Results tagged “stores”

The Natural Resources Defense Council's New York Urban Program Director Eric Goldstein (that's a mouthful) has gone undercover to see what Manhattan retail stores are blasting their air conditioning with open doors to lure the customer inside. This is illegal, of course, and as Goldstein points out, while "the issue isn't tops on the national environmental agenda... it does serve as something of a symbol of shameless wasting of fossil fuels by some of our fellow citizens."

The same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s is spreading with an “explosive” rate of infection through Northeast tomato farms. Called "late blight" disease, the fungus causes white-mold-encircled gray spots on leaves, blackened stems, wilting and death. Organically grown crops are particularly vulnerable, and some farmers in Rhode Island have plowed tomato fields under at the first sign of blight. Vegetable pathologist Meg McGrath tells Newsday why everyone should probably be hoarding tomatoes: "People need to realize this is probably one of the worst diseases we have in the vegetable world." Yikes, this makes last year's Salmonella tomato scare seem like a leisurely Bloody Mary brunch!

Guess that new location in the old Tower Records by Lincoln Center didn't work out. After closing 20% of its stores (including 3 in NYC) filing for Chapter 11 last fall, Circuit City has now hired four liquidators to help sell the inventory of its remaining 567 stores nationwide. Acting CEO James A. Marcum said, "We are extremely disappointed by this outcome. The company had been in continuous negotiations regarding a going-concern transaction. Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders.” Bloomberg News reports that CC lost market share to Best Buy and Wal-Mart, plus Amazon.com and other online retailers undercut its prices.

This weekend Sunnyside, Queens residents stood up for their local feline friends. NY1 reports that "Anita DiSarli organized a rally Saturday to alert the public to what she calls a problem of animal abuse by some area store managers. She says they house cats, but intentionally keep food away from them so they will be more eager to catch mice." The 99-cent store and National Liquidators on Queens Boulevard are allegedly slowly killing the cats via this neglect--some have been rescued and diagnosed with eye problems, jaundice and other ailments. Mickey, one of the rescued cats, has "doubled in weight, going from six to 12 pounds in just under a month," his new owner saying he's "Friendly as hell, sleeps next to my leg, climbs on my chest. He's been so starved for attention." [via Queens Crap]

It was previously reported that Target would be opening their promotional "Bullseye Bodegas" at four temporary locations around Manhattan on September 11th. Now the opening date is September 12th, so either the reports were wrong or someone in marketing realized that 9/11 might not be the most ideal day to launch a campaign with the word "bullseye" in it.

The tanking economy may be dragging retail businesses to a watery grave, but Target isn't going down without a fight. Though it is tough going; net earnings were down 7.6 percent in the quarter ending August 2nd. That's why the company is coming up with innovative new marketing strategies, like capitalizing on a previously unexploited synergy with September 11th patriotism! After all, the retailer's red and white logo is just one color away from Old Glory. So this year 9/11 won't just be a day to honor our fallen heroes, but also a day to check out Target's awesome new Go International private label collection at four pop-up stores around Manhattan. They're even calling them Bullseye Bodegas, though we'll probably never know the real truth behind the sales that day. [Jossip]

Starbucks has released the full list [pdf] of 600 “underperforming” locations nationwide that will close between now and mid-2009; 10 of them are in New York City, with the majority clustered in midtown, two in Queens, one on Staten Island and one in Bay Ridge. Which means we’re left with a scant 225 Starbucks citywide – so get out and support your local neighborhood Starbucks!

Starbucks has announced it's closing 600 stores in the U.S., bringing the total number down to approximately 9 gazillion, most of them located in Astor Place. Stocks have fallen 24% so far this year, and its second quarter was its weakest as a public company. The Seattle-based chain says it will try to relocate employees to other stores, but thousands of layoffs loom. Financial analyst Sharon Zackfia tells the Times, “I don’t think it’s overly surprising. These stores were in aggregate unprofitable.” No word yet on how many NYC Starbucks locations will close, but one hopes it’s kept to a minimum, because where else will we use the bathroom?