So it looks like Borders is planning on closing shop in their Block E location. The company line on the closing is slow sales due to poor foot traffic. The Star Tribune's brilliant idea? A white guy got shot down the street last year and everybody's afraid to go there. They must have forgotten that nobody went to Block E before last year, either. There's a small sentence acknowledging the Barnes & Noble 300 feet down Eighth Street, but according to the Tribune, that couldn't possibly have anything to do with it. And Block E being the ugliest building in town, built below the lowest common denominator (Borders was how they 'niced it up' a bit) couldn't possibly have an effect, right? Because people just love spending time in places where they don't enjoy being? While every globalized chain store continues to move out of that eyesore [wasn't there a Snyder's for about three days?], how long is the Star Tribune going to blame the teenagers that spend their time there because they're the exact demographic the entire building was built for?
When is Minneapolis going to learn?
Borders prepares to leave Block E [Star Tribune]
Comments (5)
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2007/01/15/daily35.html?surround=lfn
Posted by kpg | January 19, 2007 10:56 AM
Posted on January 19, 2007 10:56
Probably around the same time the state of Minnesota learns not to build trains that take people nowhere.
(See episode 9F10: "Marge vs. the Monorail" of "The Simpsons")
Posted by Chris D. | January 19, 2007 5:05 PM
Posted on January 19, 2007 17:05
The problem isn't that it goes nowhere, the problem is that it goes throught nowhere. Downtown, Airport, and #1 tourist attraction is the trifecta for one line. There's just nothing in between.
Posted by ryan | January 19, 2007 7:07 PM
Posted on January 19, 2007 19:07
and what the strib totally misses is that Borders has a new CEO from Alabama who is totally persuing a suburban audience and shutting down urban stores all over the place. He thinks that Walmart is the compitition, not barnes and noble. It won't be long until they start selling $3 britney spears t-shirts and pigslop.
Posted by zakcq | January 21, 2007 12:21 PM
Posted on January 21, 2007 12:21
ha!
--------Posted by ryan | January 21, 2007 6:43 PM
Posted on January 21, 2007 18:43