With vaccine distribution ramping up, people and companies are slowly both returning to normal and adjusting to the new normal. That means there are a lot of little developments in the retail sector, and let’s cover a few of them today.
Barnes & Noble Adds Some Stationary to Its Portfolio
First Class Mail has been falling in the US, and a large part of that is due to people sending fewer greeting cards than they used to. So it’s no wonder stationary and gift shops have had difficulty over the past few years. Papyrus was one of these chains, and in January 2020, it announced it was closing all 260 stores.
Another chain, Paper Source, picked up 30 of these stores in early March. As we all know, that’s when the pandemic started hitting its stride. So soon Paper Source found itself in financial straits, and almost exactly a year later, it filed for bankruptcy.
But unlike Papyrus, which had to liquidate, Paper Source has found a buyer: Elliott Investment Management, the owner of Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble’s CEO, who also runs the European chain Waterstones, will take over at Paper Source. Barnes & Noble and Paper Source have no plans to merge, but they could collaborate in the future. So you could see more cards and little gifts at Barnes & Noble in the future even though books have been a bright spot in the pandemic versus greeting cards and the like.
Hopefully, though, this means that all of Paper Source’s creditors get repaid in full, as many suppliers noted Paper Source had placed large orders just before its court filing. Some companies, most small businesses, were only being offered as little as 10% of the original order price even though its executives were being paid bonuses in 2020 — and still want more in 2021 — totaling millions.
According to CNBC, “The acquisition will provide Paper Source with the funding it needs to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy”, but depending on the court agreements, it still could mean some are only getting paid pennies on the dollar. Again, hopefully not.
Semiconductors Continue to be Only Semiavailable
Have you been having a hard time finding a PS5? Or have you noticed computer prices being seemingly high? Well, that’s due to the shortage of semiconductors, aka microchips and integrated circuits. They’re in every electronic product, and as you can imagine, they require a lot of precision to both make and install.
For a variety of reasons including the US-China trade war, pandemic supply chain disruptions, and increased demand for electronics, companies have had to delay products or deal with limited supply.
Ramping up production isn’t easy, either. According to The Guardian:
“It can take up to two years to get complex semiconductor production factories up and running, and manufacturers are in the process of significantly raising prices for the second time in less than a year.”
President Biden has been urging both companies and Congress to try to invest in making more of these chips here in the US, but even then, that’s not going to happen overnight.
So because of the difficulties in acquiring semiconductors, Sony has said that PS5 shortages will likely continue into 2022. If the report is true about a PS5 redesign, perhaps the redesign is because Sony is finding alternative parts due to the semiconductor shortage.
Microsoft’s new consoles face the same challenges, and while the Nintendo Switch has been out for much longer, even Nintendo is prepared for production of Switches to slow down.
So it’s going to be a long time before you can just “add to cart” online or walk into a store and pick up a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. During the holiday season, manufacturers and stores often offered special bundles or bonuses to pick up a console. This year, probably the only deal you’re going to get on a gaming system is the ability to buy one!
Trading Card Hype Leads to Stores Saying Nope
I remember being surprised when I swung by Target a couple of months ago and saw a new sign outside. Well, not about the sign itself but what it said: that trading card sales would be limited to a couple of hours per week, and limit one per person. I knew of the trading card shortages, but it was amazing after walking past the card section with no such limits for years.
Other locations have been experimenting with ways to handle this increased demand over the last few months, with some being local decisions and others being passed down from the higher-ups:
Why restrict sales? Unfortunately, it’s so that more people could enjoy some gaming fun. This thread, for instance, has several employees and card vendors reporting they’ve witnessed or experienced harassment and stalking — to the point these people actually have tracked the workers home.
But if that limit seemed restrictive, that’s nothing compared to their newly-announced temporary suspension of trading card sales. As of May 14th, Target stores will not stock sports or Pokémon cards. There was a recent assault over cards that caused a store lockdown at one Target, and that was likely the final straw for the chain. However, they will be available on their website.
Bleeding Cool reported Walmart also suspending trading card sales (and even posted an alleged memo), but the company later said this news was not accurate. This would have been an even bigger embargo than Target, as it would include other series including Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, and Digimon. Still, in many stores, it likely feels like they are pulled, as stock is still extremely limited and/or hidden, and at some locations, shoppers have to be very specific to get a box a pack.
As frustrating as it must be for fans, workers’ and other customers’ comfort and safety are far more important. It is just wild at the sudden fervor for these cards, whether it’s because of some viral videos, 90s nostalgia, or the latest get-rich-quick scheme. I know I’ve said no to a few card deals last year (and definitely before that), and who knew that suddenly it would be such a hot commodity…or that people would engage in such egregious behavior in order to acquire more.