In this episode, Stevenson and I trace the rise and fall of the stores that once defined American life. What starts as a conversation about how we got into podcasting turns into a nostalgic (and occasionally half-assed) business breakdown of defunct retailers like Blockbuster, Big Lots, and Toys R Us. We revisit golden ages, personal memories, and the moments when everything started to go wrong.
From mall culture and bookstore vibes at Borders to corporate missteps involving Kmart, the dot-com bubble, and uneasy partnerships with Amazon, we break down how shifting consumer habits and leadership decisions reshaped retail forever. Along the way, we touch on physical media, a brief Star Wars tangent, why buffets fell out of favor post-COVID, and how companies like Party City flirted with both success and collapse.
It’s a mix of nostalgia, cultural history, questionable analysis, and genuine curiosity about what happens when the places we grew up with quietly flip the sign to closed.
Note: Some of the research I did was in part due to the videos I watched of Bright Sun Films. If you liked this episode's topic, you should definitely check out more of his work.
Please also check out Stevenson's podcast That's Effin Weird on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro, What Got Us Into Podcasting
4:16 - Defunct Stores, Blockbuster Discussion
9:13 - Big Lots, Personal Connection
11:03 - Why Big Lots Went Out of Business
15:41 - Filing of Bankruptcy, Potential Revival
16:56 - Toys R Us Origins and Golden Age
18:13 - Toys R Us Memories
21:06 - Competition from Big Box and Online Retailers
21:24 - Half-Assed Business Analysis
22:45 - Toys R Us files for Bankruptcy, Shutdown
24:01 - John Stamos, Disneyland Sign
24:37 - E-Commerce, Ever-Changing World
26:41 - Mall Culture
27:22 - Why Malls Are Closing
30:17 - Repurposing Malls
31:30 - Borders, Origins
32:39 - Bookstore Culture
33:17 - Kmart Acquisition and Separation, Global Expansion
34:06 - Missteps
34:31 - Dot Com Bubble, Stock Market Crash
35:17 - Amazon Partnership and Later Years
41:01 - Physical Media, Star Wars Tangent
44:09 - Why Buffets are Falling in Popularity
46:47 - Covid and Buffets
50:34 - Best Products Company, Origins
51:30 - SITE, Best Architecture
53:05 - Management Style, Peak
53:44 - Fall, Bankruptcy, and Best Stores Closure
55:58 - Party City, Why They Were Successful, Brush With Failure
57:11 - Leveraged Buyout
57:39 - How Party City Fell Apart
1:00:44 - Staples Story
1:01:42 - Outro