In the last week, the news has come forward that the Gottschalks department store chain, which filed for bankruptcy in January will be headed for liquidation.
Last week the Davis Enterprise quoted Sarah Worley, the economic development coordinator with the City of Davis saying:
“the city is monitoring the prospective closure of Gottschalks closely and is dismayed that liquidation seem(s) likely. We are hoping for the best, but are prepared to assist in pursuing a replacement tenant should the store close. The University Mall is a great location that should remain attractive despite the economic downturn.”
Right now, Gottschalks, even as an undersized store in the University Mall occupying 34,000 square feet, was the only national department store in Davis since it moved here in 1999.
The city is of course looking at options for that space should it go vacant. But the demise of Gottschalks sets off an interesting chain of events.
Many believe that the death knell for Gottschalks locally was going to be when voters approved Target. Target at nearly 137,000 square feet is nearly four times the size of Gottschalks.
Target would compete with Gottschalks and other smaller and mid-sized retailers in town. As a big-box discount retailer it would be able to cater to a lower-priced market segment than a store like Gottschalks, but by providing alternatives to Gottschalks, it would have clearly cut into the market.
What has happened on a national basis in fact is that Gottschalks has been harmed by such big-box stores. The belief of many is that it would not be able to compete with Target.
The question now is what happens to the Davis Enterprise. As we have known for quite some time, the Davis Enterprise like many local newspapers is struggling to survive. They have faced numerous cuts to remain profitable. These cuts include personnel cutbacks and also the cancellation of their Monday print edition.
Gottschalks was one of the major advertisers of the Enterprise. Speculation as to how much of the advertising revenue they account for, but there is widespread agreement that it is substantial and that the loss of Gottschalks to the Enterprise revenue would be devastating.
So there is speculation as to whether there will be another shoe to fall should Gottschalks in fact liquidate their assets as they appear poised to do so.
Gottschalks is just the latest in a string of well-established, longtime, national chains to go out of business during the current economic crisis. I personally cannot remember a time when so many well-established entities have gone out of business. And really it is across a wide array of industries from newspapers to banks to retailers among others.
Some of this is structural, changes in shopping habits with the advent of the internet and the rise of big-box certain made many of these companies more vulnerable than usual to an economic downturn.
The question is really how much of a spinoff effect will such losses have. And we have not even talked about the loss of tax base for the city of Davis, even if Target comes in as expected this fall, we may have a several month period of further sagging sales tax revenue which would push the budget problems even further behind.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Gottschalks has always suffered. Anytime I have gone to shop at the store there were very few other shoppers. The store produces about $50,000 in sales tax. TJ’s should fill the space. It was a market for years before Gottschalks came to Davis. Ross, Marshalls or Kohls should fill one of the other pads near Target. In many other towns there is one of these stores near their Target store.
Has anyone else wondered about getting Whole Foods or even Trader Joes in the Gottschalks space? We are all still eating and there are Targets up and down every major road from Davis.
interesting comment about The Enterprise cheering for Target, and losing Gottschalks as a reward… true enough.
I like what is happening downtown, a business closes, a new one opens. Natural selection and free markets are amazing. When the clothing store with the grandma panties in the window closed (Samira’s?) we get the outdoor store to move over and expand. When the store filled with faded greeting cards and kitschy little office gifts closed (Carousel) we get the power bed store. Cantina goes away (where will the little gangstas from Woodland and Dixon go now?) and we get bigger Fuzios and that opens door for Mikunis (I may never leave Davis again!). Bakers Square goes away and we get Black Bear. The eighth futon store selling the same futons goes away at the Anderson Bank building, and we get a mega- head shop. BTW- I think that this is hilarious- I suppose that Jim Kidd is probably taking about $1 a year for this lease just as a giant “thank you” to the city for their endless war preventing him from modifying his building. Its all good.
Gottschalks going away does open the door to the marginal food store (TJ) if they are so frantic to be at this location, here is an opportunity to do so without displacing a tenant who has every right to remain. They probably will continue their campaign of needless aggression, but at least this creates an opening. In fact, it probably would have already happened if the city had stayed out of the fray. The city’s involvement made things worse- they should not have tried to interfere with the private contract negotiations between landlord, tenant and prospective tenant.
In a microcosm, this is what is happening on Wall Street now. The market is self-healing, until Geithner decides he is god and can “fix” the free market, that is perfectly fine. And just like what is happening in Davis, this is exactly what needs to happen on Wall Street, just get those idiots in DC to leave the free market alone- it works. It always works.
David –
I know you have this incessant need to criticize The Enterprise and big box stores, but it is absurd to try to connect the dots between the Enterprise’s support of Target for a Davis location to Gottschalks’ bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation. Target’s location in Davis has nothing to do with Gottschalks decision to liquidate.
I continue to be amazed that you somehow think of Gottschalks as a locally owned small business, when in fact it is a public company which employs few locals at relatively low wages. In fact, it is no different than Target, except that it is a dinosaur whose Ice Age has come.
Mike Hart is right – the free market will heal itself, if allowed. We don’t have any “too big to fail” businesses in Davis (other than Bank of America and Wells Fargo) and so we should just let the free market find the right solutions eg a grocery store in West Davis.
What an amazing concept, a Target being under construction in Davis has caused a statewide failure of another department store. And this happens before a single item has been sold at the new Davis Target, what power! I shop at Gottshalks and am sorry to see them go, but I also shop at Target. Facts are that many locals are likely to shop at Target, that’s why Target is locating their new store here. I shop at Trader Joe’s and am willing to drive to Sacramento to shop there and run other errands in that locale. Don’t shop their as often as I would a TJ’s closer to home, but it is a store I personally like (and based on the crowds there whenever I am there, a lot of people like TJ’s.
Well “Adam” it may be absurd, but several past employees of the Enterprise have made this very connection to me. Figure out how much of the Enterprise’s ad revenue comes from the Gottschalks insert and then figure out how they will recoup that lost revenue.
Papa Jon: Just to be clear: “Target being under construction in Davis has caused a statewide failure of another department store.”
I was not saying that. What I said was that people were concerned about Gottschalks being able to survive in Davis based on Target coming in.
[i]”interesting comment about The Enterprise cheering for Target, and losing Gottschalks as a reward… true enough.”[/i]
It would be more interesting if the cart had not come before the horse. Target is not open in Davis. Gottschalks might close in Davis. The closure of Gottschalks in Davis has nothing to do with Target opening in East Mace Ranch (some months from now). It’s one thing to contend that bargain mega-stores of the Target/Wal-Mart ilk drove middle-rung department stores like Gottschalks and Mervyn’s out of business, as [i]consumers chose to shop at the larger, lower-priced stores.[/i] It’s something else entirely to suggest that a store which does not exist yet is the reason that one which does is (probably) closing.
One thing to keep in mind is that retail is always changing. That’s the nature of capitalism, always has been. As a kid (in Davis), I can recall entire categories of retailers — from big chains (Ben Franklin, for example) to small shops (Stan’s Meat Market) — which no longer exist. Long ago we lost family-owned and operated stores like Winger’s and Quessenberry’s. America no longer has giants like Newberry’s, Woolworth’s and Montgomery-Ward. Those three chains (along with Sears) were the biggest in the U.S. at one time. Sears and K-Mart are shells of their former selves. Wal-Mart looks indomitable today, but might disappear in 20-30 years — you never know.
When shopping habits, patterns and preferences change, most retailers cannot adapt. Economies of scale and technology have worked well for stores like Wal-Mart. But it’s not impossible to imagine a day when they work against them. If Wal-Mart is locked into its 4-acre-sized stores which require people to drive 10-20 miles on average to shop, what happens if consumers decide they’d rather walk around the corner? Could a Wal-Mart adapt to that kind of change in consumer behavior? Probably not.
“We are hoping for the best, but are prepared to assist in pursuing a replacement tenant should the store close.”
I wonder exactly what that means. Is staff going to go looking for a department store for the site? Perhaps they can find a grocer for West Davis while they’re at it.
I agree – it’s long past time to stop blaming the future Target on the demise of Gottschalks. If TJs goes in there, perhaps they can pick up the advertising slack for the Enterprise. People shop with their wallets nowadays. I’ll happily drive to Woodland to shop at Wal-Mart, and hit Costco and/or Target on the way home. I go to Safeway and SaveMart for those “oh dang, I’m out of bread and milk” days, but for my big $200+ grocery trips, I go to the Wal-Mart superstore in West Sacramento where the prices are pretty close to the prices at the Travis AFB commissary. Only when Davis sees fit to give people the places where they really want to shop will the city stop seeing people drive out of town to purchase what they need.
“What I said was that people were concerned about Gottschalks being able to survive in Davis based on Target coming in.”
Or any department store. Gottschalks has been having trouble for some time. Target will reduce the likelihood that any department store will open in the University Mall, or anywhere else in Davis, in the future. 34,000 sq ft. makes it a marginal location for a retailer of that type now, because the model for those retailers has been larger and larger stores. When we say that big-box stores reduce consumer choice, this is what we are referring to.
[i]” When we say that big-box stores reduce consumer choice, this is what we are referring to.”[/i]
It has been consumer choice which has made big-box successful — hitherto. That is, consumers have chosen big-box. No one is forced to shop at Target or Wal-Mart. If you can find something on-line, you have more choice today than ever.
Was it? Or was it Big-Boxes ability to undercut local retailers?
I fail to see a problem with Big-Boxes undercutting local retailers. If they do, it’s because people choose to shop at the Big-Box stores. If they actually preferred the smaller, local and noticeably more expensive retailers, the Big Boxes would be the ones going away. We had the same argument years ago about the sizes of grocery stores. Everyone should be able to walk to a small neighborhood grocery store. Yet, what seems to be the most popular grocery store in town? Nugget, the biggest one. The only ones that have consistently gone under are the smaller ones.
[i]”Or was it Big-Boxes ability to undercut local retailers?”[/i]
I guess it depends on what you mean by “undercut.” They usually charge less for their wares, and most consumers tend to go for the lower price no matter what.
Oftentimes, big box retailers have great advantages in negotiating with their suppliers that small stores lack. Big-boxes (esp. Wal-Mart) exploit that advantage [i]to the benefit of consumers,[/i] looking for lower prices.
But, I think it’s important to understand, that the advantages that some companies have today might erode in the future. There is no guarantee that Wal-Mart (or Bear-Stearns or General Motors or Bank of America) will exist 20 years from now. … I have to get going. I have a Pan Am flight to catch, this afternoon.
Markets evolve, stpres go in and out of business. Perhaps I’m older than you, DPD, but I recall several business cycles that were worse than this one. What does not change is the fact that people in Davis have to shop somewhere, and they vote with their dollars. Many people – myself included – love our local stores but buy many items on line because we pay no shipping and no sales tax. How can a local mom & pop compete with that? And while I am willing to pay more for local stores, I can’t do it for everything – I still have to balance my budget at home. It’s not just the big boxes that pressure local stores. It’s the amazing variety of shopping options that are no longer limited by geography.
Which bring me to my next point: newspapers are obsolete. They live on local advertising, but what is more inefficient than sending an ad to everyone who buys the paper, when only a few readers are interested in that merchandise at that moment? Craig’s list has replaced the classified ads. Web ads replace the print ads. Vanguard replaces the enterprise. It’s only a change in medium, not the loss of reporting. When car replaced buggies, the buggy whip industry failed, but a host of new industries arose creating new jobs for displaced workers. The Enterprise will adapt or die. That’s the rule for all of us.
You probably are older than me. I’m curious though when so many established companies across such a broad range of markets went out of business.
I’ve said this before, but if we are serious about our concerns for global warming, we are going to have to change how we consume. Big Box retail is the wrong direction to go.
How so, David? Let me give you an example of “one stop shopping.” One day last summer I went to the WalMart Superstore. I got there about 9:00 a.m. and just happened to need a manicure, so I walked in and got one. I was out of the nail salon in about 1/2 hr., went to the jewelry section for a box of earring backs, then on to the nursery section for a couple of pots and a plant to replace a dead one. I picked up socks and boxers for my grandson, cruised into the purse/wallet section for a new wallet and then picked up a baby gift. I went into housewares and bought a couple of bathroom mats and a new curtain rod, then on to the grocery section. How many trips to different places would I have to drive to in order to get all that done in Davis, not to mention the time wasted trying to find parking anyplace downtown? If we’re really concerned about global warming, one stop shopping is definitely the direction to go.
JayTee: You’re looking only at the shopping end of it, not what it takes to produce your socks and boxers in China, ship them across the globe and then transport them from one point in the US across the country. That’s very inefficient and that’s what is going to have to change in the coming years.
“You’re looking only at the shopping end of it, not what it takes to produce your socks and boxers in China, ship them across the globe and then transport them from one point in the US across the country.”
Your conclusion that because a product is made abroad it will be sold in a big box store ignores reality. Do you think the ballcaps sold at The Davis Sport Shop are made in Stockton? The can of soda sold at Nugget travels no less than the can of soda sold at WalMart. The bolts at Davis Lumber and Hibbert’s come from Chinese factories, just as those at Home Depot and Lowes.
If you think only large retail chains will affect the distance goods are shipped to market, you grotesquely misunderstand global trade. Competition forces goods to be fabricated where they can be made and delivered for the lowest cost.
If your concern is burning too much oil and coal in the delivery chain (adding to global warming), then place a stiff global levy on those inputs. Denying consumers the right to choose to shop in the manner JayTee chooses won’t clean the atmosphere.
Bobbi:
This is what I said:
“if we are serious about our concerns for global warming, we are going to have to change how we consume. Big Box retail is the wrong direction to go.”
You are correct, the problem is not exclusive to big box. However, I never said it was. I simply said that Big Box retail is the wrong direction to go, we move in the opposite direction from where we need to go. Bigger and less local is not the way to go.
As I see it, we are moving in two directions – small box and big box and everything in between is in trouble/turmoil. The small box is the computer with home delivery of almost everything we want. The small box is what is killing many retailers. I am not sure I like that, but that is where we are.
David –
Why isn’t bigger the way to go? JayTee made a fundamentally sound argument regarding a benefit of big box, and you answered with a non-sequitir regarding shipping. Shipping across the world clearly has its problems from a energy efficiency and carbon footprint standpoint, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the virtues of big box shopping.
BTW the shipping items for long distances is a issue in many ways. As an example, consider that many of us enjoy fresh strawberries in December, or grapes in February. If you eat only local, you will eat only what is in season locally and thereby will significantly reduce the range of fresh fruit options that you have.
Finally, with respect to the Enterprise and Gottschalks, perhaps we should give them credit for standing behind something they thought was right for the community at large, as opposed to something that would benefit the Enterprise ad revenue.
“Shipping across the world clearly has its problems from a energy efficiency and carbon footprint standpoint, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the virtues of big box shopping.”
Except that my argument was from that perspective.
Again this is what I said:
If we are serious about our concerns for global warming, we are going to have to change how we consume. Big Box retail is the wrong direction to go.
David, I don’t get your point about big box and “shipping across the world.” Why are you connecting only big box to big shipping, but not small box or medium box?
This picture might interest you. It’s one of those giant cargo ships from China, powered in part by solar sails. Each sail is the size of a 747 jet’s wing:
[img]http://dvice.com/pics/solarsailor.jpg[/img]
Nice pic.
I’m not, my statement was very specific expressing concern for the energy to produce and transport such goods and only then tying it to big box by suggesting that they are a move in the wrong direction. In other words, we are not going to be able to deal with global warming as long as we have big box retail.
Buy local?…are there no web design companies in Davis?
“If you eat only local, you will eat only what is in season locally and thereby will significantly reduce the range of fresh fruit options that you have.”
Yeah, right ([url]http://redwoodbarn.com/ripeningchartmacro.htm[/url])
Shipping is actually very efficient, more so than train, bus or truck. Less friction on a boat in water than a train on a track or a truck on a road.
Interesting picture, Rich. What happened? Was your flight canceled?
“Buy local?…are there no web design companies in Davis?”
The person who designed the web site grew up in Davis and parents still live here. I’ve known him since he was born.
At least within my industry, the largest stores tend to buy their products from the greatest distances. Plants sold at HD and Lowe’s mostly come from a small number of very large growers in Southern California. An interesting side note is that all of those deliveries have to be inspected by the county ag commissioner for glassy-winged sharpshooter before they can be released for sale.
Independent nurseries tend to buy from smaller growers in Northern California, who have smaller quantities but better quality and selection. Those deliveries don’t have to be inspected.
Our industry has really split over the last decade with the advent of the big box home improvement chains in California. A grower who qualifies to sell to Home Depot and chooses to do so (at the prices HD sets) doesn’t have room to grow anything for anyone else. Those stores need such massive quantities it pushes out all other product options for that grower. Most small growers couldn’t sell to them even if they wanted to: not enough of any single variety to meet their contracts.
The prices the big box stores set yield a very low profit margin for the grower. It’s very enticing to the grower because it is guaranteed income, but the grower has to cut expenses drastically to meet the cost. As a result, the two largest nursery growers that sell to the big box stores both filed for bankruptcy in late 2008, including Hines Wholesale.
Very interesting insights; appreciate all opinions and treasure the Vanguard for printing them. Just a few observations.
1) I see no connection between the demise of Gottshalk’s & Mervyn’s and a Target coming to Davis. The apparel market is one of the first to suffer during tough economic times. (Yes, I can wear these jeans & shirts a bit longer, so don’t need to buy anything now.) Gottshalk’s & Mervyn’s went under statewide, not because of Target coming to Davis.
2) The real threat of Target is the potential demise of Davis Lumber (Ace Hardware), an iconic, long-time, downtown “anchor.” If Target supplants Davis Ace, we will be left with a huge hole in our downtown core. No amount of trendy bistros will be able to fill that void if Target succeeds in putting Davis Lumber out of business. (And with no “one-place” shopping store downtown, most people will shop @ Target and avoid the “core” altogether).
3) I love reading the Davis Enterprise, and always have since moving here in 1975. However, I think they made a HUGE mistake by ignoring the sentiments of most residents (who came here for a small-town ambience)by promoting pro-growth candidates and urban sprawl policies. The Enterprise does an incredible job of providing the community with a great deal of news, in many areas, an accomplishment that should not be overlooked.
4) On the other hand, fewer and fewer of my friends & neighbors subscribe to the Enterprise, mainly because they believe the newspaper is nothing more than a biased, pro-growth mouthpiece for developers, who aim to destroy our small-town ambience for their own profit & greed.
5) I believe the Vanguard & Enterprise can co-exist but, @ present, the Vanguard is gaining strength and the Enterprise is losing ground. As I see it, the Vanguard is citizen-driven, with all opinions given equal weight, whereas the Enterprise rigidly controls and censors citizen input. If this continues, I predict the Enterprise will lose, big-time!
6) There is a revolution in shopping habits and our local retailers need to recognize that and adapt. As technologically slow as I am, I now order nearly everything (tools, housewares & gifts) online. I don’t have to drive, pollute or waste gasoline; I decide what I want, press a couple of buttons and it’s here within 3-5 days. (And don’t give me the “China” criticism for ordering on-line; I buy “made in USA” whenever possible, but nearly everything @ Long’s & Davis Lumber is “made in China”.)
“There is no guarantee that Wal-Mart (or Bear-Stearns or General Motors or Bank of America) will exist 20 years from now. … I have a [u]Pan Am[/u] flight to catch, this afternoon.”
[img]http://expatbrazil.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/airlines-pan-am.jpg[/img]
“What happened? Was your flight canceled?”
Apparently Pan Am went out of business.
Sorry, but the logic escapes me as to the connection between big box retail and shipping. I also know DPD, that you buy online – which involves shipping, right?
Our economy is global now, bc cheap labor outside our country keeps the cost of goods sold here in the U.S. way down. (Unions in the U.S. have made sure goods produced here are way more expensive.) What you are really asking us to do is what used to be the old adage “buy American”. If we all purchased only goods made in America, then that would cut down on shipping from overseas. But it would also cut down on variety, possibly quality (there are two ways of looking at that), quantity, and of course up the price big time. Do you want to pay an arm and a leg for a pair of socks or a single tomato? If you are willing to do that, then it is bc you can afford it. Many of us cannot.
Also, don’t you think this global warming thing is getting a bit out of proportion as a concept? We could all go back to caveman style to “save the planet”, but the question is a sense of proportion. Just how far do we want to go to address the “issue” of global warming, which is still just a theory by the way – a theory that many are cashing in on big time. An example would be Al Gore, who wastes all sorts of energy driving SUVs, flying private jets, heating multiple mansions, while he tells the rest of us to conserve energy for the sake of the planet! How much energy is wasted making Hollywood movies, and feeding the gluttony of Hollywood? But Hollywood conveniently ignores their contribution to global warming.
I can remember a time when Barbara Striesand railed to the public, insisting they not use clothes dryers. Someone commented “And are you going to hang up your clothes to dry in the back yard, or is your maid going to do it for you?” The hypocrisy of her position stung, and she disappeared for several years after that gaff.
Consumers will try and save money – by making less trips, buying from stores that charge less for goods. If you really want to address global warming, then advocate for $20 a gallon for gas, and a return to caveman style. But would you really want to go there? And none of this has anything to do w big box retail, and everything to do w a lot of the myths surrounding the notion of “global warming”.
By the way, just as an aside, one of the biggest polluters is China, yet so many of our goods are purchased from China, even in high end stores. If you really want to solve the problem of global warming, or get a good handle on it, don’t buy anything from China. That should be an interesting experiment, since almost everything we market here was made in China! If you don’t believe me, go to any store, and look on the bottom or on a tag to see where it was made.
Global warming is a PC mantra at the moment, created by politicians to distract from the real issues of the day. For instance, why haven’t legislators come up w a decent energy policy? I’ve been waiting for that since the gas lines of 1976!
” I also know DPD, that you buy online – which involves shipping, right? “
Only books I can’t find here.
“At least within my industry, the largest stores tend to buy their products from the greatest distances.”
This reminds me of something I learned when researching the question of whether organic or conventionally grown produce is healthier to eat. While many people presume that organic is healthier, or that their health is jeopardized by the existence of chemical residues that aren’t washed off* conventionally grown crops, there is no scientific basis for these claims. That is, all else held equal, you gain no health advantage eating organic produce. (Animal products may have some.) However, all else is usually not equal. There is a completely different reason why organic fruits and vegetables might be healthier. It is because they tend to not be shipped so far; and thus, the organic vegie you are buying was ripe or closer to ripe when it was picked. And for that reason, it will have greater nutritional value. Thus, if nutrient content is important to you, you should generally err on the side of produce that is picked as close to ripeness as possible and not shipped far, and that more often than not means organic.
* Food scientists at UCD told me there is no health danger from chemicals on conventionally grown crops. However, with some organic methods, there is a danger from some bacteria. A good washing before eating them is smart in either case.
One store closes and it is partially blamed on a potentially competitive store opening in the future. I’ve heard this before.
Example: Years ago a bookstore on G Street gets upset and moves to Woodland because Border’s is moving to town some time in the future. Another bookstore on 2nd Street has a banner year as a result – a 15% increase in sales. Border’s finally opens and the 2nd Street bookstore complains that it has suffered a 15% decrease in sales due to the competition from that national chain bookstore being allowed to come to town.
There have been several versions of department stores over the many years at the University Mall. The closing of Gottschalk’s is unfortunate, but is also an opportunity.
The Enterprise needs to work harder on improving its product (better reporting, more news and pictures of local events) and get its advertising sales staff to step it up in order to survive.
“Another bookstore on 2nd Street has a banner year as a result – a 15% increase in sales. Border’s finally opens and the 2nd Street bookstore complains that it has suffered a 15% decrease in sales due to the competition from that national chain bookstore being allowed to come to town.”
I don’t believe those figures are accurate at all. What is your source?
If you eat only local, you will eat only what is in season locally and thereby will significantly reduce the range of fresh fruit options that you have.”
Yeah, right”
Don – I appreciate the link – it proves my point exactly. If you want to eat grapes or peaches in Jan or Feb, you are not buying them locally. My only point is that consumers have demanded fresh fruit year round, and the local eating concept will severely limit the options that you have in the winter and fall months. That really isn’t debatable.
The real point is that David’s point will ultimately be very painful for society at large to accept. I’m not saying that it is wrong, but that most people, and probably including many “green” proponents, don’t understand how ingrained the use of fossil fuels has become, and how pervasive the changes in lifestyle will be to correct the issue.
I don’t dispute that there is a demand for out-of-season fruit. I would just quibble with the terms “significantly” and “severely” to describe the loss of strawberries and grapes in the winter. We have lots of fresh seasonal fruit available year-round in California, and storage techniques enable growers to ship apples, pears, and kiwi at any time of year. Moreover, the cost of the fruit from the southern hemisphere is high enough that they are just a fraction of what consumers eat. When I bought some plums for a recent garden column, they were a dollar each. They were good; the Chilean farmers and packers do a great job. But the Cara Cara navel oranges nearby were half the price, and the kumquats off my tree at home were basically free.
The comment from Mike Hart and others about our current economic depression just being a market correction to be “left alone” is absurd. I can’t wait until people stop saying things like “let the market decide” or the “market evolves” as if we are dealing with a living thing. The market is entirely a man-made scheme. Kind of like a casino or gambling. There are winners and there are losers in the scheme. Casinos and schemes don’t evolve and any biological analogies are simply trying to make it seem like we are “slaves to the market” similar to being part of some natural order. Not true: we can set interest rates, we can even LIMIT obscenely high interest rates if we decide that is in the best interest of our collective civilization. I think people are replacing the human propensity for “greed” with the “will of the market” in an attempt to displace guilt. We lose a little something of our humanity when we elevate human constructs as if they operate beyond our control or contain some inherent wisdom. Just because a restaurant has “good food” and outlasts one with “bad food” doesn’t mean the market contains inherent wisdom. It just means people like good food. Free the market from regulation? What, so that it can be gamed? Please. Hopefully we are moving past these old-school theories.
Anyway, regarding Gottschalks? Bummer for them- probably couldn’t secure a big enough loan or credit to re-invent themselves in time. Why not? Probably a very non-mysterious, non- “wisdom of the market” reason.
Wal-Mart in Dixon is precisely why Westlake can’t hold down a grocery store. Davis wants their cake and to eat it too. I don’t shop at Target (or Wal-Mart) and don’t plan to when they open. Hope in 20 years that there are still shopping options left for people with a conscience.
“Wal-Mart in Dixon is precisely why Westlake can’t hold down a grocery store. Davis wants their cake and to eat it too. I don’t shop at Target (or Wal-Mart) and don’t plan to when they open. Hope in 20 years that there are still shopping options left for people with a conscience.”
Some of us cannot afford to shop expensive locally. It is nice you can afford to buy expensive goods, but many of us just don’t have the dollars, and must shop Walmart or Target.
I didn’t say that I bought expensive goods. I don’t. I buy only what our family needs and don’t fill my garage up with crap. You could do it too if you put a little more thought and resourcefulness into it.