Nov. 12th, 2021

canyonwalker: wiseguy (Default)
Last night I wrote about the decline and fall of the Toys "R" Us empire. The building of the store near us stood empty for most of the past few years. When Coronavirus came around last year even the pop-up Halloween store didn't survive. But a few months ago we saw signs of a new tenant moving in: REI.

REI opening soon in my town [Sep 2021]

Coincidentally around the time I first saw this "COMING SOON" sign appear in my town, my mother-in-law told me that an REI is opening near them, 2500 miles away— and that it's replacing a Toys "R" Us that had been there for many years, too!

For those who don't know, REI, or Recreational Equipment, Incorporated, is an awesome outdoors goods store. It was started in Seattle in 1938 to import ice axes from Austria for mountaineers who wanted to climb the many snowy peaks in Washington state. Building upon its success it expanded to broader categories of outdoors goods for hiking, camping, backpacking, bicycling, kayaking, and of course climbing. It also expanded to stores in other cities and states, though up through the 1990s it was only on the US west coast.

Hawk and I first encountered an REI when we moved to California in 1996. There was an REI store right in our town, a few miles away! But that store moved to a larger location (and probably cheaper per square foot) in San Jose. We still shopped there, but less often because it was a 30 minute drive. Then a net-new store opened in Mountain View, 5 miles away. It wasn't quite as convenient as the old store but it was better than driving to San Jose.

The picture above is a little misleading.... It's from several weeks ago; the store opened for business Oct. 22. As this store opened the REI in Mountain View store closed down. It's a replacement, not growth. And sadly something's been lost in the translation. We visited the new store last weekend and browsed around. Everything's clean and new inside... but it's too sparse. Though the store is technically 7,000 square feet larger than the previous one in Mountain View it looks no larger inside and clearly has less inventory. I remember shopping at an REI with sparse-looking shelves in another town 2 year ago. Sparse shelves mean they don't carry as many products and they only stock clothes in the most common sizes— which don't fit me. It's like REI is facing some of the same pressures that caused Toys "R" Us to start going downhill years ago.

canyonwalker: coronavirus (coronavirus)
Yesterday the California Department of Health (CDH) announced that all adults 18+ are eligible for Covid-19 booster shots. The CDH directed health providers not to turn anyway away on the basis of age (other than 18+) or health risk. The only eligibility requirement is that people must wait 6 months after their 2nd shot of Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, or their 1 shot of J&J. Example news coverage: NPR article, 11 Nov 2021.

This news came a few days after Santa Clara County, where I live, announced a similar broadening for its jurisdiction (2 million population). The State of Colorado announced a similar broadening Thursday.

There seems to be a much lower take rate for the booster than for the initial vaccine back in March. Recall how I drove 105 miles each way to get my first shot. I was able to get an appointment locally for the booster within a few days. Ditto for Hawk.

While the lower take rate suggests a lot of people who clamored for the initial vaccination feel they're adequately protected with the basic vaccination, I strove to get my booster when first eligible because I know that I'll be going into higher risk situations around Thanksgiving with travel to visit family in places that have laxer health standards and higher infection rates than here.


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canyonwalker

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