I know the Rite Aid @MerchCzar discussed this week very well. It used to be at least serviceable. But since COVID they decided to just staff it with one person + a security guard + 3 self-checkouts (of which MAYBE 1 is ever working) and lock up like 50% of the merchandise. They barely even stock other stuff now. It provides one of the most passively hostile consumer experiences I’ve ever had.
It is an especially bizarre situation because the physical location is excellent! It is right above the subway stop in a nice neighborhood, next to a park! Tons of foot traffic here. I would get it if there was a ton of crime around but there isn’t! No other store in the area does this. There is a CVS about 500 yards away that doesn’t lock up 5% of the amount of stuff the Rite Aid does.
Something is going on. I tell my wife that it is basically a museum for deodorant at this point. More than once I’ve walked in, pressed the button a few times and just walked out after 5 mins of nobody coming over.
4 Likes
Main company is going bankrupt. Shut down tons of stores, including all of Ohio and Michigan. Maybe someone is running a pirate rite aid, like the South Side Burger King in Pittsburgh
2 Likes
@MerchCzar, if you’re looking for more detail on the HBC, I’d recommend Peter C. Newman’s 3 part series.
Company of Adventurers
Caesars of the Wilderness
Merchant Princes
Caesars of the Wilderness in particular has a ton of great stories from the early exploration the HBC did through their battle for control with the North-West Company, domination of the west, and finally loss of monopoly.
Also highly recommend reading up on John Rae since you’ve mentioned an interest in polar explorers. He mapped a huge amount of the Arctic coast on foot in his work for the HBC and discovered the fate of the doomed Franklin expedition.
Rae doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for all his incredible work because Lady Jane Franklin had him banished from polite society for uncovering evidence of cannibalism among the expedition crew.
3 Likes
@MerchCzar did you get the car that you reserved for?
I had reserved a Large Luxury SUV from Hertz for NIT. They didn’t have any on the day, and I ended up with a Maserati Grecale for the time that I was in Phoenix. Did not enjoy the car.
Also, The Hudson’s Bay Company has just started liquidation.
1 Like