- Joined
- Oct 14, 2011
- Messages
- 825
As many of you know, I recently became a playstation rep. It has been going extremely well, but I had an interesting conversation with my manager on the phone this morning when I was reminiscing with him about my Target days.
This is nothing at all official, just his opinion and what he has "heard".
Basically he was telling me that the general feeling among CEO's and other big wigs at a lot of companies that have a retail presence is that they expect retail to be dead to them within the coming years. (literally within 5-10 years) Basically, what they are expecting is that general merchandise retail as we know it is going to way of the dinosaur. When I told him about my last years at Target, all the hours/benefits cuts, the sudden lack of concern about store appearance, etc he told me that this is basically because retailers are on a multi-year "phase out". Eventually he says companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo won't have any presence at all at general retailers. He thinks this will expand to other industries as well, such as toys/electronics/etc. Eventually he says retailers like Target and Wal-mart will be an almost total food/consumables/clothing industry, and that they are laying the ground work for it right now. Basically he was kind of warning me that I need to "find my place" at Sony other than being a playstation rep before then.
I got to thinking that this actually makes a lot of sense, and he could be on to something. My boss actually has over 20 years of experience with Sony, and has had some pretty major management positions in the past, so he knows what the industry is planning.
I have heard a lot of rumors that if Microsoft actually releases the next Xbox without a disc drive (which is the current rumor), that we might do the same thing. Not necessarily with PS4, but for sure by PS5.
But now that I am on the "other side", and having been on the retail side of things, a lot of these trends are starting to become clear to me.
Take a look at what Apple and Microsoft are doing with their operating systems. Microsoft is rolling out a store that is actually integrated in to Windows 8. Apple has already done this. Nearly every single retailer has started to make downloadable content available. For example, instead of buying movies/music/games and having them shipped to you, sites like Best Buy, Gamestop, Amazon.com, and tons others now encourage you to just buy the digital version and download. Hell, Apple just removed the DVD drive from the Mac Mini, and if you follow apple fan forums there are tons of rumors they are going to do the same at the next iMac/Macbook refresh. In other words, even apple is planning for DVDs/Blurays from stores being gone. Also, look at how many retailers have gone completely bankrupt in the past years. Circuit city, blockbuster, hollywood video, etc. These places aren't coming back, and I don't see anyone coming along to replace them. You can forget about books too. With tablets making a huge push in the market you probably won't be seeing a book section at Target 5 years from now.
To top things off, if Microsoft ends up removing the disc drive from their next system that would seriously cut their retail presence. They would have zero games to sell in stores at that point, and if Sony and Nintendo follow them.... well, guess what? That just eliminated a huge chunk of the retail electronics business. Retail stores would only be able to sell consoles and accessories at that point.... and anyone that works in electronics knows how often those sell once a system has been out for 2 or so years.
Then I started to think about my last few years at Target. We went from making guest service and store presentation a top priority to being almost a joke. Walk in any Target (or most other retail stores) today and compare it to a few years ago. A few years ago there were tons of employees, now the store is almost empty of employees on the floor. Then consider the fact the company just cut out a ton of health benefits, and has been slowly eliminating positions every year. Certainly seems like they planning on cutting a ton of retail operations.
I also thought about P-fresh. Target and other retailers are making a much bigger push for consumables/food. (which is exactly what my manager was telling me was going to be going on)
Anyway, it was just a very eye opening conversation that I thought I would share. If he is right, in the next few years stores like Target might not even have an electronics/MMB section. And if other industries decide to move online (such as toys, luggage, etc) well damn.... Retail would be on its way to dieting out with the exception of food/consumables and a few other select departments. Exactly like my manager stated was the long term plan.
Just makes you think that ten, twenty years from now there may not even be anyone left working retail. It would be grocery/fast food.... and that's pretty much it for the service sector.
This is nothing at all official, just his opinion and what he has "heard".
Basically he was telling me that the general feeling among CEO's and other big wigs at a lot of companies that have a retail presence is that they expect retail to be dead to them within the coming years. (literally within 5-10 years) Basically, what they are expecting is that general merchandise retail as we know it is going to way of the dinosaur. When I told him about my last years at Target, all the hours/benefits cuts, the sudden lack of concern about store appearance, etc he told me that this is basically because retailers are on a multi-year "phase out". Eventually he says companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo won't have any presence at all at general retailers. He thinks this will expand to other industries as well, such as toys/electronics/etc. Eventually he says retailers like Target and Wal-mart will be an almost total food/consumables/clothing industry, and that they are laying the ground work for it right now. Basically he was kind of warning me that I need to "find my place" at Sony other than being a playstation rep before then.
I got to thinking that this actually makes a lot of sense, and he could be on to something. My boss actually has over 20 years of experience with Sony, and has had some pretty major management positions in the past, so he knows what the industry is planning.
I have heard a lot of rumors that if Microsoft actually releases the next Xbox without a disc drive (which is the current rumor), that we might do the same thing. Not necessarily with PS4, but for sure by PS5.
But now that I am on the "other side", and having been on the retail side of things, a lot of these trends are starting to become clear to me.
Take a look at what Apple and Microsoft are doing with their operating systems. Microsoft is rolling out a store that is actually integrated in to Windows 8. Apple has already done this. Nearly every single retailer has started to make downloadable content available. For example, instead of buying movies/music/games and having them shipped to you, sites like Best Buy, Gamestop, Amazon.com, and tons others now encourage you to just buy the digital version and download. Hell, Apple just removed the DVD drive from the Mac Mini, and if you follow apple fan forums there are tons of rumors they are going to do the same at the next iMac/Macbook refresh. In other words, even apple is planning for DVDs/Blurays from stores being gone. Also, look at how many retailers have gone completely bankrupt in the past years. Circuit city, blockbuster, hollywood video, etc. These places aren't coming back, and I don't see anyone coming along to replace them. You can forget about books too. With tablets making a huge push in the market you probably won't be seeing a book section at Target 5 years from now.
To top things off, if Microsoft ends up removing the disc drive from their next system that would seriously cut their retail presence. They would have zero games to sell in stores at that point, and if Sony and Nintendo follow them.... well, guess what? That just eliminated a huge chunk of the retail electronics business. Retail stores would only be able to sell consoles and accessories at that point.... and anyone that works in electronics knows how often those sell once a system has been out for 2 or so years.
Then I started to think about my last few years at Target. We went from making guest service and store presentation a top priority to being almost a joke. Walk in any Target (or most other retail stores) today and compare it to a few years ago. A few years ago there were tons of employees, now the store is almost empty of employees on the floor. Then consider the fact the company just cut out a ton of health benefits, and has been slowly eliminating positions every year. Certainly seems like they planning on cutting a ton of retail operations.
I also thought about P-fresh. Target and other retailers are making a much bigger push for consumables/food. (which is exactly what my manager was telling me was going to be going on)
Anyway, it was just a very eye opening conversation that I thought I would share. If he is right, in the next few years stores like Target might not even have an electronics/MMB section. And if other industries decide to move online (such as toys, luggage, etc) well damn.... Retail would be on its way to dieting out with the exception of food/consumables and a few other select departments. Exactly like my manager stated was the long term plan.
Just makes you think that ten, twenty years from now there may not even be anyone left working retail. It would be grocery/fast food.... and that's pretty much it for the service sector.
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