[retailfanmitchell019]

I liked having the two separate forums. I have also noticed that this one slowed down a bit, but I still do check in here as well.

With that said there is a lot of change taking place in the current retail world, and in some ways it is "history in the making"

I hope this board sticks around. I have watched as some other forums I once frequented have transitioned to social-media based platforms and the quality of those fell off to a point that they were no longer worth visiting.

You are right about history in the making.

Let's recap: In the 16 years of RetailWatchers, Kmart went from over 1,300 stores down to only 6. Sears went from around 900 stores down to 10 or so.
Albertsons came roaring back after a failed breakup (with Albertsons LLC buying NAI in 2013), then merging with Safeway in 2014.
Safeway sold the last of its international operations (Safeway Canada) in 2013.
A&P, which in its heyday was as powerful as Walmart, went bankrupt in 2015, liquidating.
Target expanded to Canada, buying leases of Zellers stores, and withdrew from Canada in 2015.
Comvest Partners puppeted Haggen into an expansion outside of its Western Washington home turf, buying Albertsons/Safeway divests. This expansion resulted in failure, with Haggen going bankrupt, and Albertsons buying the remains of the battered Haggen chain at auction.
Ahold merged with Delhaize Group in 2016.
And then there's the aborted (thankfully), ill-advised Kroger-Albertsons merger attempt...

If there's anything from RetailWatchers that needs its own documentary, it's the Haggen trainwreck...

[wnetmacman]

I was halfway tempted to see what it would take to resurrect RetailWatchers and have a few of us help Aaron out.

I have reached out to him. Waiting on an answer, as I have the capability and resources to try to bring it online (30+ years of IT in addition to retail knowledge).

[storewanderer]

I liked having the two separate forums. I have also noticed that this one slowed down a bit, but I still do check in here as well.

With that said there is a lot of change taking place in the current retail world, and in some ways it is "history in the making"

I hope this board sticks around. I have watched as some other forums I once frequented have transitioned to social-media based platforms and the quality of those fell off to a point that they were no longer worth visiting.

You are right about history in the making.

Let's recap: In the 16 years of RetailWatchers, Kmart went from over 1,300 stores down to only 6. Sears went from around 900 stores down to 10 or so.
Albertsons came roaring back after a failed breakup (with Albertsons LLC buying NAI in 2013), then merging with Safeway in 2014.
Safeway sold the last of its international operations (Safeway Canada) in 2013.
A&P, which in its heyday was as powerful as Walmart, went bankrupt in 2015, liquidating.
Target expanded to Canada, buying leases of Zellers stores, and withdrew from Canada in 2015.
Comvest Partners puppeted Haggen into an expansion outside of its Western Washington home turf, buying Albertsons/Safeway divests. This expansion resulted in failure, with Haggen going bankrupt, and Albertsons buying the remains of the battered Haggen chain at auction.
Ahold merged with Delhaize Group in 2016.
And then there's the aborted (thankfully), ill-advised Kroger-Albertsons merger attempt...

If there's anything from RetailWatchers that needs its own documentary, it's the Haggen trainwreck...

I don't know what I think of the fact that Sears/Kmart appears to have outlived Retailwatchers. Definitely not what I expected. This seems like a highly symbolic motivational factor to try to get Retailwatchers back online.

[Super S]

You are right about history in the making.

Let's recap: In the 16 years of RetailWatchers, Kmart went from over 1,300 stores down to only 6. Sears went from around 900 stores down to 10 or so.
Albertsons came roaring back after a failed breakup (with Albertsons LLC buying NAI in 2013), then merging with Safeway in 2014.
Safeway sold the last of its international operations (Safeway Canada) in 2013.
A&P, which in its heyday was as powerful as Walmart, went bankrupt in 2015, liquidating.
Target expanded to Canada, buying leases of Zellers stores, and withdrew from Canada in 2015.
Comvest Partners puppeted Haggen into an expansion outside of its Western Washington home turf, buying Albertsons/Safeway divests. This expansion resulted in failure, with Haggen going bankrupt, and Albertsons buying the remains of the battered Haggen chain at auction.
Ahold merged with Delhaize Group in 2016.
And then there's the aborted (thankfully), ill-advised Kroger-Albertsons merger attempt...

If there's anything from RetailWatchers that needs its own documentary, it's the Haggen trainwreck...

The effects of internet shopping have taken their toll on traditional retail.
We have also watched as department stores such as JCPenney and Macy's have continued to shrink.
We have also been closely watching Rite Aid, a chain which is on the verge of becoming history.
And let's not forget about the struggles of indoor shopping malls.

There is indeed a lot of history in the making. RetailWatchers was a good forum for discussion as history unfolded.

[pseudo3d]

The board is back under new ownership. I have been told wnetmacman has kept his mod powers.

[submariner]

Hi guys, I'm going to make this a distilled summary of what I posted on the (new?) RetailWatchers site.

After 16 years of running RetailWatchers.com, I’ve decided to step back. What started as a little side project to complement Groceteria turned into a whole damn community, and honestly, that’s been one of the coolest things I’ve ever been part of.

Between my move to Australia and life doing its chaotic thing, I haven’t had the time or bandwidth to keep the site running like it deserves. A recent wave of bot traffic didn’t help — it nearly pushed me to shut the whole thing down permanently. But after hearing from a bunch of longtime members and seeing how much this place still means to folks, I knew it deserved better than just going dark.

So here’s the plan: I’m handing over the reins to @HoustonRetail, someone who’s been solid in the community and has the passion to keep this thing going strong. I’m not vanishing — I’ll still be around in a mod capacity, just not in the driver’s seat. Think of me as “Founder Emeritus,” if we’re getting fancy.

RetailWatchers isn’t going anywhere. It’s just entering its next chapter — and honestly, I think it’s gonna be a good one.

[Groceteria]

What a happy way to start what was otherwise going to be a very long day! Yay!

[BillyGr]

It is now back as it was, just in case anyone hasn't checked lately :)