njrazd
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posted on December 29, 2000 08:13:13 AM
Not all that surprising. I had stopped going there years ago because it was such a frustrating place to shop. You had to watch every item being scanned because the computers would never have the sales prices in them and then you had to practically walk the salesperson over to the rack so they could confirm the sale price. And it seemed the only salespeople around were behind the register...could never find any in the departments themselves.
I feel for those people who need to find new jobs, especially right around the holidays. Seems they heard about it from the customers instead of from the management.
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shar9
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posted on December 29, 2000 09:57:04 AM
nzarzd,
I heard that last night on the news too.
I was also surprised when I went to the mall with my mother who was the one that wanted to go to Wards a couple of years ago and actually found a few items I liked and at a good price.
I was surprised when I thought how long it had been since I had shopped there last which was about 10 yrs. I hate shopping in the mall. What I did not like was their return policy.
I hate to think of all those people losing jobs too.
Does anyone know why so many companies seem to layoff or close down a few days before Christmas? That seems like such a low blow but maybe I only notice it more because I am thinking how sad for the families at that time although I hate to see anyone lose their job.
I wonder how Sears is doing?
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mybiddness
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posted on December 29, 2000 10:01:22 AM
I'm surprised they hung on for as long as they did. The Monkey Wards in this area has been a ghost town for a while now. With their sorry (non-existent) customer care they made it impossible to shop there.
Not paranoid anywhere else but here!
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xardon
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posted on December 29, 2000 10:15:43 AM
I thought this was going to be another PETA thread.
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on December 29, 2000 11:31:04 AM
Add me to those who are surprised this company lasted as long as it did. No good reason to shop there. Wal-Mart is a virtual general store, carrying one (but only one) of everything from sun-dried tomatoes and sourdough bread to hunting gear, and cheap besides; Sears has Craftsman tools and a great line of paint, an excellent buy for the price; K-Mart has - well, it has Martha Stewart, but it's also the only place here with swimming pool supplies year-round; Target has stylish Michael Graves home decor accessories. Wards has....um.....uhhhhh.....
Edited to add: I think one reason stores tend to close right after Christmas is that (a) it might be even more painful to fire everybody just BEFORE Christmas; and (b) more customer traffic during the Christmas season means more sales at full retail, reducing the inventory that must be sold at deep discounts just to get it out of the store.
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Dec 29, 2000 11:33 AM ]
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krs
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posted on December 29, 2000 01:33:40 PM
It's failure is part of Bush's plan. It's GW's fault.
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Meya
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posted on December 29, 2000 01:40:45 PM
The Wards store in our area is at an already struggling mall. Their leaving just puts one more nail in the coffin of this particular shopping mall. It really is a shame, as there is quite a large population that lives in that area, and the next closest mall is in a very busy traffic area. I do my best to avoid this area, and know that many people, senior citizens especially, feel the same way.
I didn't shop at Wards too much, but could always depend on finding good prices on sweaters and shirts for my kids. They had good prices on housewares too, like curtains and sheets.
Most of their ladies clothing had gotten pretty cheesy over the last few years so I stopped even looking at those. I feel bad for the workers, and for the people living in that part of town who keep losing their local places to shop. That mall keeps saying they are at 85% occupancy, but I think they are fudging the numbers. Once the holiday kiosks are gone, it'll go back to be pretty empty.
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toke
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posted on December 29, 2000 01:42:30 PM
The offensive thing is that Wards is refusing to honor the gift certificates it just sold. Ames is now offering to take the Wards returns and to redeem the gift certificates...for a limited time.
Sounds highly dishonorable of Wards, huh? They had to have known this for a while.
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femme
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posted on December 29, 2000 02:20:21 PM
[ edited by femme on Jan 14, 2001 07:23 AM ]
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Julesy
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posted on December 29, 2000 02:29:10 PM
I saw a tidbit on CNN...supposedly, the backers behind Wards (GE Capitol) are the ones who decided to pull funding after disappointing holiday sales. I have no doubt the PTB at Wards knew this season was crucial, but perhaps they didn't know the plug would be pulled so suddenly.
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toke
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posted on December 29, 2000 02:35:44 PM
femme...
Sure does... I heard Bradlee's is also going out of business. I want to hear some more about our "strong economy." LOL! You wouldn't believe all the stores that are closing for good in our area. The folks around here are all maxed out on plastic.
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toke
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posted on December 29, 2000 02:38:30 PM
Hey Jules...
Happy New Year! Should be interesting here...we have a blizzard warning. Glad we didn't book a New Year's show.....
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tegan
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posted on December 29, 2000 02:40:14 PM
I won't mis Monkey wards. I don't think I ever found anything good there.It was pretty cheesy.
Speaking of cheesy.
I do miss Ben Franklins though. I have some great memories of that place.
Remember the Evening in Paris perfume you got your Mom or Grandma for Christmas? It came in a blue bottle and I thought it looked so cool. Couldn't wait to get grownup enough to wear that stuff.
What a dufus!!!
No,I do not wear Evening in Paris, it's Opium or nothing. (The perfume not the drug.)
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Meya
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posted on December 29, 2000 03:08:33 PM
Tegan, we have Ben Franklins here in Ohio still. What are you looking for?
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njrazd
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posted on December 29, 2000 04:12:58 PM
toke...my Mother is a HUGE Bradlees fan. She goes there at least once a week to scour the sales racks and I always made a stop there on my trips home. Did they say who will be taking them over, or are the stores just closing their doors?
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toke
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posted on December 29, 2000 04:27:49 PM
njrazd...
Bradlee's are all closing their doors. Sorry about your Mom. Know how she feels...I liked Caldor's, now they're long gone, too.
I hate this. All the local hardware stores are gone now...all we have is the Home Depot warehouse...yuck. Mile high stacks of the same merch. Every time I go in...different clerks. It's beginning to seem like a science fiction novel of the future...
[ edited by toke on Dec 29, 2000 04:28 PM ]
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Julesy
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posted on December 29, 2000 05:07:41 PM
Hiya Toke!
I saw on the news today...looks like you guys are hunkering down for a big storm! That's one thing I *don't* miss about the Northeast...those coastal storms.
Have a great holiday, and keep the shovel handy, for Mr.Toke, of course. 
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femme
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posted on December 29, 2000 05:32:35 PM
[ edited by femme on Jan 14, 2001 07:24 AM ]
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on December 29, 2000 05:51:57 PM
"Ben Franklin" triggers memories of S.S. Kresge, which changed its name to K-Mart back in about 1970. I used to walk past Kresge's on my way to junior high school, and vividly remember when they remodeled the store and threw out all those wonderful old Deco counters and took down the old sign. I am cringeing even now as I think that I was too timid to take the foot-high gold-leafed wooden "S.S. KRESGE" letters out of the dumpster. Even then I knew the value of old stuff, but I figured my mother would kill me. I should've risked it. Sigh.
Anyway, I can still hear the creak of the floorboards and feel the basement-level terrazzo under my feet. Nothing has ever surpassed Kresge's except the drugstore that was at the end of my street, complete with soda fountain. Sigh.
And people wonder why I sell vintage stuff! LOL
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