LETTERS - Email submitted by Gail of Education Hill, 8/27
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the blog, great info for everyone!! I found out some disturbing info regarding stores leaving Redmond.
Kits Camera West and Las Margaritas are being forced out of Redmond. I walked into Kits this am to do some printing and there packing up. Reef Management tells them out. I don't know if there doing exactly what happened at the other end of town. With a new face lift and new stores coming in like TRADER JOES etc. You know we now have NO camera store in Redmond it's like when the Hallmark was forced out because rent was so high. I also heard RITE AID might go away also. Change is good for Redmond but I have seen a lot in 26 yrs living here and I don't like to see the stores that we shop at forced out. Then does the major want us to shop in Kirkland, Bellevue etc.
I am unhappy right now. Thanks for listening! love the blog!!!
--Gail of Education Hill
Last I heard, Kits Cameras' parent company was in the process of liquidating, so it's not surprising they'd be getting kicked out (besides, camera shops in general are a dead-end business these days. Who in their right mind would pay 20% more AND sales tax?) Rite Aid has been on shaky ground themselves for a while now, although less so than they were six months ago and near bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, over at Redmond Center (which is locally owned by Nelson Legacy Group, as is a fair bit of Redmond real estate) nobody got shut down when they put in the Trader Joe's store. Everyone got relocated either within the center or to a nearby location.
I share your dismay Gail but it seems the writing has been on the wall for a few years now. Redmond is well on it's way to loosing it's identity and is fast becoming just another Seattle suburb overrun with overpriced condos and chain retail shops. How sad.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small town in Southwest Washington, where small business owners would howl when a larger chain (like WalMart) would open a new store. Unfortunately, the tide of business is influenced by more than seasons.
ReplyDeleteJust a few years ago, (before the Town Center was constructed), you could not really shop for much of anything in Redmond. Ya;ll had to go into Bellevue. Likewise, you couldn't really find a retail job in Redmond before the Town Center.
But no business can continue to operate in Redmond without loyal customers. My neighbor operates a hair salon in Old (downtown) Redmond, and has plenty of loyal customers. But what if those customers decided to switch over to Hair Masters? My neighbor would be forced to shut her "long time" business.