Location

Many considerations go into locating and developing a business. This includes the development of many various types of stores in a community. It seems that there are a surplus of grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores- practically one on every corner. So if an interested developer wants to open one, many factors must be considered. I looked at and analyzed the new Walgreens Pharmacy located in Burlington. It was just constructed and has recently opened its doors for business. Categorically, Walgreens is in the central business district, an inner city/main street business. The advantages can be many. These include the store’s location and convenience. Many residents live in the area of this Walgreens. Residents are supportive of a drug store that is close to their residence. When an individual is sick or is in need of a quick refill of a prescription, it is important that the pharmacy be close at hand. If necessary, being within walking distance might be of significant importance if the customer is unable to drive. The pedestrian traffic of this Walgreens is significantly high. There is a mall in close proximity (directly across the street) which draws and accommodates the customers and shoppers. If a customer can obtain many things they need without having to travel distances to get them, they are likely to shop and use this store. Basically, this Walgreens is located in a very populated and high traffic area. As stated from our power point, “It does minimize the customer’s effort to get the product/service by locating it close to where customers are located.” There is a popular grocery store (Harris Teeter) also located on the opposite corner along with A Cleaner World, a hair salon, two restaurants and the ever popular TJMaxx. There is a video store, Pier One and a service station. These encompass the variety of needs that a shopper might need in the availability of a very confined area. At this location, Walgreens will be able to give other pharmacies competition. Within an approximate mile radius, there is a CVS pharmacy, two Rite Aides, Wal Mart pharmacy, and a pharmacy within Harris Teeter. Shoppers can do great comparative price shopping and not have to go a great distance. I also saw disadvantages with this Walgreens store location. One major disadvantage that I saw was the traffic and parking situation. The area is very heavily traveled and congested, especially on Fridays. South Church Street and Huffman Mill Road are the two main thoroughfares and traffic is extremely hectic. With the pharmacy on the corner, and it providing a drive through window, makes it difficult to get in and out easily. Parking is extremely limited. The parking lot joins into the next lot where there is a pizza pick-up and other various strip mall stores that really have no directional arrows. The drivers must be on the alert of oncoming traffic and pedestrians as well. With so many things happening at once, I feel that it is very distracting in this congested area and hard for drivers to possibly stay focused on what they are doing. I also see a disadvantage of poor security because of the cramped location. A shoplifter could easily get away because of the tight and close quarters of the store. Stores are going to have advantages and disadvantages due to their location. But when thinking and planning on locating a business, the individual must have the advantages outweigh those of the disadvantages. To think of the customers accessibility first and the ease of the shopping experience are must considerations when planning a business and its location. I don’t think that this is a good location for this Walgreens as far as pedestrian safety goes. But for the business part, if they have competitive prices attractive for the shopper during these economic times, Walgreens might be successful. Reply Forward
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Retailers Who Have Failed

Articles:
Burr, Mike. “Circuit City Failed at Business by not Really Trying”. November 11, 2008
http://www.prefixmag.com/news/circuit-city-failed-at-business-by-not-really-tryi/22948/
Hamilton, Anita. TIME. “Why Circuit City Busted, While Best Buy Boomed”. November 11, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858079,00.html?imw=Y
Linens ‘n Things to Liquidate After Failing to Find a Buyer. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/linens-n-things-to-liquidate-after-failing-to-find-a-buyer/?pagemode=print
Every day that we listen to the news, read the paper, or merely engage in a discussion with our friends and family, the topic of the number of retailers and businesses declaring bankruptcy or shutting down their stores grows in numbers. Two of these businesses, Circuit City and Linens n’ Things, are on this ever growing list of use to be companies. Many question what caused their failure and was it merely the current economic decline that created their failure in the retail business or were there other reasons that caused them to have to shut their doors.
It appears from reading and looking at the broad picture of Circuit City, the economy was not the sole or even the main problem for this retail-electronic store’s failure. Looking over the years of management of the store and the type of products offered to the customers, Circuit City created its decline due to the lack of innovative merchandise that it was providing to the consumers. Burr states that, “The chain failed to secure better locations for their stores or move onto the web, didn’t move as aggressively into gaming as their competitors, and failed to get behind emergent electronics such as the iPod. Compounding the problem is that to increase profit margins when sales began to lag, Circuit City laid off many of its better compensated employees in favor of cheaper workers.” This definitely caused problems in the fast paced world of marketing that we now are engaged in. Hamilton stated that “Circuit City was incredibly successful in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but they never changed after that.” They “became complacent- a fatal mistake in the fiercely competitive and fast evolving retail-electronics industry.” For Circuit City, I feel that there were many inner conflicts and problems that faced them and the declining economy merely added the final blow. It’s hard to hold your head above water when there is so much pulling you down. With competitors such as Best Buy and Wal Mart, Circuit City fell behind in competitiveness and “fresh product” appeal to the updated and fast paced society of today.
In contrast to Circuit City, I feel that Linens n’ Things did fail due to the slump and downfall of our economy. The products that Linens n’ Things provided to the consumer dealt with the products that a homeowner would use in their house. Since the housing market has taken such a drop and the price of buying and furnishing a home has declined, then the demand for home furnishings would naturally drop. James Schaye, president of Hudson Capital Partners involved with the liquidation of Linens n’ Things stated that “the sharp decline in the housing market and a slump in consumer discretionary spending undermined the company’s ability to pay its suppliers. If capital markets weren’t so tight, I think this chain might possible have survived.” I agree with Mr. Schaye with the fact that the housing decline and the ability of some to get a home loan in this deep economic slump, is the type of business that is definitely suffering from this current recession. I feel sure that other home supply stores are feeling a big crunch with their sales. These include Belk, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and other home furnishing distributors and retailers.