Remember when You Use to Shop at...

We have those stores we remember shopping at in times past. When I was a kid I use to visit Santa at the Federal's Store in the Detroit, Michigan area. One year these stores started to spontaneously combust and they had to close them all. Later it was discovered that the owner of the store was behind these fires in an insurance fraud scheme. I also remember Cunninghams Drug Store, Woolworth's, and Kresge's. I loved spending my birthdays at Farrells Ice Cream Parlor with its old fashion charm (there are one or two of these left in California, but it use to be nationwide). Each of these stores were victims of economic hard times, but I still have fond memories of them.

Well, we are about to add to our list of stores and businesses that we will say, "remember when you use to go to...?"

• Mervyns. This poor department store always seems to struggle in differentiating itself from others.


• Steve & Barry's. This store had a fantastic marketing concept of providing college attire at a really low price. It appears the prices may have been too low.


• Linens and Things. This store seemed to reach its pinnacle in the 1980s and has been in decline ever since.


• Sharper Image. A cultural icon of the 1980s, this cutting edge store was found in movies. If you saw a news story about the "next big thing," you would likely find it first at Sharper Image.


• Tweeter, Circuit City and CompUSA. Yes, even electronics and IT stores are vulnerable in this economy.


• Whitehall Jewelers. Not all that glitters is profitable.

I don't believe the list will end here. This economy is extremely soft and it appears that only the major volume businesses might survive (this is a little over dramatic, but I am sure you get my point).

Stories such as these are a little scary. They are very scary if you actually work for one of these businesses. But businesses failing such as this are part of the natural business process and as they fall, they will be replaced with smarter and more efficient companies. Businesses fail because they did not respond to the demands of the market. It is, as Adam Smith described in his Wealth of Nations, the "invisible hand" that fuels economic progress. Some times it is painful, but it is also always effective, as long as government doesn't intervene.

So will a future article I write be "remember when you use to drive a...?" We will have to wait and see.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

What Happened to Sharper Image?

Sharper Image was one of the hottest companies in America for years and in the 1980s, it reached near iconic status. Today, I learned on the news that the company has declared bankruptcy.

I remember talking to my friends in college who talked about the quality of a mall based on whether it had a Sharper Image. The store became the benchmark separating the good, from the bad and ugly. One of my favorite movies is "When Harry Met Sally" (yes, I am a romantic) and one of the most enjoyable scenes (and memorable) scenes is in a Sharper Image. There, the two main characters sing on a karaoke and stumble upon Harry's ex-wife in a most uncomfortable and humorous scene.

Back in those days, Sharper Image was decidedly geared towards the affluent. The products weren't cheap, but they were believed to be of a higher quality and a cut above in creativity, over others. Some where along the way, Sharper Image became common in price and image.

* Right now, if you visit the Sharper Image Site, you will find a digital frame key chain for less than $30.

* You can find a hydrogen fuel rocket set for less than $20.

* You can find a Sharper Image Turbo Groomer for less than $30.

I think you get the point, Sharper Image products are quickly beginning to look like the cheap products we associate with "as seen on TV." We come to that conclusion, because that appear to be exactly what they have become. I believe that the lure of being like everyone else on TV was the very thing that led to its decline. He (or she) that lives by low prices, often dies by low prices. Write that up in the Sharper Image obituary.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.