[pooh]

I was downtown today and noticed it was gone. I'm not down at the square too much so I obviously missed it.

[pooh]

Oh, never mind. Just found a notice from them in my e-mail about the store in LSL. Said it would close, but didn't give the date. Guess I should check older e-mails more often .

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by pooh

I was downtown today and noticed it was gone. I'm not down at the square too much so I obviously missed it.

I went into the store sometime last week, I guess, and they told me they were shutting down. I've been going into that store since '07 and have noticed it slowly but surely deteriorating with much less inventory and not very good service. Its sad, cause I will miss it but I just ordered 2 pairs of shoes online from Easyspirit.com.

[pooh]

Originally Posted by KathieI

I went into the store sometime last week, I guess, and they told me they were shutting down. I've been going into that store since '07 and have noticed it slowly but surely deteriorating with much less inventory and not very good service. Its sad, cause I will miss it but I just ordered 2 pairs of shoes online from Easyspirit.com.

Thanks, Kathie. I've been going to the store since it opened, too. I thought I saw it when hubby and I were driving around a little more than a week ago, but today, I felt like I was totally lost...couldn't find the place. Even asked a couple of girls from the Tea Plantation that were out in the back parking lot. They said it was just down a bit, where I knew it had been...they didn't know it was closed, either. Oh well, life is always changing. Thank goodness for EasySpirit.com...

[Floridagal]

Thanks for the info about Easy Spirit closing. Don't go to the square in a couple of weeks and things change so fast. Wonder what will take its place.

[GERALDINE]

I believe this store...like many before it...are victims of TV raising the rent to a point they can no longer afford to do business. It would seem to me that with as much turn over as they have and as many empty/vacant stores that they have...that they'd do whatever they could to get and keep good retailers. IF they had people standing in line to rent stores then yes, maybe they could eek out a little more $$ but having empty buildings and doing this???? I just don't get it.

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by GERALDINE

I believe this store...like many before it...are victims of TV raising the rent to a point they can no longer afford to do business. It would seem to me that with as much turn over as they have and as many empty/vacant stores that they have...that they'd do whatever they could to get and keep good retailers. IF they had people standing in line to rent stores then yes, maybe they could eek out a little more $$ but having empty buildings and doing this???? I just don't get it.

Geraldine, many of us on this forum agree with you totally. We have discussed this endlessly about why is the village management allowing this to happen. Nothing looks worse to prospective buyers than to see all the empty stores around the squares. Its the same thing with the restaurants, the rents are astronomical and I also BELIEVE that they take a % of the profits. We could do a search on this and you'll find lots of interesting posts regarding this issue. Seems to me just pure greed on their part.

[GERALDINE]

OOPS...didn't mean to beat a dead horse here. Didn't realize many had already posted my sentiments!! Like.....when is enough wealth enough wealth???? The developers cannot only support themselves in a grand fashion...even if they never made another penny, they could support future generations and generations and generations on what they've already made!!!!!

VERY SAD situation.

[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by GERALDINE

OOPS...didn't mean to beat a dead horse here. Didn't realize many had already posted my sentiments!! Like.....when is enough wealth enough wealth???? The developers cannot only support themselves in a grand fashion...even if they never made another penny, they could support future generations and generations and generations on what they've already made!!!!!

VERY SAD situation.

Unfair comments. These are business decisions based on a business model that works very well. That is why Sumter is one of the fastest growing Counties. The conjecture that certain businesses do not make it because of the rents is just that....conjecture. The failure rate among small businesses is very high and that is particularly true for retail businesses.

[pooh]

Originally Posted by villagerjack

Unfair comments. These are business decisions based on a business model that works very well. That is why Sumter is one of the fastest growing Counties. The conjecture that certain businesses do not make it because of the rents is just that....conjecture. The failure rate among small businesses is very high and that is particularly true for retail businesses.

True. What stores need to stay in business are sales. Apparently sales at Easy Spirit were down. Kathie noticed that inventory was down. Even though I did visit the shop when I needed new shoes, my sales alone weren't going to keep the store going... Many stores and shops have suffered with poor sales. The residents of The Villages alone can't support all of the shops in the two town squares...and many of the people from outside the community who might just buy at shops in the squares, are also impacted by the economy....some have fewer hours of work, might have lost jobs, may be helping other family members through difficult times. Life is like that. Blaming the developer for store closings doesn't always "fly."

Landlords getting a percentage of sales was a common occurrence, at least where I lived previously.

[BobKat1]

Even though they offer a great product, speciality stores like this also face tough competition from the large off site stores. Kohl's, Belk, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. It's a difficult situation for them.

[GERALDINE]

Villager Jack: UNFAIR COMMENTS??? I don't think I'm alone in these sentiments and who died to make you King with the right to take away my Freedom of Speech????? You could have just expressed YOUR sentiments without trashing mine!!! Last I knew...that was the AMERICAN way.

[pooh]

Originally Posted by BobKat1

Even though they offer a great product, speciality stores like this also face tough competition from the large off site stores. Kohl's, Belk, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. It's a difficult situation for them.

This could be so true. My in-laws owned a small sporting goods shop eons ago. When the bigger box sporting goods stores arrived in town, they couldn't compete. Easy Spirit isn't a small company, but when a store isn't showing a profit, for whatever reason, it closes. It's easy to put our emotions into thinking why anything happens in the business world, but in so many instances, the facts leading to why things happen aren't always known.

I'll miss the store, but as I said, I alone couldn't support it.

[Shirleevee]

Originally Posted by KathieI

I went into the store sometime last week, I guess, and they told me they were shutting down. I've been going into that store since '07 and have noticed it slowly but surely deteriorating with much less inventory and not very good service. Its sad, cause I will miss it but I just ordered 2 pairs of shoes online from Easyspirit.com.

Bealls carries Easy Spirit and the ones I bought were discounted 30%

[villages3412]

I read many comments related to store closures, and the developer charging
these business extra fees.

Who is paying for the entertainment everyday at the squares,, the set up of chairs and cleanup.

Do the home owners pay, businesses, developer, or is it offered free to the villages.

If the businesses are paying then maybe the developer should not be charging this to busineses if people want this free entertainment
Maybe a 1% enertainment tax on sales would be more fair. and lower the cost of business rent or fee's in the villages.