This morning's earthquake isn't the only thing rattling Montgomery County's elected officials. Yet another upscale retailer has permanently closed in Friendship Heights. Cole Haan has shuttered at 5320-C Western Avenue, and will not reopen, the company confirmed.
A favorite of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Prince Harry and Vanessa Hudgens, Cole Haan has lost much of its customer base in Montgomery County over the last decade, as wealthy residents relocated to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region. Along with the county's moribund economy and business-unfriendly leaders and policies, the flight of the rich has cratered high-end retail along this strip once touted as "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive."
Did you ever shop there?
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely adorable you think Cole Haan is "upscale."
ReplyDelete6:27: Cole Haan is well known for having not exactly discount price merchandise. It absolutely is an upscale retailer.
ReplyDeleteA favorite of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Prince Harry and Vanessa Hudgens, Cole Haan has lost much of its customer base in Montgomery County over the last decade, as wealthy residents relocated to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region.
ReplyDeleteWhat neighborhood did Taylor and Vanessa live in? And was Prince Harry every in the county? Your reach for a base to balance that MORIBUND statement of yours is a big stretch. Dude! Give it a rest will ya, you're beginning to sound like someone's senile grandpa.
Cole Haan got desperate at the beginning of the pandemic and shuttered many stores temporarily, and now is beginning a downsize of several others. anyone desperate for CH luxury shoes can visit the CH Outlet store here in Moribund MoCo at the Clarksburg Outlet center. The only other CH store, for the time being, is in Pentagon City Mall.
10:21: I did a search for reports of Cole Haan closing stores, and found only an announcement of temporary closures in the early pandemic of 2020, like numerous other retailers. I saw no announcement of mass store closures in 2021 for Cole Haan.
ReplyDeleteJust the latest of numerous high-end retail closures in that area of Chevy Chase. Moribund would be an understatement, if anything.
Repetition is key, and judging from The Post, Sage Policy Group, Empower Montgomery, David Blair and others now picking up and amplifying my "moribund" narrative, my work has been quite effective. The public discussion has shifted from "We're great, but could be greater," to "Oh bleep, our leaders aren't as smart as they told us they were."
Do the Washington Post, Sage Policy Group, Empower Montgomery and David Blair even know who you are?
ReplyDeleteFriendship Heights on both sides of the state line is frighteningly dead. It's a shame, I would do my clothes shopping in FH back when they had Filenes' Basement and Lowes. When they closed, I was not interested in the stuff that they had left. To high end for someone tring to save.
ReplyDeleteThe people I know that lived in that area never shopped there either. You need to get things that are worthwhile for all those condo occupants.
Learning
MoCo sucks, unless you are on welfare an illegal immigrant or both. Take it from someone who has lived here for over 50 years. I'm getting ready to GTHO of here soon. Before you cheer me on just know I've heard it all before.
ReplyDeleteThe sky is falling! Let's move to Texas. Or we could wait a bit to see how things shake out. Losing some upscale retail might not be so bad. Now if they're going to replace it with a Dollar Store, I'm worried. Not that there's anything wrong with Dollar Stores.
ReplyDelete1:51: The Post, EM and David Blair know who I am. I don't know about the Sage Policy Group, though.
ReplyDeleteMany of the local elected officials who fumbled getting Amazon HQ2 are still in office. They shouldn't be voted in again for any future office.
ReplyDelete5:34: Agreed.
ReplyDeleteRobert, have you ever considered writing a guest column for the Post? You could reach thousands of eyeballs that way. Here it seems that you are reaching a few dozen at most.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny some people here have their heads buried in the sand and think everything is Hunky Dory in MoCo. MoCo is going down a rat hole.
ReplyDelete6:09: I'm actually reaching a few thousand here, but I would be delighted to write a column for the Post if they would allow me. They've rejected about 4 I've submitted to Local Opinions so far. As well-written as any they've published, concise, and on relevant Montgomery County topics like transportation and development. Cartel-opposing viewpoints are blacklisted.
ReplyDelete