After decades of being open seven days a
week, Portland-based retailer Kitchen Kaboodle is closing its doors on
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to survive the downturn. The
owners figures that with consumers only buying on sale, the cost savings
from closing the doors on those days will enable the company to bring in
lower prices on the other four days of the week.
"What our customers want and what everybody wants is lower prices," John Whisler, a co-owner of the five-unit kitchen appliances chain, told the Portland Business Journal. "We were thinking, if that's the 'new normal' and everybody wants everything on sale, we as a retail business, and locally-owned one, feel we need to get people what they want."
If the store just slashed prices across all days, it would lose money. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have long been the stores' slowest days. The savings come mostly in labor costs.
Every item is now discounted 10 percent to 50 percent across the store, with lower-margin products getting the smaller discounts. Mr. Whisler said the stores' prices are now lower than many big chains like Crate & Barrel.
Mr. Whisler admits the idea is a "bold step" but is really a logical reaction to the marketplace.
"I think we all, in any business, get invested in how we've done things. You think we'll just tough it out and trim here and cut here and hold the line on this expense. But after a while in this economy it's pretty challenging," he said. "We don't want to be just limping along. We want to be seen as the place that gives people what they want."
Discussion Questions: What do think of closing down a store a few days a week to bring in lower prices the rest of the week? Is this just an option for smaller chains or can larger ones benefit from closing doors on slower days?