Kenmore Undressed

Low Prices ≠ Retail Success – Smart Buys at Stupid Prices Closing All 22 Stores

Too Many Retailers

In February, I wrote a blog post about the grand opening of Smart Buys on my sister blog KenmoreMerchantsUndressed.com : Smart Buys at Stupid Prices Getting Bigger and Better in Kenmore. At that time the owner explained to me that the “discount pricing model” would fit well into the current economic times. The reasoning was: times are tight and people will shop for the lowest prices possible. Unfortunately, this idea may not be true.

An article published in the Fresno Bee regarding these closures quotes a retail analyst:

Bill Rice, a marketing professor at California State University, Fresno, agreed, saying Smart Buys’ low prices alone weren’t enough to attract consumers. “I think they thought they could be like [a] dollar store,” he said. “Unfortunately the dollar store isn’t selling throwaway stuff — they’re selling durable, long-term stuff.”

When Smart Buys began its expansion I was already skeptical that the world needed yet another retailer. Nationwide we have seen a rise in the saving rates of Americans (an incredibly unusual trend) and we have also see the closure of some large retail chains (Circuit City, Gottschalks and others). The fact is, there is only so much junk people need to buy before they simply stop shopping no matter what the price.

The Lesson for Kenmore, WA

I’m sorry that Smart Prices didn’t make it. Truly I am. My thoughts go out to the employees who are losing their jobs and I hope they can find new opportunities soon. Kenmore can hardly afford to lose another business during these challenging economic times but it seems that reality has hit hard, even for discount retailers.

There’s a larger lesson in this closure: Perhaps those who are planning the future of Kenmore should realize that the future of our town is not going to be found in the retail sector. We are already competing with the Northgate Mall and the Alderwood Mall. There is also Lake Forest Park’s shopping center and competition from Bothell and Woodinville. After writing about a number of long-standing Kenmore businesses this last year, it’s obvious to me that Kenmore needs to quit thinking of itself as a place to shop and start thinking of itself as a 21st Century city that offers high tech office facilities, a medical center, hotel or a variety of small-carbon-footprint manufacturing companies that will generate good-paying jobs. We need businesses that make things or offer “value added” high quality services rather than pushing more stuff on each other.

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