RETAILERS TAKE ON NEW ROLE:BANKER
www.Larryrosen.org February 12, 2011
On February 1, 2011 the Washington Post published an article stating that stores such as Kmart and Wal-Mart are beginning Check cashing services and Best Buy would accepting pament for utility, cable and phone bills.acting like banks.. In my opinion, those services, mentioned are not new.
Approximately 50 years ago, I sold money orders in my DC drug store, and many liquor and variety shops provided check cashing and other financial services to their customers.
What is new is that Big Box stores sukch as Walmart,K Mart and Best Buy are duplacting business transactions that have long been offered by many Pop and Mom stores.
Retail history records state that many large retailers have often added
merchandise for sale that other retailers normally sold,for many years..
Example–As supermarkets expanded during the 50’s, they began to open prescription. and health and beauty aids departments featuring such items as aspirin, toothpaste, laxatives and deodorants.
When the CVS drugstore chain purchased the People’s drug chain, and the Rite Aide chain bought out the Drug Fairs drugstored, many smaller drugstores began to close their doors.At a later date the Big Box drug chains
offered photo finishing ON THE PREMISES. This new service competed with those of many photo and camera retailers. The new service offered by drug chains competed with several large photo processing firms, like District Photo that formerly picked up and developed film from small drug and variety shops. Eventually District Photo closed their services.
When the well-known Greeting card distributor Hallmark, commenced selling its greeting cards to the CVS chain, many nearby independent Hallmrk cards shops were forced to close.
Similarly sale of everyday and holiday inflated balloons diminished at card and gifts tores, when supermarets, party and dollar stores, began blowing up and selling Valentine’s Day and other holiday balloons.
Amazon.Com book sales through the internet has diminished the book sales in Border’s chain, and no doubt Amazon.Com’s expansion into the sale of of many other items such as clothing, appliances and all sorts of every day items used by the public, has reduced the sales of these items in stores who had been handling these items for many years.
When President Obama and other government officials continue to state, that “Small businesses” need help to expand, their term “Small Businesses” should clarify that Small businesses exclude POP AND MOM RETAILERS.
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