Christmas Tree Pickings

Bankruptcy befell one of my favorite stores.  The Christmas Tree Shops are about to ride off into the sunset, as did its parent Bed, Bath  & Beyond in the same retail complex near me.  I only went to BBB when I needed something that would last, something worth paying a small premium.  The Christmas Tree Shops provided more of an escape, a place to look around, see what they had, see what would register as useful only after seeing it on display.  I got Hanukkah gifts, discounted seeds for my garden, kitchen gadgets, and most of all boxes of 40-80 k-cups in attractive varieties and brands not found elsewhere.  They once had the best buy, if not the best selection, of grooming products along with a decent selection of greeting cards.  I rarely left the store with nothing.  Customer service was minimal, and I assume the wages of the cashiers was also the state's regulated minimum.

It had been a while since I was there.  Shop-Rite had run sales on their brand of K-cup so I had no compelling reason to go to Christmas Tree Shops.  And as I get farther into retirement, challenged by decluttering and downsizing, my desire to purchase stuff has waned.  I went back, though, probably for the last time, partly out of boredom at home and partly to replenish the k-cup supply.

Bankruptcy with mandated clearance had emptied the shelves.  They posted 30% discounts on everything but had also marked up what they could so few final prices struck me as a bargain.  I browsed.  Clearance on their Hanukkah stuff in August, immediately to the left of the front entrance.  The seasonal stuff that made their business niche was no longer seasonal.  Gardening supplies and water sports equipment really not there, though they seemed to have a surplus of sand chairs.  Already have two of those in my trunk, colorful ones purchased there several years ago.  Lamps and furniture cleared out of its usual location at the back of the store.  No school supplies ordered by their purchasing agents for this back to school season.  Kitchen supplies, once a dominant section with dishes, glassware, storage, towels, all mostly sold out.  Still K-cup boxes in abundance.  I bought two, one steeply discounted, the other costing a little more than I intended to pay, though not priced on the shelf.  It was of a brand I had never tried before.

Before long the store will be vacant, along with BBB.  Locally we have a small political issue of what to do with that space, and a much larger mall around the corner, as the retailers are unable to maintain a profitable presence.  Originally, this mall, built on a huge tract of land once dedicated to harness racing, had been intended to attract a collection of upscale scores for high income customers and social climbers.  Some of those retailers set up shop, all quickly failed.  The Target store seems a true anchor.  The Lowe's at the other end has a stable customer base.  It always seems to have shoppers in their aisles.  The movie theater, as infrequently as I go, never seems to have a lot of people around for the space it occupies.  There are always furniture stores, though the furniture retailers stay a while, leave and the mall rents the space to a different retailer.  As convenient as they are, I preferentially just drove the 20 miles to IKEA when I had to replace a mattress and a sofa.  

I will probably remember my excursions through The Christmas Tree Shops with some fondness, as I do Alexander's and EJ Korvettes of my youth.  All were places to seek out when I needed an hour or two someplace other than my house.  None really essential to my fundamentally frugal place in the consumer economy.