[PDX City-State]

Niche retailers are definitely more prevalant today than yesteryear. I don't agree that people want one-stop shopping, and neither does the market. If you're Meier and Frank, you sell furniture, clothes, bedding, luggage, jewelry and a whole lot more.

This means you have to compete with Crate and Barrel, the Levi's Store, Urban Outfitters, Sunglasses Hut, and other powerhouses. Plus, you have a host of smaller independent retailers that tend to be home grown and very responsive to local trends. Your marketing and buying department are going to be spread pretty thin and your store will probably have trouble keeping up with trends, and keeping the inventory fresh. This explains why a lot of department stores have had trouble cutting it. The simple criticism would be that the store ought to spend money completely renovating and reinventing itself to improve its image. But the realistic answer is that if they could afford to, they would. The state of the American Department store has been pretty dismal in recent years and has generally reflected individuals preferring to shop at niche retailers. Any marketer will tell you that.