Conference 7.286::maynard

Re .0 (Linda):

    >Went in there Saturday and was told they wil be closing their doors in
    >January 92

I heard both that they're closing and that they're moving.

Interestingly, their bargain videotapes vanished, though I find it hard to 
believe thwere was a sudden rush on them with an only 10% savings.  In
addition to the Hallowe'en stuff, they're also selling Christmas mugs, 
as well as Thanksgiving decorations, paper plates, and suchlike, which
would suggest an earlier closure.

Inquiring minds want to know ....

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    The Woolworth's building is for sale for $395,000.00 as per the last ad
    I saw.

    This is such a drag...the 5 & dime is a Maynard mainstay imho.
    
    PS - Does anyone know what up with the old Northern (recording)
    Studios about Woolworth's?!?!?

    (Maybe this should go under "Ask Frank.")
    
    According to the manager at Woolworth's, they are closing because their
    profits aren't high enough, not that they were operating in the red. 
    In this time of recession, I'm wondering it that's a "fair" reason for
    closing a store.  Is there anything that can be done to prevent the
    closing?
    
    I think the recording studio upstairs has been used for storage of off
    season stock for the store.
    
    Karen
    

Gosh. If Woolworth's doesn't want to be there, we certainly can't force
them to stay. My take is that if a storekeeper wants to stop doing 
business, that's their right. Or did I misunderstand your question?


Liz

    This is in my personal opinion only:
    
    Unlike many other businesses in Maynard that have driven out
    by high rents, Woolworths has owned their building for as long
    as I can remember.    
    
    The fact of the matter is that they have absolutely nothing to
    improve their sales.  It has always bugged me that their Sunday 
    ads in the Globe always point out that the sale items do not apply 
    to their Maynard store.  I feel that if they had put some effort 
    into upgrading their product lines in the Maynard store, they could 
    make a real significant margin here.  Sadly, due to their own lack of
    effort, they now find that the Maynard store does not meet their
    profit margins.  Of all the stores in downtown Maynard, Woolworths
    did not lose a single parking space to revitalization, and had
    and has always had a rear entrance to the parking lot.  
    
    I am amazed that after 30 some odd years that I have known of 
    Woolworths in Maynard, I can still walk in there today and tell you 
    where the canaries and fish are and where the toys are and where the 
    stationery supplies are: THE SAME PLACE THEY WERE 30 YEARS AGO!
    
    I agree with Liz in that I feel that they just don't want to
    be here anymore.  IF they had done anything to help their 
    business, with current products and advertisements, they could have 
    prospered here.  I don't think they ever put any effort into
    the Maynard store.
    
    I look on the bright side.  The location is ideal, the parking is 
    ample, the floor space is quite large and the price is right for 
    a new franchise store to make a real go of it.  
    
    Frank
         

re:325.6

Yes, Frank, those Canaries and fish you talk about... they are the SAME ONES
from thirty years ago! :-)

Ed P.

    re .7

    They can't be the same ones, they don't last that long!!  :-) 

    I can't COUNT how many fish, turtles, etc. I bought there as a kid. My
    folks must have KNOWN they would die soon, as they never objected to me
    buying them.  :-)

    re .6

    I have to agree that everything is in the same location in the store as
    it has been for the past thirty-some-odd years, although, their music
    selection has decreased dramatically! I couldn't wait to save enough
    change to but my next 45 record!! Of course, that was all of 59 cents
    back when.

    Norma

Well, I visited there today.  Next to the Westernmost windows, they've piled
up boxes with stock (if you missed your opportunity, for example, to get
Hallowe'en costume accessories, you're in luck -- if you don't mind grubbing
around in cardboard cartons).  Seasons are getting blurred, and the discount is
up to 20%.

Yes, they're leaving.

But the pets are gone.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    On my way home last night I noticed they were changing the signs from
    20% off to 30% off.  I guess I'll stop in on my lunch hour today.
    

it's kind of neat.  Bring your selections to the front, have them rung up, then
the magic button is pressed and you pay half.

    The rumor mill has it that CVS is buying the Woolworth's building.
    I'm neighbors with the Slyuski's (who own Manning's) but I don't have
    the heart to ask them.  Has anyone else heard this?
    
    					Steve

    Steve,  I just heard from Bill Boothroyd that CVS was buying the
    Woolworth's building.  He said that they had already gone to the town
    for their permit.  He also mentioned that they werer going to put in a
    KFC (Kentucy Fried Chicken) next to the Maynard Pizza House, where the
    old Gulf station used to be.
    
    Liz (a former Maynardian)

    Is there anyone here that can shed some light as to whether these
    recent statements are fact or fiction?

    I heard CVS bought the Sokolof Bulding on Nason St. (next to the
    Outdoor Store) and CVS bought out Mannings.  CVS plans to renovate the
    front of the Sokolof building to make it look like a store.
    
    Paul

Bravo!

I've heard the same thing Paul, but didn't want to mention anything until it
was cast in stone.  This still leaves an awful lot of retail space unused in
town.

					Steve

    If CVS wants to tear down the Sokoloff building, they have my vote!!
    
    I'll NEVER know HOW those plans got appoved. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION...
    
    I T   IS   U G L Y   !~!!~~!~!~!
    
    It doesn't fit in with the rest of Maynard's architecture, at all!!
    
    Norma

    How does a town attract someone like a JC Penny to
    open a store??  Maybe with a small selection of clothing
    and a catalog sales outlet??  This would be ideal.  There 
    is nowhere in Maynard to buy children's clothing, socks 
    or the essential undergarments.  This would take the place
    of the old Fashion Shop.
    
    Paul, any feedback???
    
    Brigit
    

    The past owners of the Mall tried to get an anchor store into their
    mall.  They had no luck for variuos reasons.  At this time the current
    chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Dave Grimley is working on this.  I
    heard CVS looked into the mall also but decided a smaller store would
    be better in Maynard.  
    
    The Sokolof building is not going to be torn down, just the front is
    going to be renovated to look more like a store.
    
    My own opinion to get more stores in Maynard the rents have to come
    down.  Several years ago the lease rate per square foot for the
    building where True Value was, were higher the the square foot rate for
    lease space on route 9 in Framingham.
    
    Paul

    Just a thought:  Wouldn't a Christmas Tree Shop look good in the 
    old Woolworth's building?  Right size, good market, no other
    Christmas Tree Shop this side of Shrewsbury.....
    
    There must be a dozen Christmas Tree Shops on the Cape and all were
    very busy last weekend when we were down there.
    
    I'll mention this to the Chamber of Commerce.
    
    Frank

    
    	Another idea similar to that would be some of the outlet stores
    	such as Hanes, Levi's, Polo, Black and Decker, etc.  Kittery and
    	North Conway do big business in this area.
    
    	Steve