Brand Name Heaven

Barack Obama is going to have his hands full when he takes office. His foreign policy advisory picks may make the left wing of the Democratic Party angry, but his choices bring enough experience to the table to allow Obama to focus on domestic issues, mostly an economy that is in shambles. He is going to need all the help he can get. But how does he repair America’s psyche
which is being pummeled from all directions?

Consolidation of brands at any time can be disconcerting. But when it happens all at one time, it is downright scary. I heard on the news last night that General Motors may be “selling” some of its brands in order to meet Congressional requirements for a proposed bailout. Included in the asset sell off are Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab. Hummer and Saab I can understand, but Pontiac and Saturn? Who would buy Pontiac? GM has been pushing the Saturn brand for years, which has some of GM’s most stylish and fuel efficient vehicles. What’s with that? More likely GM would just shut down those brands.

That would leave General Motors with Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. Buick has been rumored to be a brand that GM would allow to follow the path of Oldsmobile, although it is its biggest seller in China. I have driven a Buick for years. My wife and I both drive Lucerne’s, and it is a great car.

On top of that, AOL had an article on its site today about companies that may not be here after Christmas. Circuit City heads the list. It is already in bankruptcy. Over the years I have bought mucho electronic equipment from CC, and they have been a pain to deal with. I am surprised they have lasted as long as they have.

Other companies on the list include Talbot’s (where my wife shops), Rite Aid (where I do sundry shopping), Dillards (where my wife shops for shoes), Saks 5th Avenue (where my wife goes and looks but can’t afford to buy anything…neither can anyone else!), Chico’s ( where my wife used to buy everything, but now goes to Coldwater Creek), Williams-Sonoma (where we bought trendy kitchen items and catalogue food when we were flush), and Eddie Bauer (never went there so I don’t know what they sell). In addition, Sears/Kmart is having trouble. So is Macy’s, which plans to close a number of stores.

Bank brands have been disappearing at light speed. Locally, we said goodbye long ago to Union Bank, Dollar Bank, People’s Bank, and some of their successors….Bank One and Sky. National City will be PNC within a few months. If you trade stocks…brokers come and go like door to door salesmen. You never know who will own what, when or where. I am with UBS right now. Who knows what it was called when I started going to its predecessors. Butler Wick is still here, for now. I hope for a long time.

People my age have lived through consolidations all of our lives. Local retailers include names such as Strouss, McKelvey’s, Livingston’s, Brenner’s, Lustig’s, Hartzell’s, Birnbaum’s, as well as successor companies like May Company, Higbee’s, Lazarus, and Kaufmann’s. All have played a large part on our life, and have been sopped up in the current economic crisis which has sped up the inevitable.

In a world that is built around WalMart’s and Costco’s and Sam’s Club’s and Home Depot’s and Lowe’s and box stores galore, and megabanks that are too big to fail like Citigroup and Goldman Sach’s and JP Morgan/Chase…our lives and identities are also being consolidated and diminished.

I guess I am going to have to find another car to drive, and a whole lot of other places to shop. That is a real shame.