- Welcome to The Ames Fan Club.
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#1
Radio / Re: Pittsburgh, PA Radio News
Last post by TheFugitive - April 17, 2024, 01:58:51 PMClassic Hits WQZS-FM in Meyersdale, PA has left the air after the FCC revoked their license.
The station's owner, Roger Wahl, had pled guilty in 2020 to having hidden cameras in the home of his former girlfriend and then using photos of her undressed to recruit men on internet dating platforms to come to her home and rape her. FCC rules state that you must be of good moral character to hold a broadcast license and since Wahl had pled guilty to a felony they began the process of revoking his license. He fought a four-year legal battle filling appeals, and at one point attempted to sell the station to his daughter for $10. The FCC issued a final revocation order on April 4 and the station went off the air later that day, posting to their Facebook site that they had signed-off for good.
The station's owner, Roger Wahl, had pled guilty in 2020 to having hidden cameras in the home of his former girlfriend and then using photos of her undressed to recruit men on internet dating platforms to come to her home and rape her. FCC rules state that you must be of good moral character to hold a broadcast license and since Wahl had pled guilty to a felony they began the process of revoking his license. He fought a four-year legal battle filling appeals, and at one point attempted to sell the station to his daughter for $10. The FCC issued a final revocation order on April 4 and the station went off the air later that day, posting to their Facebook site that they had signed-off for good.
#2
Ames / Re: Ames Returning in 2023?
Last post by TheFugitive - April 17, 2024, 09:17:11 AMQuote from: Crazybangles on April 16, 2024, 10:25:24 PMHas anyone ever considered that companies go out of business often for a good reason? They are clearly trying to appeal to a small minority of people with a sense of nostalgia, and the more they keep pushing this, the more hype it will create. This plan is absolutely ridiculous, and if the company went out of business over 20 years ago, what reason is there for them to exist today? Odds are a lot of their customers are either passed on or have significantly increased in age.
Crazybangles raises many excellent points here. Sadly I'd have to say that my former employers (Ames, Hills, Service Merchandise) absolutely DID deserve to go out of business, largely due to incompetent, short-sighted and arrogant senior management. I lived through bankruptcies with all of them. In all cases experienced managers in the field were telling them NOT to do certain things because they would harm the company. We were summarily dismissed (and some were punished for their candor).
Also if you are going to capitalize on the nostalgia value of a brand you need to do it quickly. A good example is Macy's acquiring the Toys R Us brand and rolling that out as a department in their stores a couple of years after the chain closed down. There were still plenty of people thinking fondly of Toys R Us and hoping for an opportunity to shop them again.
I was 24 when I went to work for Ames. I was 37 when they went out of business. I'm 60 now. We have a full generation out there which never set foot in an Ames store and does not care about them. My own kids are in their 30's and were very young the last time they set foot in an Ames. I doubt they have the nostalgia for them that most of us do.
#3
Ames / Re: Ames Returning in 2023?
Last post by Retail Regents - April 17, 2024, 12:36:29 AMQuote from: Crazybangles on April 16, 2024, 10:25:24 PMHas anyone ever considered that companies go out of business often for a good reason? They are clearly trying to appeal to a small minority of people with a sense of nostalgia, and the more they keep pushing this, the more hype it will create. This plan is absolutely ridiculous, and if the company went out of business over 20 years ago, what reason is there for them to exist today? Odds are a lot of their customers are either passed on or have significantly increased in age.
It is also the reason C&S Wholesale opted to revive the Grand Union name as a result of the Tops/Price Chopper merger. Not only were they in their core market and once acquired them after three bankruptcies, but also for the nostalgia factor (especially with that awful modern interpretation of the red dot logo). The people who created this psyop must have known about this, and decided to fool those same people into believing Ames would return in the same fashion, with Big Kmart ripoff store designs.
#4
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets / Re: Aldi plans to add 800 US s...
Last post by Crazybangles - April 16, 2024, 10:39:27 PMSeems like quite an aggressive plan to me. We'll just have to see how it works.
#5
Stores Shutting Down This Year....2024 / Re: 99 Cent Stores closing all...
Last post by Crazybangles - April 16, 2024, 10:34:02 PMSome company came in and announced they want to save over 140 locations in Southern California. I am interested in seeing how this goes.
#6
Ames / Re: Ames Returning in 2023?
Last post by Crazybangles - April 16, 2024, 10:25:24 PMHas anyone ever considered that companies go out of business often for a good reason? They are clearly trying to appeal to a small minority of people with a sense of nostalgia, and the more they keep pushing this, the more hype it will create. This plan is absolutely ridiculous, and if the company went out of business over 20 years ago, what reason is there for them to exist today? Odds are a lot of their customers are either passed on or have significantly increased in age.
#7
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets / Re: Wegmans
Last post by Retail Regents - April 16, 2024, 04:48:19 PMNorth Carolina is set to get a second Wegmans store, this time on the Ballantyne Campus.
https://www.wavy.com/news/north-carolina/wegmans-announces-new-store-location-in-north-carolina/
https://www.wavy.com/news/north-carolina/wegmans-announces-new-store-location-in-north-carolina/
#8
Dead or Defunct Malls and Shopping Centers / Re: Century III FINALLY meets ...
Last post by TheFugitive - April 16, 2024, 02:59:16 PMAn update with some aerial video of the demolition in progress.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/century-iii-mall-demolition-continues-see-the-view-from-sky-4/ar-BB1lJ9r6
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/century-iii-mall-demolition-continues-see-the-view-from-sky-4/ar-BB1lJ9r6
#9
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets / Re: Grand Union
Last post by Retail Regents - April 15, 2024, 08:59:12 PMAlso, when I was looking at extras from my Sherrill set, take note of the cheese signs. Those are of the original red dot logo!
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#10
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets / Re: Giant Eagle
Last post by TheFugitive - April 15, 2024, 11:52:18 AMLast week I went to check on some property I own in Somerset County, PA and was stunned to see that the local Giant Eagle store nearby had closed.
According to this article the location was franchised and the franchise holder decided to retire.
https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/news/local/2024/02/15/glades-pike-giant-eagle-to-close-somerset-county-grocery-stores/72611995007/
This is disappointing as now the nearest full-service grocery store is another Giant Eagle on the other side of Somerset. In order to reach that one you have to go through the center of town and deal with all of that restaurant and hotel traffic getting on and off of the turnpike.
I had no idea the store was franchised. The only other franchised Giant Eagle I'd ever heard of was in the Pittsburgh suburb of Castle Shannon, and a family member who worked there told me the company bought out the franchise holder and closed the store because he was not adhering to company standards. That building was drastically remodeled and is now a service center for a large auto dealership.
When my dad first bought this property in the 80's there was a Jamesway store in the plaza next to Giant Eagle. Now the entire plaza is empty.
According to this article the location was franchised and the franchise holder decided to retire.
https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/news/local/2024/02/15/glades-pike-giant-eagle-to-close-somerset-county-grocery-stores/72611995007/
This is disappointing as now the nearest full-service grocery store is another Giant Eagle on the other side of Somerset. In order to reach that one you have to go through the center of town and deal with all of that restaurant and hotel traffic getting on and off of the turnpike.
I had no idea the store was franchised. The only other franchised Giant Eagle I'd ever heard of was in the Pittsburgh suburb of Castle Shannon, and a family member who worked there told me the company bought out the franchise holder and closed the store because he was not adhering to company standards. That building was drastically remodeled and is now a service center for a large auto dealership.
When my dad first bought this property in the 80's there was a Jamesway store in the plaza next to Giant Eagle. Now the entire plaza is empty.