On this late and kinda chill Kansas City Sunday night, let's take a moment to contemplate the final day of Halls on The Country Club Plaza.
There are more than a few factors that could take the blame for the demise of this local department store institution.
- Violent Teen Flash Mobs haven't made it easy to turn a profit in an entertainment district.
- The Internets has made bricks and mortar retail a thing of the past and selling cheaply made Chinese goods to middle-class white people has now become a thing of the past.
- Moreover, The Country Club Plaza is no longer the hangout for the local elite . . . Kansas City movers and shakers spend most of their time in Leawood. The city has sprawled and spiraled out of control. Plaza shops are generic changes and a local retailer is nearly impossible to find in much the same way that "buying American" is an antiquated notion when most union manufactured cars are filled with Southeast Asian components from bumper to bumper.
But fear not . . . So many among our Kansas City intelligentsia claim that streetcars and high speed Internets lead to way to prosperity or at least will inspire the middle-class to return to the city and begin the long-awaited gentrification aimed at driving poor, mostly brown people to the outskirts of the city. Okay, maybe there really isn't an upside here but merely various opportunities to buy in to any given ideology or brand.
Still, the point of this final Sunday post is to acknowledge that Kansas City traditions often end but the game of SELLING THE PUBLIC remains the same. To that end, either online or in nicer boutique settings the denizens of this cowtown confront one sales call after the next with differing benefits but all aimed at separating people from their cash. And while capitalism is a fine thing and probably the wonderful reason why the KC Metro is home to so many chubby blondes, it's important to assure value for every purchase.
And so, as the high-end quality of Halls is now scaling back and soon to disappear, Kansas City is flooded with other unique selling propositions. The marketplace of ideas and merch is virtually limitless. Accordingly, our KICK-ASS TKC BLOG COMMUNITY will do our best to bargain shop and haggle as politicos and all manner of sales people make their pitch.
Hopefully, more BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE NEWS, discussion, debate, discourse, our fair share of hateration and all kinds of good stuff for the morning update . . . STAY TUNED!!!
Maybe just a bit maudlin, but I see your point. I guess you're sad you missed the sale. Got a great deal on a dining room set.
ReplyDeleteWhy would Hallmark pull those shitty Holiday Cards from an entire row at Walmart? Sounds like the brick and mortar moved to a sweatshop in China?
ReplyDeleteyour violent teen flash mobs don't seem to be all that violent
ReplyDeleteMore important... what the heck happened to that cool statue that used to be on that corner? That corner pretty much looks the same except the statue is missing.
ReplyDeleteThe statue was removed so Highwoods could put 12 plastic PennySaver and Auto Trader boxes in its place.
ReplyDeleteSee Prairiefire in Overland Park!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can turn it into a K-Mart.
ReplyDeleteSeen the back to school commercials with wild little black kids talkin about their new threads my momma wisely had on layaway?
The store was kept open as long as Adele Hall was alive. With her passing came the start of the count-down to when it would close.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed Adele.
Nick Civella used to shop there. Yes sir, whatever you want, lol.
ReplyDeleteLots of dead guys used to shop there. Now folks just don't want all the bullshit that goes on at the plaza, the traffic sucks, the service has gone to hell and the so called classy eaterys are a joke.
ReplyDeleteWhy would rich white people have a store in Killer City anyway?
ReplyDeleteAnd the spokesman says that they want the store in the urban core where all the new action is.
ReplyDeleteRight. Hipster lumberjack hats for just $495.
Selling like hotcakes!
The place should be mobbed on First Fridays.
Highwoods is no friend to the Plaza or KC
ReplyDelete