Kresge Shops open

**Zacha341** · January-08-10, 07:46 PM

Wow that brought back memories... I recall in the early-mid seventies watching the sales clerk wand up the fish out of the lopsided small aquariums at Kmart and plastic bag and fish you would go to the check out. Hah!

DetroitDad · January-09-10, 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by Hermod

While grocery stores, dime stores, and drug stores do [[and did) have hardware sections, I would not expect a lot of expertise out of the employees there.

The small hardware stores [[and Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace) do have people to answer your questions.

Same thing with goldfish. The girl at Kresges back in the 50s and the girl at mejers today will sell you goldfish, but if you really want to have an informed salesman, you have to go to an aquarium store.

I do not expect expertise in Walmart.

The thing about Walmart is that they put the expertise stores out of business.

**Hermod** · January-09-10, 05:26 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitDad

The thing about Walmart is that they put the expertise stores out of business.

No, they have put the stores where you don't need expertise out of business.

Walmart doesn't compete with lumber yards or hardware stores.

Cunningham Drugs and Neissners used to have hardware aisles yet they didn't compete with hardware stores.

Big box stores as a category have put many smaller stores out of business.

Barnes and Noble or Borders have put a lot of small bookstores out of business. Walmart can;t touch either of those stores.

DetroitDad · January-09-10, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Hermod

No, they have put the stores where you don't need expertise out of business.

Walmart doesn't compete with lumber yards or hardware stores.

Cunningham Drugs and Neissners used to have hardware aisles yet they didn't compete with hardware stores.

Big box stores as a category have put many smaller stores out of business.

Barnes and Noble or Borders have put a lot of small bookstores out of business. Walmart can;t touch either of those stores.

I'm just guessing; those above mentioned stores do compete directly, if not indirectly for the same shopping dollar.

Walmart has put plenty of expertise stores that went out of business, because all their other "non-expertise" sales disappeared.

**Hermod** · January-09-10, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitDad

I'm just guessing; those above mentioned stores do compete directly, if not indirectly for the same shopping dollar.

Walmart has put plenty of expertise stores that went out of business, because all their other "non-expertise" sales disappeared.

So, everybody hates Walmart. Walmart has just been successful in doing what Arlens, Ames, Zayre, Caldor, JM Fields, Masons, Nicholls, WT Grant, and Woolco [[and many others whose names I don't know) failed to do and K-Mart is staggering on the edge of failing to do. Anyone of those stores would be as ubiquitous as Walmart except that they were unable to sustain the business model that Walmart has been so successful at.

,

**stasu1213** · January-09-10, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Motown Madman

Did she specify exactly how many stores there would be?

No she didn't specify how many stores will be in the building. She just told me that January 20th or 25th would be the opening of many stores in the building. I can't take what she had said as definite but she is the only one who is talking. Everything still look the same when I went by three days ago.

**casscorridor** · January-30-10, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

No she didn't specify how many stores will be in the building. She just told me that January 20th or 25th would be the opening of many stores in the building. I can't take what she had said as definite but she is the only one who is talking. Everything still look the same when I went by three days ago.

Did this happen??? I haven't even thought to look anymore. I'm Downtown almost every day, but usually never walk past there. I was walking past there frequently to check the progress but it always looked the same and now it is so damn cold I don't even care.

I really hope this can be a stepping stone to more retail on Woodward, allowing more stores to come in, and maybe even a real anchor.

**Janetwh55** · February-14-10, 12:47 PM

My mother, Isobel Watson, worked at Kresges on Grand River near Meyers Rd. in the 1940's.

**stasu1213** · February-14-10, 03:43 PM

Kregse's bar was open yesterday. More shops were settting up also. You would have to make an order at the bar if you want something to eat. You could then take your meal to the dining area.

bartock · March-18-10, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

Kregse's bar was open yesterday. More shops were settting up also. You would have to make an order at the bar if you want something to eat. You could then take your meal to the dining area.

I walked over there today. I'm surprised how partially-constructed much of it is, but it is the first time I've been in there. That Five and Ten area does have a bar that serves liquor [[it is all sort of out in the open and I didn't see a bartender, though. Funny, with Compuware and some other places nearby I would think that there would be some sort of advertisement other than "happy hour" on an 8.5x11 sign out front), and maybe half a dozen of the spaces inside are filled. I believe at least two of those spaces are temp spaces for taxes. The aesthetic is not good, but it is far from complete and still kicking so I suppose that's good.

There are also brochures inside for potential lesees. Here is what it says under "Area Demographics"

Total Population: 203, 781 [[it notes an incrase of 7% over projection)
Average Household Income: $42,154 [[notes an inclurease of 11% over projection)
Average Daily Transient Popoulation - 6,000
Local Workforce Population - 200,000
Lofts and Condos Population - 6,000 [[says within 5 block radius and based on 80% occupancy rate).
Special Events - 11.1 Million per year, average 3 events weekly and 30,000 each event.

There is no source mentioned for the demographics, and I found them to be interesting...particularly the part about 200,000 in the local workforce[[!). It simply states "Residential Market Information 2007 actual numbers, compared to 2000 Census Trend Projections" [[sic).

**Downtown Lady** · March-18-10, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by dfunkycity

and wtf is that floor? is that vct? Talk about slumlord

You don't like the tile so that makes him a slumlord?

**Gistok** · March-18-10, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by Hermod

So, everybody hates Walmart. Walmart has just been successful in doing what Arlens, Ames, Zayre, Caldor, JM Fields, Masons, Nicholls, WT Grant, and Woolco [[and many others whose names I don't know) failed to do and K-Mart is staggering on the edge of failing to do. Anyone of those stores would be as ubiquitous as Walmart except that they were unable to sustain the business model that Walmart has been so successful at.

Unfortunately their business model has created some serious problems. Walmart dictates what prices their vendors will sell to Walmart at. That means that the only way many companies could do business with Walmart is by off-shoring their production to China or environs... so that the low labor costs means that Walmart can sell these items much cheaper, thereby undercut their competition.

And when you don't provide health care to your Walmart employees... you can cut prices even more. So these people get their medical services on the backs of the rest of the taxpaying public.

So that business model is great for Walmart and their shareholders... but not so great for the rest of America....

**Gistok** · March-18-10, 06:26 PM

[quote=mtm;105352]I STRONGLY agree with you EastDetroit with regard to Walmart and U-scans! I had to hit a Kroger near work for a quick lunch errand the other day. There was only one cashier open and were about six people with full carts in line. The guy overseeing the U-scan , who is one of my regular cashiers, motioned me over to use one of the U-scans. I declined because I said that I didn't want to take away cashiers' jobs but he insisted and offfered to do it all for me./quote]

Well I have to chime in on this... and I used to work for the Food Service Workers Union 876 for 5 years in my late teens and early 20s....

You folks who refuse to use those scanners... I hope you don't use those self-serve gas stations... there are still gas stations with a full service pump out there [[there's at least 2 here in St. Clair Shores)... but they charge you more for your gas. But at least you get to keep some pump boys in a job.

The same goes for that newfangled direct-dial phones... I hope you just dial zero for the Operator to make all your phone calls... You don't want any more operators to lose their jobs, do you?

**Hermod** · March-18-10, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Unfortunately their business model has created some serious problems. Walmart dictates what prices their vendors will sell to Walmart at. That means that the only way many companies could do business with Walmart is by off-shoring their production to China or environs... so that the low labor costs means that Walmart can sell these items much cheaper, thereby undercut their competition.

And when you don't provide health care to your Walmart employees... you can cut prices even more. So these people get their medical services on the backs of the rest of the taxpaying public.

So that business model is great for Walmart and their shareholders... but not so great for the rest of America....

And did all of the other failed chains that I mentioned provide health insurance and high wages to their help? I don't think so. The famous "mom and pop" stores that Walmart "did in" were also pretty bad when it came to wages and benefits. Lots of under the table pay and off the clock work. I know, I worked for a couple in high school.

Walmart just got big doing the same things the others did, they just did it well.

**mwilbert** · March-18-10, 09:25 PM

This is only partly true. I don't have any particular animus against Wal-Mart, but they certainly have done things that were not done before, at least not at anything like the same scale. One tactic I dislike is opening a smaller store in an area, driving the nearby merchants out of business, and then closing the store so that people now have have nowhere to go except a larger store which is much farther away. You see the carcasses of old Wal-Marts all over the place, along with the carcasses of the towns. It is also true that many other stores were and are anti-union, but Wal-Mart has raised this to an artform, and has clearly dragged down labor standards in some competing businesses such as food retailing.

Wal-Mart sometimes uses its power for goals I approve of, like improving the availability of fresh produce or encouraging suppliers to use more environmentally friendly processes, and they do provide people with a lot of stuff at pretty reasonable prices. It's not such a big deal in metropolitan areas, but in a lot of rural places they have improved both the price and availability of goods. I'm not knocking that, but I don't really think it is true that they just did the same things as everyone else.

**kryptonite** · March-20-10, 08:08 AM

I use U-scans regularly, atm's, and pay bills online. Maybe these tasks do result in fewer people-jobs but they also require behind the scenes tech jobs and network jobs, etc.

But I am interested in hearing more about the Kresge's shops. I have not been in the building in many years but I drive past it on Woodward on occasion. Would the shops be open on Saturdays? I have a couple of friends that might enjoy stopping in there and spending some time downtown on a Saturday after Eastern Market maybe.

**stasu1213** · March-20-10, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by kryptonite

I use U-scans regularly, atm's, and pay bills online. Maybe these tasks do result in fewer people-jobs but they also require behind the scenes tech jobs and network jobs, etc.

But I am interested in hearing more about the Kresge's shops. I have not been in the building in many years but I drive past it on Woodward on occasion. Would the shops be open on Saturdays? I have a couple of friends that might enjoy stopping in there and spending some time downtown on a Saturday after Eastern Market maybe.

It is open on saturdays. In my opinion he should have partners in this developement and maybe it could be another Trapper's Alley type venue. He had been using cheap labor to renovate the property. That is why it has taken so long in opening the shops in the building. I had spoken to shop owners in the building. The concept is good but the planning and money invested in it is terrible.

**canuck** · March-21-10, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by Varner313

Just a thought [[rumor/reality?) in improving Metro Detroit

This is not a bashing of the city that I love, but only a possible idea/solution to the issues that are plaguing the area. I was born and raised in Detroit; I currently live in Cincinnati and I'm trying to start up a ''rumor'' and make it become a reality. With all the recent corruption that has affected the local municipal governments in Detroit AND other cities/suburbs recently, maybe we could have ONE-UNIFIED Government similar to what cities like Indianapolis, Louisville, Jacksonville and Charlotte has done. Also by doing this the population of Detroit would increased to over a million- 1.9 million to be exact. [[Merge Detroit and Wayne-County together) By forming this and making a huge metropolis in the SE Michigan area I think long-term alot of money could be saved. More Police officers could be on the street by this merger, which hopefully [[over time) the crime would go down in the new Detroit-Greater and also Detroit-Inner [[current Detroit) areas. The only issue this could be is with the current Detroit schools-system. [[Look to Indianapolis as reference/resolution) But alot of good could come of this if first people like you and me- all the way up to the government officials can come together and talk about this as adults, and not scream at each other like another healthcare debate in a 'Town-Hall meeting.' Race should also not be involved in this discussion either- as this has been holding the Metro area from truly improving for soo long. Also- could we look into the idea of possibly transforming the Campus-Martius/Cadillac-Square area to resemble Times-Square in NYC? This could bring soo much-needed business back Downtown as we all know ADVERTISMENT SPURS BUSINESS! Put 2-3 Huge Jumbotrons on the west-side of the Cadillac Tower Downtown, that would be such a beautiful sight indeed![[Just imagine it!) Also, since we have embraced the idea of having/being the "Las Vegas of the Midwest", how about putting more strobe-lights/outlining lights on our Downtown skyscrapers at night! That would draw more people downtown.[[Along with the Red Wings getting back to their winning ways) We should really get this idea brewing, hopefully this can get the people of SE Michigan really supporting this ''rumor'' and making this talk/idea become a reality- thank you.

You're so dead on about the muicipal merging of Detroit and the suburbs. Is a state decree the only way to achieve this? Is race which everybody seems to push under the carpet not to put a stop to this possibility? I think that the only solution to SEM's future is the revitalization of what made it happen in the first place; its core. The most successful cities have suburbs that contribute tax money to the center and likewise benefit from infrastructure and cultural, sports amenities in the core. This urban suburban detachment is very costly in the long run to all of SEM. The only way is to engage is all of the goodwill partners in a concerted effort. Think unified police, fire, EMS, but above all mass transit; the lifeblood of all big cities.