The more things change, the more some things stay the same, so I thought it might be fun to highlight some things that aren’t changing, for once.
Tonight’s entry is illustrated by vintage photos of Briarwood Mall I took about four to five years ago, which I will republish in a collection if I can ever figure out how to suck the 150-odd photos, and the captions I lovingly composed for each, out of the one-way content tar pit that is Instagram. When, lord, will someone create a Mastodon, but for photos?
Sears isn’t closing. As the Sears/Kmart empire continues to contract, one hundred more stores nationwide got their papers today. Among them, NOT the Briarwood store. To be sure, Briarwood has gone through some changes recently — it’s gotten almost completely out of the home electronics trade. The aisles of TVs, stereos, games, and accessories are now one rack of inexpensive headphones. Small appliances and vacuums have filled the space. The appliance, hardware, and outdoor sections are still somewhat substantial. Maybe Sears’ downsizing will finally lead to a right-sizing where this is one of a lean regional chain of department stores. Who truly can say?
Macy’s isn’t closing. They announced seven more closures today — one in Michigan, but not at Briarwood. Macy’s expansion was driven by acquiring other regional chains. As a southeastern Michigan kid, I have vague memories of the Downtown Detroit Hudson’s store (and much more vivid memories of other area locations closer to home). Right around the time I’d finally made peace with Marshall Field acquiring Hudson’s, Macy’s swooped in and assimilated Field’s and there’s nothing particularly endearing about them to me anymore. They can’t even do nostalgia right. (That’s a link from their website that says “Miss Marshall Field’s? Get a t-shirt.”) If they folded this year, I guess I’d still call the Amazon Thanksgiving Day Parade the “Macy’s Parade” for a few years.
Teavana isn’t closing. Which, I think, is the craziest story. Teavana was an independent tea retailer for fifteen years before becoming the Tea Division of Starbucks in 2012. Since then, Teavana has become the tea brand brewed and sold in Starbucks stores.
Last year, Starbucks decided they were going to pull the plug on the stand-alone Teavana retail stores. But Simon Property Group, owner of Briarwood among many other malls, said “no, you can’t close the stores in our malls, you signed a lease.” Now, many stores have closed in Briarwood, and many of them before their leases were up. But those stores were usually bankrupt and ceasing all operations. Teavana is a subsidiary of Starbucks, and Starbucks can’t claim it can’t afford it. So Simon sued Starbucks to make them keep the stores open, and a superior court in Indiana agreed! Starbucks appealed, and the case is headed to Indiana Supreme Court.