Local Business Lost
A friend was driving down to San Miguel and offered to take things with him. Michael and I scrambled to find things like bathroom faucets and showerheads, and curtain rods that are tough to find in San Miguel, and even tougher to get into suitcases with weight limits.
We were talking on the way out of Home Depot how weird it is that everywhere you go there are sodas and candy by the cash register.
I don't remember that as a kid. If you went to a fabric store, they just sold fabric. They didn't want you to be eating or drinking anything in the store. They certainly didn't encourage you to have it by selling it to you.
Nowadays if you go to a Joanne's fabric, a Home Goods, a hardware store, a Ross, Marshall's, TJ Maxx or Home Goods store, or even department stores, there are all sorts of temptations offered up to look at as you wait in line to check out.
How much money can they possibly make from all these rows of candy and tchotchkes they line up for us to look at? Is it worth it?
It seemed kind of scammy to tempt people at weak moments: after they'd done the hard work of hunting down whatever they were looking for. People would be unusually tempted by a pick-me-up candy and Coke. Can this practice even be considered ethical?
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We just had one more thing we wanted to find to send down to Mexico: a small side table for the living room.
Michael mentioned that he'd heard Pier 1 had filed for bankruptcy.
Sad
Though it was sad, I figured it might be our last time to shop in a Pier 1. We hardly leave the house anymore. I suggested we run by to look for the small table.
Pier 1's headquarters are in Fort Worth, and I've always liked the store.
My first apartment in college, my first home, my apartment in New York, and, well, every place I've ever lived has benefited in some way from the store. From dishes to candles - room spray to demitasse cups...there were always things from the store.
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Michael and I talked about possible reasons for them going out of business. We said we didn't buy there like we used to. I was thinking it was partly because we were already established. Other than the house in Mexico, which we mainly shop for in Mexico, we don't need houseware-type things much these days. I said I thought their price points had risen steadily through the years. In college, I remember finding funky textiles and jewelry there for cheap. Their furniture had gotten really expensive. Maybe that was why they weren't doing well.
Oh yeah; and Amazon, and Walmart...and the entire world wide web. You no longer need to go to an import store. You can go to Ali Baba and buy 10 items for the price you'd pay for one at a brick and mortar store.
Something Special
In the end we found the perfect table there. It was black with white inlaid shell patterns all over it. It was pretty pricey, but the sale price made it reasonable. That might be the problem. Here we were well established in our lives and it felt less affordable to shop there then it had when we were young and poor. We probably wouldn't have gotten the table at its original price.
We were discussing this as we stood in line to check out and then it hit us: No candy.
Is this what caused the demise of Pier 1?
Daily Hits of Happy
-Watching an early morning thunderstorm from the front porch, then being able to go back to bed.
-The Mary Tyler Moore Show - the outfits, Mary, Rhoda, Mr. Grant, Murray...
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"Impulse buying is not macho. Men rarely call the Home Shopping Network."
-Rita Rudner
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