After all this time and lack of answers, I am assuming that the correlation of the closings does not exist other than the changes that are happening in our economy.
Here’s my perspective...
I spent 10 years editing fly fishing newsletters for three good sized organizations. Our largest costs were printing and mailing, neither of which ever gets less costly. After about my fifth year doing this, I convinced all three organizations to save their money and strictly publish their newsletters via email and on their members only websites to keep from having to raise dues to cover the ever increasing costs. Saved them a lot of money, and the pushback was minimal as the members could print out the 12 pages on their personal printers if they chose to. Out of the three organizations with over 300 members, only one member resigned because he couldn’t get a reduction in dues commensurate with the cost savings...(he was a PIA anyway, so no true loss). If the magazine in question is still viable, electronic publishing is the way to keep it alive, and it’s become more common to pay for online subscriptions to be eco friendly.
As to Tesoro, I owned a used Tiger Shark for a few months because I was impressed with the history of the company. When I heard they shut out their employees, I sold my machine for what I paid for it. During that short ownership, I learned that there was no new innovation coming from Tesoro, so I surmised their demise was imminent. IMO, i doubt they’re going to be acquired by anyone, because they really have nothing but the name that is any value. From a technology perspective, they’re in the dark ages, and their following is nothing like the major players today. That’s not to demean anyone who is a Tesoro fan and owner, it’s just the way I see the company.
Today’s business climate demands that if you are going to survive and thrive, you must stay on the cutting edge of technology and accept that the only constant is change. Amazon and eBay have changed the way we shop, and this is evident in my town by how quickly our monster mall parking lot is being gobbled up by new businesses in these outlots. Restaurants, Hobby Lobby, fuel stations are all filling the spaces that once held cars during the Christmas season, but have deteriorated from lack of use in the last 5-10 years. A major retailer in the mall folded, and the space is now a bowling alley and giant game room with the most current electronic games. Two major malls in the area have been torn down after closing due to low traffic and high crime because of the low traffic. One is now the site of an Amazon mega warehouse that will provide more full time jobs than the previous mall could ever hope to provide.
It’s all about change and technology, and those who fail to embrace both are doomed to fail. No sector of the economy is spared, and the consumer demands the supplier provide the latest and greatest of everything.
Interestingly, while change is the only constant, it’s the single most thing that people fear and resist. Nobody wants their world rocked, yet they want the latest and greatest of everything. Go figure...
That’s my two cents, and a few more thrown in.
?
