Apr 30, 2023
For some reasons retailers think nowadays that if they look and feel the same the shopper will be happy.
Maybe this is true for convenience shopping like grocery shopping but for normal retail shopping I think it is a terrible mistake.
In particular with =in big shopping malls – sadly they are all the same. This episode is being recorded in Singapore “the home of shopping”, and with some time on my hands between appointments – here are my findings…
Oh, I mention a Tony Soprano business lesson,
Here is the full script from the show…
Soprano analogy
Juliana Skiff met Tony Soprano in S6 E8 because she was a realtor working for Century 21 and was trying to purchase a building owned by Tony (Caputo's Poultry) in Newark, New Jersey for juice chain Jamba Juice. She was persistent in pursuing the deal, contacting Tony at Satriale's and the Bada Bing and over the phone.
Tony got into his "be a real loss for the neighbourhood schtik.
Tony understands that small mom-and-pop shops like Caputo’s are what give the old neighborhood its character and authenticity. He is thoughtful enough to recognise that corporate retail stores have a soul-squashing, culture-killing homogeneity about them.
Juliana Skiff, a representative of Jumba Juice, shows up at Satriale's. She offers to purchase a building owned by Tony, which houses a small business run by one of the Italian locals, for expansion by the Jamba Juice franchise. Tony bristles against it, wanting to hold onto the Little Italy that he remembers.
Dialogue
1st meeting
Julianna Skiff, Century 21. You got a minute? Sure. Cannoli? No, thank you. You own the building at 217 Franklin, right around the corner, currently occupied by Caputo Live Poultry. I represent the Jamba Juice Company. They're interested in purchasing the property. Jamba Juice... wants to put a store in around here?
Well, you must have noticed the area's on an upswing. You know the old glove factory across the park, over by the cathedral, beautiful renovation. I just bought a loft there myself. Person like yourself's a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. Jamba Juice is willing to pay $175 a square foot. Public records show the building at 1,800 square feet. So that makes a purchase price of $315,000.
You ever buy eggs from Caputo? Frankly, I'm not wild about the smell in there. Let me tell ya, his eggs taste 10 times better than any of the ones you get in the supermarket. Chickens too. Businesses relocate all the time. No, this would be a real loss for the neighborhood. Don't you live out in North Caldwell? Yeah, my family made the trek up Guinea Gulch. Bloomfield Avenue. But my roots here go way back. My grandfather came from Avellino like most of the people around here, and I grew up right over there. My father was an early community leader. Mm-hmm.
How about you? Where're you from?
Upstate New York. Binghamton. How'd you wind up here? My parents have a catering business, something to leave to the kids, right? Only I didn't see myself making Salisbury steak for the next 30 years. So I left home at 17. Rebellious. Just a low tolerance for boredom. So... interested, not interested? I'm interested.
But as far as the property's concerned, 175 a square foot's a little low. And... I don't wanna sell out from under the guy.