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Retailers will have nothing to celebrate this year – Buxbaum Group
30 Oct '09
5 min read
"Wired magazine talks about the rise of 'Good Enough' tech," he says. "Take digital cameras. People don't want another $1,000 camera. They're saying, 'Heck. I never figure out what 90% of these features do anyway, and I'm not Ansel Adams.' Personally, I use about 1% of the features on my Blackberry. People's lives are so complex, they want to simplify them. They don't want all this stuff that they neither need nor understand."
Even though devices like Apple's all-in-one iPhone or Amazon's Kindle e-book reader are expensive, they continue to sell because they help people reduce clutter and bulk. "If you simplify my life by putting four different devices, or thousands of books, into one device, that's convergence," Buxbaum says. "People are interested in convergence, not complexity."
Nor are American parents interested in short-changing their kids. They will continue to spend as much as they can on children and younger adults, and retailers focused on these segments will see stronger sales, especially if they have somehow managed to find a niche that enables them to avoid direct competition with Wal-Mart, Buxbaum notes. "People won't take out their frustration with the financial system and Wall Street on their nieces and nephews," he says. "But they will cut back on spending for themselves."
Sustainable or "green" products might have bright longer-term futures, but they won't set any records this year with the broad base of the American economy. "The extra cost of green doesn't fit the proposition of getting the best price," Buxbaum says. "The overwhelming thing right now is not whether something will disintegrate in a landfill--our economy is disintegrating in a landfill. You could call it the biodegradable economy. It will take a resurgence of that broad base for us to rebuild a new economy that doesn't break down."
Buxbaum Group has built its reputation for over 30 years as one of the largest liquidators and appraisers of retail and wholesale inventories across North America. While continuing to operate in those areas, the company has shifted its primary focus in recent years to turnaround investing.
Even though devices like Apple's all-in-one iPhone or Amazon's Kindle e-book reader are expensive, they continue to sell because they help people reduce clutter and bulk. "If you simplify my life by putting four different devices, or thousands of books, into one device, that's convergence," Buxbaum says. "People are interested in convergence, not complexity."
Nor are American parents interested in short-changing their kids. They will continue to spend as much as they can on children and younger adults, and retailers focused on these segments will see stronger sales, especially if they have somehow managed to find a niche that enables them to avoid direct competition with Wal-Mart, Buxbaum notes. "People won't take out their frustration with the financial system and Wall Street on their nieces and nephews," he says. "But they will cut back on spending for themselves."
Sustainable or "green" products might have bright longer-term futures, but they won't set any records this year with the broad base of the American economy. "The extra cost of green doesn't fit the proposition of getting the best price," Buxbaum says. "The overwhelming thing right now is not whether something will disintegrate in a landfill--our economy is disintegrating in a landfill. You could call it the biodegradable economy. It will take a resurgence of that broad base for us to rebuild a new economy that doesn't break down."
Buxbaum Group has built its reputation for over 30 years as one of the largest liquidators and appraisers of retail and wholesale inventories across North America. While continuing to operate in those areas, the company has shifted its primary focus in recent years to turnaround investing.
Buxbaum Group
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