Friday, October 4, 2019

Not so Forever 21


The West Towne Mall store

It's much bigger than it looks in the first photo.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Forever 21 Bankruptcy Signals a Shift in Consumer Tastes.  (The New York Times, 9/29/2019)
The private, family-held company capped months of speculation about its restructuring efforts by saying that it would cease operations in 40 countries, including Canada and Japan, as part of a Chapter 11 filing. It will close up to 178 stores in the United States and up to 350 over all.


Which, of course, is just total bullshit.  Mr. Chang, the company’s chief executive, said in a 2012 interview that the chain was named Forever 21 because it targeted 20-somethings and because “old people wanted to be 21 again, and young people wanted to be 21 forever.”


Uh-ohWhile the company did not have specific data available, Mr. Goulding said that underperforming stores were likely located in lower-quality malls and those that had lost other bankrupt retailers, like Sears.


Related reading:
Forever 21 closings 2019: What stores could close as part of the company's bankruptcy.  (USA Today, 10/1/2019)

Other West Towne posts:
Boston Store UPDATE. While management wonders what to do with 140,000 square feet of empty space, they invite young white women to hang out.  (8/19/2019)
Can't hide the emptiness at the former Payless Shoe Source store.  (8/12/2019)
UPDATE. Space formerly occupied by Sears remains vacant.  (7/9/2019)
Wind-driven signage.   (5/1/2019)
It was 19 months ago when the Apple Store moved from West Towne to Hilldale. (5/1/2019)
Then and Now: North and south of the Beltline and east of West Towne Mall.  (4/30/2019)
Then and Now: North and south of the Beltline in the West Towne Mall area.  (4/2/2019)
Food court directory.  (9/24/2018)
UPDATE. West Towne Mall Management now prefers traffic cones to pothole repair.  (4/30/2018)
Total Wine UPDATE:  Now open for business.  (4/22/2018)

UPDATE. Wabeno Public Library: 2009-2016 annual circulation and program attendance




\
Library hours of operation (no change since 2017)
  • Tuesday, Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Thursday noon to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday 9 a.m. to noon
27 hours per week.  (Compared to 26.7 hours per week on average in 2009.)

Other posts in the series:
Arpin.  Lester Public Library.  (10/2/2019)
Ettrick Public Library.  (10/2/2019)
Neshkoro Public Library.  (10/3/2019)
Sand Creek.  Clarella Hackett Johnson Public Library.  (10/1/2019)
Taylor Memorial Library.  (10/3/2019)

Population loss in Mississippi: Wilkinson County/Woodville


It all started here.

Population loss as in major -- 50% or more. 

Source:  Wikipedia (Wilkinson County, Woodville)


Woodville is the county seat in Wilkinson County.  

Population loss by degrees:  80-90%70-79%, 60-69%, 50-59%.



Percentage of population 25 and older with a bachelor's degree:
  • 14.9% - Wilkinson County
  • 21.3% - Mississippi
  • 30.9% - U.S.
Percentage of population 65 and older:
  • 17.2% - Wilkinson County
  • 15.9% - Mississippi
  • 16.0% - U.S.
% of population living in poverty:
  • 33.1% - Wilkinson County
  • 19.7% - Mississippi
  • 11.8% - U.S.

The last time Wilkinson County voted for a Republican candidate for president was in 1972.  Clinton received 67.7% of the vote in 2016.  George Wallace received 38.4% of the vote in 1968.
Related reading:
2 Whites and 1,391 Blacks In a Mississippi School. (The New York Times, 1/6/1970)
WOODVILLE, Miss., —Annette Brown stood in the rain with her little brother, Tommy, biting her lips and waiting for a bus to take them home from their first day as the only white stu dents in a sprawling, one‐ story public school that has 1,391 black students. 
When the second semester began this morning here in this rural town in southwest ern Mississippi, all the other white children in Wilkinson County stayed home, waiting to begin their studies next week in a private school chartered after the Federal courts had ordered this district and 29 other districts to integrate their educational system immediately and completely.

Other Mississippi population loss posts:
Tunica County/Tunica.  (10/2/2019)
Coahoma County/Clarksdale.  (10/2/2019)
Bolivar County/Cleveland.  (10/3/2019)
Issaquena County/Mayersville.  (10/3/2019)
Claiborne County/Port Gibson.  (10/3/2019)
Jefferson County/Fayette.  (10/4/2019)

Population loss series: