Rumors

For a long, long, long time now there have been rumors that another one of our stores is going to be built in Huntsville. I'm not sure if the economic situation or any other situation will affect that long-term decision, but I did see a plan online of a new shopping center that is in the making in another part of our city. And right there on those plans, big as life, the name is written in along with a lot of the same stores that are in the shopping center we are in now. These may just be potential occupiers, but nonetheless, it does mean at some point someone was contacted and some interest was shown. If it comes to pass, that store would be equidistant from the two stores that are already here.

Lately, I've thought it would be welcome news.

I think I'd actually like to see some of our business pulled away to another store. Not because I mind the business. Even with all I say about picking up after "kids" and other things, I really don't mind that we have a lot of business. I like the hustle of Christmas season better than any other time of the year.

What I do mind is that because we have a lot of business, they send us way too much stuff for us to sell. That is what creates a real problem for us. If it doesn't sell, it's still in the way when new stuff is sent that needs to go out. If it's still in the stock room, it bring wrath down upon our heads. If it's not out on the floor, we're "in trouble". Our performance is continually evaluated. It's like we're not performing well because all this stuff they send us is not selling as fast as it needs to in order to make room for what's coming in. That creates tension. And it also re-directs our focus. We can't just focus on our normal job. We have to focus on the areas that are troublesome to the evaluators. And while, theoretically, we have more people because of greater sales, in fact, it takes more people just to take care of the customers. So even with more people, we are spread as thin as some stores who may not be able to hire as many.

So, for that reason, I'd be glad if our sales went down. The amount of send out stuff we get is based on our sales. However, the stuff they send is not necessarily geared to our region. Perhaps some of this stuff sells very well in other parts of the country. But a lot of it just sits waiting for clearance time around here. I'm not sure what it is that causes the stuff to move out more quickly for other stores, but I do know this: having to wait until it goes 66% or 80% or 90% off is way too late to do us any good. We need the shelf room long before that timetable is reached.

That, and that alone, is the reason I say, "Bring it on. I'd be glad for you to have some of our business."

An afternote here: I went to the original site of the post above and found this post. It brought tears to my eyes. See how it affects you.

The post ended with this statement:

"A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check Made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'"