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The Gap

April 18th, 2011

The Gap in Tyler TX
The Gap had a humble beginning in 1969 when Robert Fisher and his wife Doris Fisher opened the first gap clothing store in San Francisco with a choice of merchandise comprising Levi’s and LPs a volatile combination as the Fishers learned after one year reaching an unprecedented $2 million in sales. The Gap rapidly expanded it’s locations reaching 25 by 1973 and soon there after introduced private label merchandise. The expansion of The Gap unceasingly escalated not only in the growth of it’s stock and brand but also through various corporate offspring such as The Banana Republic or The Old Navy each tailored to a specific niche in the clothing market.

 The Gap began by appealing to young peoples desire for a simple and attractive style, a style symbolised by The Gap’s early, popular ensemble of blue jeans and plain white cotton shirts. However, over the years The Gap has drifted from the original core consumer base that had brought it such rapid success. As The Gap concentrated on minimalistic styles it had slowly obscured the simplistic direction and alienated it’s target consumers in a wave of khaki and fleece.

But recently The Gap has shown strong design sense in clothes that have a classic and simple feel that makes it a versatile wardrobe component for a huge variety of customers, apparently successfully backtracking in order to appease consumers in a brilliantly multifaceted marketing approach that gives something to be appreciated to a variety of subcultures fashion senses. While The Gap has shown it’s prowess in business and fashion design they have drawn criticism for their labor practices.

On several occasions in 2003, 2006 and 2007 The Gap was accused and caught using suppliers operating under deplorable standards, using child labor, imposing forced abortion policies, as well as unpaid workers. In the 2003 instance The Gap was subject to a class action law suit on these charges yet refused to admit liability despite reaching a settlement of $20 million. The Gap has always voiced concern and ignorance in the wake of these accusations, showing a desire to keep a clean public image, in fact, in a confusing decision The Gap was named one of the worlds top 100 most ethical companies by Ethisphere Magazine in 2007 the same year the BBC aired footage of child labor practices in sweatshop suppliers to The Gap.

The Gap has upheld it’s position against such deplorable worker conditions as anyone would expect every single time they were exposed to be using it. But until more recent evidence surfaces it may be that they have corrected the ethical violations in question. In the end The Gap is a quality clothing retailer, who despite graphic design and business ethics issues contributes to the unique styles of many different characters. Although, until they start selling records again they will never reach their ultimate retail potential.

Goodwill on Loop 323

January 26th, 2010

Goodwill on Loop 323

1817 W.S.W. Loop 323
Tyler, TX 75701
(903) 581-5422
9am – 8pm

This Goodwill store is located on the South West side of Loop 323 in Tyler, TX. If you are unfamiliar with Tyler just ask someone how to get to the mall, and there’s a good chance you’ll see the Goodwill on the way there. It has an almost ridiculously large and attractive sign for the type of store it is. The parking lot is attractive as far as thrift stores usually go. Though, be warned. This parking lot is on a fairly steep hill. Sometimes it causes awkward entrances and exits in my car.

The most obvious reason people go to a Goodwill thrift store is for the clothes. This branch offers a huge supply of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. One interesting fact about this store is that they also have a few racks of completely brand new women’s clothes. Though, the prices are pretty high for these new items. These new clothes will usually be all within a similar style. I assume that they are overstock from a clothing store or something along those lines.

Being a man, I’ve spent most of my shopping for clothes in the men’s section. They have the stereotypical suit section that I rarely see people shopping in, but the bulk of this section is devoted to t-shirts, pants, and collared shirts. This is a really good store if you are looking for a new addition to your funny or ironic vintage t-shirt collection. You may pay a dollar or two more than you are used to paying for t-shirts at a thrift store, but I think that the huge selection makes it worth the effort and much more likely that you’ll find a keeper. The dress shirts are in my opinion over priced and not impressive. I can often find a better shirt in the clearance rack at Old Navy for cheaper.

I often check the tie section in hopes of adding some variety to my work attire, but the tie section is a little underwhelming. They are one dollar a piece. That is an awesome price, but in all of my trips I’ve only found one tie worth buying. So keep your eyes open for the chance of getting a nice tie for only a dollar. Also be sure to stop by the two shopping carts full of belts. Most of these are unattractive eighties style, but don’t let that stop you. I recently found four designer belts in near perfect condition for fifty cents a piece! Three of these were nice leather. One was a modern style canvas belt. All of these were name brand and probably worth fifteen dollars or more new. I almost couldn’t believe it, but with Goodwill I’ve learned to not be surprised.

Now why should you make a special trip to this Goodwill? My number one reason for visiting this store is for the book and media section. They have a five or six bookshelf unit section in the back full of books. There is one fully dedicated to children’s books which I usually avoid due to the messy nature of children’s book sections. The rest of the section is pretty incredible. There are new and used books of every genre. You can find most of the John Grisham books on any day. Besides that, it’s the luck of the draw. I never enter the store without checking through the book section, and I’d say that at least half of the time I leave with a book or two or twelve. Also in this section you’ll find a pretty decent selection of audio CDs, computer software CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes and vinyl records. There are certainly more efficient ways to buy CDs and software than a thrift store, but it’s worth the effort to possibly find a gem.

Are there any negative things about this store? There is one major negative. The furniture. In other parts of the country used and outdated furniture gets cheaper and cheaper until it is eventually close to free. This store sells furniture for fifty dollars or more regardless of the condition or style. There are occasionally really good finds on couches or chairs. In fact, I’ve purchased a really nice mirror and a small wooden night stand, that were both reasonably priced. But usually the couches and chairs are ridiculously ugly and still priced at fifty to eighty dollars a piece. Some of these, I would just throw away if I owned them. Regardless of this, eighty dollars is cheaper than a thousand, so maybe I shouldn’t complain about it.

There is one last thing to mention about this Goodwill. If you are in need of a costume, be it for Halloween or just a random themed costume party, I can not think of a better place in Tyler to go for it. This Goodwill has supplied me with costume pieces for at least five different costume parties. I’ve been able to find robes, pants, shirts, jewelry, accessories, and even a couple of wigs and beards. My experience has taught me to skip Wal-Mart and other retailers completely and go straight to Goodwill for costumes and accessories.

So if you are in Tyler and are looking for good thrift store deals, I would suggest going to the other Goodwill in downtown Tyler on Locust St or the Salvation Army store. But if you don’t have time for hunting, this Goodwill on the Loop will most certainly have what you are looking for. You may just have to spend a little more, fight more traffic and weed around way more customers. If you do decide on this store, you can rest assured that at the least they have a pretty amazing set of staff. You should see at least five employees at any given moment who can help you find things or even to help carry out your overpriced and ugly furniture.

Avoiding Salesmen

January 10th, 2010

In most cities, the mall is a one stop store for every need and many times, even if you want to catch a movie. But this is another way Tyler differs from most cities. Tyler’s small mall is without many things, for an example a toy store. Yes, they may have stores with toys, and even have the new addition of “Build-A-Bear”, but what about the old toy stores that I got so excited about as a child?

But this is the least of annoying things about the Broadway Square Mall. I can not stand walking through the mall and getting stopped by salesmen; or getting yelled at across half of the mall. “No eye contact, No eye contact” I keep telling myself. This idea that, maybe, if I act like I don’t see them then they will leave me alone, it’s a nice idea but it never really works. I think it is so funny how they give you such a guilt trip that you don’t use their product. But my personal favorite is when they are selling hair straightener and they ask you if you ever used one and your hair is so straight.

Walking through the mall gets frustrating having to dive into stores to avoid the salesmen. They sale everything, from hair products, gifts, jewelry, clothes, hair removal products, and even massages, and much more.

The mall is starting to redesign the interior of the building. They try to make the shopping experience more comfortable by putting comfortable chairs and couches in the middle of the mall. This is great for the husbands of the serious shoppers in Tyler. Another great thing about the new improvements is the new bathrooms. You use to walk down a long dirty hallway to find an old dirty bathroom with one folding changing table nailed to the wall. Now they have cleaned it up and even added a family bathroom with small toilets for your potty-training toddler.

The mall in Tyler has most of the normal stores such as Old Navy, JC Penny’s, Sears, Dillard’s. Many of my favorite stores are in the Broadway Square Mall, such as Icings, Old Navy, Children’s Place and many more. I do like many of the stores in the mall, both times that I found out that I was pregnant my first stop was the store Motherhood. I love their designer maternity clothes and their styles that show off that baby bump. My very favorite thing to shop for is clothes for little girls! Even though I’ve said a lot of negative about the Tyler mall they still do have great stores for my shopping needs. Children’s Place is a great place to find new and stylish children’s clothes. They have clothes for all types of weather and occasions according to the season of the year. The mall has many other stores that carry children clothes, but Children’s Place is dedicated to children with cheaper prices than other stores.

When I was a child and my family did not know where to eat, we would go to the mall’s food court. We would have the exciting options of Chinese food, Italian, fast food and much more. Now the food court has been limited to a couple restaurants. They still have the Chick-fil-a restaurant tucked away in the back of the mall. For some reason I can not enjoy the large crowds in the small restaurant. As you walk through the mall your mouth will begin to water from the sweet smell of the famous Pretzel Time.

When walking through the mall be warned to walk quickly passed the small stands with loud salesmen and women. Theywill  try to sell you over-priced cell phone covers and tell you that your upper lip needs waxing, so you will try their product. These sales guys may also tell you that you need their hand cream to make sure your children do not get all the sicknesses that you carry. As you are leaving do not forget to stop by the guy’s stand that sales over-sized shirts with pictures of Obama and Michael Jackson. You may also want to pick up the strange skull jewelry for your every piercing need at the gothic fashion store Hot Topic.

A new development in the mall is not about a store or a restaurant, but the security. You can’t help but think of the famous Paul Blart, as the security guard rolls by you. Nothing says intimidation like a segway. I guess they felt like they could stop more fights that way or that they could get from the cookie store to the Dip and Dots stand quicker. Whatever the reason, I don’t know about you, but I feel safer. Especially when I have to maneuver my two child stroller out of the way before getting run over.

So as you shop avoiding is the key. Avoid the crowds, the sales men, and avoid being run over by the man on wheels enjoying his power trip.

Broadway Square Mall: A Grown-Up’s Perspective

September 30th, 2009
Tyler Mall

Tyler TX Mall

As a kid growing up in Tyler TX, Broadway Square Mall was the coolest place in the world. Not only was it full of other kids, it had a video arcade right across from a pizza shop. If I wanted to, I could spend an entire Saturday hanging out with my friends in the Air Conditioning.

Today, kids still dominate Broadway Square Mall. Teenagers, anyway. What does Broadway Square Mall have for young Tylerites today? The usual suspects: A half-dozen jewelers, a food court, a radio shack across from a GNC, the obligatory Hallmark store, and the Preppy Tri-Fecta of Abercrombie, the Gap, and Old Navy. More notably, the mall is anchored on three sides by department giants Sears, JCPenney, and Dillards.

If you are looking for the typical comforts of a suburban mall, you’ve got it here. You’ve got your freshly baked pretzels, your frozen yogurt, your Santa stage, sitting idle for most of the year. If you like kiosks, you can renew your cell phone plan, buy a pair of sunglasses, and get your picture cartoon-ized in no time flat. There are lots of girlish stores to make ladies feel prettier: Body Shop, Talbot’s and Victoria’s Secret. And for the guys, there’s Finish Line, Foot Locker, and toys at Game Stop. The little kids can’t go arcading anymore, but they can manufacture a new best friend at the Build-A-Bear workshop.

Notably absent from Broadway Square mall is a movie theater. We thought that there was no coffee shop but we are wrong. There is now a Coffee Beanery franchise in there now, thank goodness! Other than that, this mall offers exactly what we’ve become accustom to at other identical suburban shopping centers: cookie cutter stores and over-inflated prices.

I stopped going to the mall years ago for three reasons. First, it’s crowded, especially around Christmas time. Second, I can almost always find merchandise elsewhere for cheaper. For example, I used to frequent the music store at the mall to buy CD’s, but now I just go to iTunes. But my primary reason for avoiding Broadway Square Mall is the fact that it seems to be dominated by young prima donnas.

This became clear to me when I was a senior in high school, leaving the music store with a Beatles CD in hand. My cousin and I were walking mindlessly toward the west exit when we passed a bandanna’d young man who was threatened by my trajectory. “Hey man. You’re walking too CLOSE to me.” He announced to everyone. “Did you hear me? I said you’re walking too CLOSE to me.” Another wanna-be gang banger trying to pick a fight. My cousin laughed and we walked out without honoring the gentleman with a response.

Fair or unfair, that picture still defines Broadway Square Mall for me. It is a place where young, bored teenagers walk circles for hours on end, loitering in store after store, trying to attract the opposite sex with either spaghetti straps or machismo. They are there not because they need something, but because they have nothing better to do.

Here’s the good news: If you need to go to Sears for a lawnmower, Dillards for a dress, or JCPenney’s for a Tony Romo game jersey, you can enter those store directly without ever entering the mall at all. And if, like me, you really want to run in and out only take advantage of Old Navy’s cheap T-shirt deals, try not to walk TOO CLOSE to anyone.