Another day brings another round of business closures in moribund Montgomery County. This time, two Westfield Montgomery Mall stalwarts have closed their doors: The Body Shop and Yogibo. The Body Shop is a ubiquitous tenant at malls across America like Sephora or Cinnabon, and bean bag furniture retailer Yogibo had a pretty solid six-year run here at Montgomery Mall. Even longtime stores are not immune to the hostile business climate in Montgomery County.
You really think 2 stores closing in a mall, given the nationwide decline in mall foot traffic and the reduction in in-person shopping due to Covid, is a reflection on the "moribund Montgomery County" economy? I get you have an agenda, and I appreciate the news you break, but this just seems silly.
ReplyDeleteMay I make an observation? When you report on a new business opening, you simply report it. When you report on a business closing, you always connect it to the moribund economy in Montgomery County. Hey, it's your blog and you can write whatever you want. But the inconsistency is noticeable to your readers.
ReplyDelete6:55/6:57: While I was the only person pointing out the decline of the County's economy in the past, the Washington Post, Sage Policy Group, Empower Montgomery and others have in recent years joined me in declaring the County's economic development decline as "moribund" and "stagnant."
ReplyDeleteAll have produced similar or new data backing up those assertions, which would suggest my reporting has been factual, ahead of the curve, and prescient all along.
I researched online and could find no national trend of The Body Shop closing stores in significant numbers, so it appears to be a local issue with this location, and therefore it is relevant to mention the current economic decline in the County for context.
Err, Robert, what did the Montgomery County government do to cause the beanbag store to close? Why doesn't the Montgomery County government get credit for all the retail openings, then? This is such a stupid take. Feel free to grow up and not view everything through such a comically myopic lens.
ReplyDelete8:33: It did quite a bit, if you've been paying attention to the policies and votes cast by the Montgomery County Council over the last decade. The County government doesn't get credit for retail openings because we've had the lowest numbers for new business starts and new business growth in the region over the last decade.
ReplyDeleteFacts, and a failing, moribund economy, are not "comical."