Myer-Emco Abandons Shop Owing K

There is a rather pleasant outdoor retail mall in my extended neighborhood in Clarendon, Virginia, containing an Apple store, a couple of decent restaurants, and, among other establishements, until recently, a Myer-Emco. They were a chain that sold fairly high-end stereo equipment, TVs, etc.

Earlier this year I noticed that the store seemed to have been cleaned out, and, taking a closer look, saw this notice attached to one of the front widows. The landlord is claiming that the property seems to have been abandoned and that the tenant, Myer-Emco, owes them $78,879.

This is the fallout from the demise of the chain, caused by a convergence of factors that seem to make the survival of such specialty shops dealing in luxury goods nearly impossible.

The landlord’s notice is a reminder of the ripple effect of the changes in the economy. Because, for example, people can no longer get home equity loans with which to purchase expensive home theater systems, a local electronics chain closes down, and an owner of commercial real estate is out $79K. They’ll never collect that money.

Meanwhile, the Apple store across the street is still thronged with customers. The difference is that there was nothing offered for sale at Myer-Emco that you could not find online (or at some warehouse of a store that also sells washing machines) for less money. For the most part, however, if you want an Apple thing you must go to either the online or physical Apple store. And people who are in the market for an Apple computer or phone do not consider them interchangeable with “similar” products from other manufacturers. If Apple has convinced you that you want an iPad then you are going to buy it from them; there is nowhere else to go.

Myer-Emco had only one thing to offer: personal service. There just were not enough people left who valued that. And that includes me: I’ve not set foot in this type of store since online purchasing became mainstream.