so at least some of the closures will be off set by new offerings to the area.
Penney's closing was predictable from the corporate point of view as they've been struggling financially for awhile. The location they leave behind, however, seems like it would be the most attractive of any of the newly vacated spaces, being next to a BW3s and Walmart.
It's easy to view this as another step in the death march of our local economy, but I really don't see it that way. Things are changing, evolving even, and some businesses just aren't cut out for our area anymore. There's a multitude of reasons for this, but at a macro level, these changes aren't bad. It's encouraging to see new businesses opening as these are closing. It seems to all be happening quickly, but perhaps it is simply the local market correcting itself, purging old (and yes, under performing) businesses for new ones that are more readily equipped with a better offering?
With Penney's gone, it seems there may be a gap in the local clothing market, when in reality, several locally owned shops already provide many of the same things you would find at Penney's. For me, this is an opportunity for local businesses to gain more market share than they could while the big box retailer was here.
And who knows, maybe something really cool will open in that space in the future?
What's on your mind?
No comments:
Post a Comment