Going Out Of Business

 Not just a K-Mart but a "Big" K-Mart

K-Mart is closing down.  Not all of them, just the one I shop at on Aurora.  Reminds me of when the previous K-Mart closed down.  The one I used to shop at ALL THE TIME.

It always bothers me to see something close down.  I spent many an hour outside in the early morning hours to get the deals at my local CompUSA, before it closed down.  I shopped at Circuit City until it closed down.  Borders – damn – spent many a dollar there, too.  And this doesn’t count all the movie theatres I used to frequent that have all made their way to the dustbins of memories.  Where all that’s left is someone saying as you drive by:  “Wasn’t the old ….. there?”

I stood by one of those poles at 6 a.m. one time.

Like I say it always bothers me when something closes down.  I can’t help but feel for the all the workers.  I had always assumed that since Sears and K-Mart were now siblings – that would give the Aurora K-Mart a bit more breathing room.  Plus there was all the new housing construction right across the street.  200+ people in the ‘hood just waiting to buy XXXXL polyester stretch pants.  But no.

All those workers – out on the street.  Given some paltry stipend to tide them over for a couple months.  Maybe if some are lucky they’ll be able to work at a Sears.  Or maybe K-Mart will give them a good lay-off/severance package.  But it’s gotta hurt.

Just recently I found out that the 44^th Avenue Blockbuster was closing down.  This was following in the heels of the Ballinger Blockbuster that closed down.  For these closings, though, I’m not all that sad.

HA HA HA - A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE!

(executives only)

 

Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m sad about the employees.  Bummed even.  It’s a damn shame they have to deal with this BS of finding a new job and all – but I don’t give a good gol-darn about the upper management of Blockbuster – not after what they did.

When Miriam and I moved into Mountlake Terrace in 1986 we had, at least, a half-dozen video stores in a 2 mile radius.  One at Ballinger, one by the post office, one over by Olson’s (now QFC), one across 220^th, one by Sorelli’s pizza and even Roger’s Marketplace had a small video store inside.  These were great little “mom-and-pop” places.  Lots of money invested, good clientele, decent selection.  But then Blockbuster came in and with their buying power – they put all of them out of business.  Then…they were stupid enough to not change or grow or innovate and then RedBox and Netflix put THEM out of business!  How do you like me now?!

Mmmmm...yummy....

 

But underneath all this is the frustrating and anger filled knowledge that the people who made these poor business decisions (or lack of them) that caused the company’s demise won’t really have to “pay the piper.”

Let us, for a moment, focus on one such executive:  Ron Johnson

J.C. Penney stores have been around for over 100 years.  My step-sister has worked at one for over 20 years (if not 30 years).

That's right!  Penney with an "E"

 Ron Johnson, born in 1959 (younger than my brother, five years older than me), is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Business School.  His biggest claim to fame is that he created the innovative Apple Retail Stores.  He also worked at Target and Mervyns.  In the 7.5 years he worked at Apple he made a fortune of $400 million dollars.  The guy’s brilliant, no doubt, and extremely wealthy…so it make sense that J. C. Penney, when it wanted to do a re-launch, went out and hired the best.  The best who has, so far, nearly ruined J. C. Penney.

Ron "Rich Guy" Johnson

 

Coming on in June of 2011, Ron Johnson has overseen massive lay-offs, closings of catalog stores, shutting down of other stores, rebranding, rethinking, re-imagining.  A year later, after laying off 13% of its corporate headquarters in Dallas in April, another 350 were let go in July of 2012.

After massive lay-offs and a selling campaign that has flopped big time, J. C. Penney has been hemorrhaging money.  The stock has been crashing, people have been calling for Mr. Johnson’s head and J. C. Penney is, frankly, in the toilet.

Will they lay off more workers?  Will ALL the stores close?  Will my step-sister lose her job?  Who knows…but I can tell you this:  Mr. Johnson will do juuuuuuuuuuuuust fine.

What truly galls me about these executives is that they are, basically, immune to the day-to-day.  No matter how many “Undercover Bosses” they show on TV – there are bosses like Ron Johnson who, most likely, has never had to worry a day in his life about money.  His father was an executive at General Mills.  His mother was a “homemaker.”  Sounds like he had the idyllic “Leave it to Beaver” life and, certainly, enough money and/or chutzpah to get into Stanford and then Harvard Business School.  You’ve got to figure that Mr. 400 Million Dollar guy signed on to J. C. Penney with big stock options, use of the corporate jet, an executive package the likes people haven’t seen and all he’s done so far is oversee massive layoffs and a destruction of the brand.  He’s not a warehouse worker who put in 20 years who is going to be told that he’s no longer needed.  Even if J. C. Penney were to go belly-up tomorrow Mr. Johnson had his very expensive attorneys put in all sorts of clauses so that he still gets massive amounts of money and doesn’t have to worry another day in his life.

If I was to do what Mr. Johnson did?  I’d have been fired a loooooong time ago.  No severance, no bonus, no unemployment benefits, nothing.

Being unemployed sucks.  Having $400+ Million doesn't suck.

 

So as K-Mart lays off dozens of lower and middle class workers, as Blockbusters close down like so many of the little video stores did, as more companies go out of business or cut back or cut costs – remember these CEO’s who through intelligence and money have parlayed themselves a really sweet deal all around.  And why that is, in a lot of a ways, completely and totally offensive.

And, still, there is a huge faction of people out there in these United States who fully think it's fine to earn as much as you want, lay-off/fire/disenfranchise as many people as you want and end your life with massive amounts of wealth because that's how to live.  How is it that laying off 350 workers isn't on the equivalent of punching a 50 year old single mother in the face because that's basically, what they're doing.