The hero we've been waiting for.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@orci/116009155879650410
Living her best life.
(I've gawked inside a Target once, on a long-ago visit to the Excited Snakes of America, and yeah, this is the ONLY way to shop there.)
The hero we've been waiting for.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@orci/116009155879650410
Living her best life.
(I've gawked inside a Target once, on a long-ago visit to the Excited Snakes of America, and yeah, this is the ONLY way to shop there.)
@cstross I wonder what wine pairs well with both sushi and cinnamon rolls…
@stevendbrewer Inari sushi I can see working okay-ish with cinnamon rolls? (It's got that sweet thing going.) Also mochi. But the wine is a head-scratcher. I'm guessing it's MD 20/20; if this had happened in Scotland it'd be Buckfast Tonic Wine (but there's no Target here and Scotmid just doesn't have the same bottomless-pit-of-despair vibe).
@cstross Back in the day, it would have been Boone's Farm. But I don't know what the current thing is. https://vinepair.com/articles/boones-farm-wine-history/
@stevendbrewer Ah, so that's what American X-ers drink instead of scrumpy!
@cstross And, just for reference, Target (pronounced "targé") is where Walmart shoppers go when they want to feel upscale. If you really want to experience the true depths of despair, go to Ocean State Job Lot, which is stocked with stuff that didn't sell anywhere else. Or was returned. https://www.oceanstatejoblot.com/
@stevendbrewer Hey, this is the UK! We have Tesco here. (WalMart tried to break into the supermarket biz, bought ASDA—the third-ranked chain—and made a big noise. A few years later they ran weeping to the anti-trust people. Then they gave up, sold most of their stake in ASDA, and got out. Retailing in the UK is hardcore!)
@cstross @stevendbrewer Reminds me of Target’s entry to Canada a decade ago where they bought over 100 locations from a failing retailer, renovated them all, and launched without having inventory or pricing under control.
Strange how US retailers keep forgetting that things are different in other countries.
Within 2 years, they were gone.
@david @stevendbrewer The crazy bit is that ASDA *was* competitive, as a major supermarket chain: WalMart couldn't improve on them, and meanwhile Tesco just did Tesco (cue background sound effects of a Roman legion marching past in lockstep)
@cstross @stevendbrewer Walmart took over Woolco here a few decades ago and are still going strong, and have moved into groceries as well. They’re still here, with an awful shopping experience. I generally avoid.
Then there was the Hudson’s Bay Company, founded in 1670, which went out of business last year after a run with American owners who were more interested in real estate games. Killing the oldest company on the continent is an achievement of some kind, I guess.
Pales in comparison to how spectacularly #Walmart failed in #Germany.
The U.S.A. management managed to fall afoul of regulations that were meant to prevent the Stasi from happening again.
They instituted policies of forced smiling at customers, group cheer sessions, and employees required to report any employees who dated other employees.
Reporting on people's personal lives to the authorities is a bit of a no-no in modern Germany.
https://www.ft.com/content/4d85393c-ddd6-11d9-a42f-00000e2511c8