A five-page Washington Post epic about the pluralistic cults of WaWa and Sheetz. If you've ever spent any significant amount of time in the Mid-Atlantic states, you'll understand. (print format link)
posted by potch on Aug 27, 2009 - 102 comments

Microsoft announced today, it will open a small number of stores to compete directly against Apple. Some think it's a dubious idea. "In a statement, Microsoft said the first priority of Mr. Porter, who is also a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart, will be to define where to place the Microsoft stores and when to open them."
posted by Xurando on Feb 13, 2009 - 115 comments

Today is Record Store Day!
What is it about music? It is Love and Passion channeled through a medium that cuts across and through actual definition straight to your soul whether you love Blues, Reggae, Country, Punk Rock, or Quawwali music, your favorite artists take you places you could otherwise never go - and that place is often a place of love and inspiration. - Marc Weinstein [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Apr 19, 2008 - 38 comments

The Crate Digger Death-Match. A couple of weeks ago, Drown Radio challenged 12 musicians to create a complete album in 12 hours while utilizing only $12 worth of materials purchased at thrift stores. Here are the results of round one, complete with MP3s.
posted by The Card Cheat on Jan 29, 2008 - 18 comments

The Ames Fan Club documents the life of each of the deceased department stores following the dissolution of their corporate souls. From Gallipolis to West Hartford, the shells of Ames have been photographed and critiqued. Some have lain dormant, logos still peeking out from between overturned racks and offline registers. Some have found new lives, though while the buildings remain, the smell of "bargains by the bagful" will never return. If only we could all age as gracefully as the Agawam Ames.
posted by setanor on Nov 15, 2005 - 26 comments

They have ways of making you spend A guided tour of the tricks stores use to make you spend more.
posted by Mwongozi on Jan 4, 2005 - 19 comments

No time to pick out your own music? Still like the CD format? Live in the UK? Well has The Rough Trade Shop got a club for you. Is this outmoded on arrival or an interesting variant on old style "X-Of-the-Month" clubs? I know I sometimes find it overwhelming to keep up with what's new'n'exciting.
posted by PinkStainlessTail on Jul 30, 2004 - 8 comments

SITE Environmental Design did some pretty cool things for now-defunct big-box retailer Best back in the '70's and early '80's. Unfortunately, all but two of their Best stores have been razed or transformed into plain boxes; and one of those is under threat. They may not have been Chartres Cathedral, but they were certainly more interesting than the standard Wal-Mart or Best Buy architecture.
posted by ukamikanasi on Apr 4, 2003 - 12 comments