Bradlees: A Product of Necessity - Post-Mortar

[@notthatyouasked6656]

In the 80s and 90s, those of us in eastern Mass. had multiple Bradlees, Zayre, Lechmere, Caldor, Ann & Hope (RI chain with stores in Mass.), and others to choose from. All of them had circulars in the Sunday papers, so we used to compare prices from store to store. Most of these chains closed within a relatively few years of each other, leaving a gap for that kind of store. K Mart and Target hadn't really infiltrated the area, and Wal-Mart was still years away. Around 2000, my nearest Target - which was brand new - was about 18 miles away and only accessible on back roads. K Mart had a few stores close to Boston, but not many out in the burbs.

[@danpike7980]

I believe the first Walmart in New England was the Seabrook, NH location which opened around Summer 1991. Sam Walton had a gentleman's agreement with Ann and Hope that he would never encroach on their territory, but after he died, the family did not honor this agreement. It was all downhill for New England retail after that. I worked at Ames in Summer 1999, but everyone knew the writing was on the wall. Remember Almy's? That was one of the few that went under in the mid-1980s.

[@notthatyouasked6656]

@@danpike7980 I think the first Wal-Mart in Mass. was in Hudson, which is a good 25 miles from Boston out on 495. I don't remember Almy's. I do remember King's near Watertown Square, but I'm not sure that was a chain,, and they were gone before 1980.

[@Mr6384]

Excellent video. After a lifetime of retail, I really wish that some of the people from the ivory tower would come and work on the sales floor for a week and see what really goes into making them rich!!

[@colinroberts2060]

I wasn't born until mid-1997, so I don't really have personal memory of Bradlees in New York. I never even knew it existed until roughly thirteen years after its 2001 demise. A similar story is true for "Ames", which was disbanded in September of 2002. Much of what I know about either one today, largely comes from old commercials or footage, as well as archived webpages on the Wayback Machine.

[@BassmintStile]

YO!! MY MOM WON A $1000 shipping spree at Bradlees in like 1987. Me & my bro got $100 each. I got a Yamaha keyboard, which I still have to this day.

[@NickIggler1969]

Sounds gay❤

[@20035079]

@@NickIggler1969 ☝ nick fuentes watcher

[@applesocks89]

@@NickIggler1969I think nicklggler sounds more gay

[@luvbeinghiswife1148]

That's awesome, thank you for sharing! Merry Christmas! 🎄🙏

[@kjz8774]

When I was just starting with Stop and shop each year they would give us employees a shopping night to buy Christmas Gifts, That was a great time.

[@jergervasi3331]

Lechmere and Apex were two other stores in the Northeast that were awesome, and now sorely missed.

[@BELCAN57]

As a young adult I considered Lechmere in Springfield, Massachusetts my "toy store" they had the best electronics around.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Actually the farming out of departments to third party vendors in the retail trade was actually standard practice back then particularly with the shoe department that continued up through the '80s for most retailers.

[@roshelltannen9698]

Thank you for this. Bradlees was great. I loved going there as a child.

[@johnwilliamspappas456]

I work to Bradley's unit 877 back in the 80s Hingham Massachusetts. can you believe I remember the unit number .northern Maine😅

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Thanks for this video!!! I really miss Bradlees, BEST, Jamesway and Caldor. Amazing stores to shop at as a kid. Always the best Transformers and GI Joe toys! 🎉🎉🎉

[@ColoredBars]

Happy you're back man! I remember these stores from when I was a kid, but they were only around in my lifetime for a few years. New England has so much retail history.

[@slapshot22]

The Wiki page for Stop & Shop has interesting info (take it for what you will)...while S&S owned Bradlees, it also owned Medi-Mart (pharmacy chain) and Perkins Tobacco. I don't remember any Perkins shops, but I do remember Medi-Mart. S&S sold Medi-Mart to Walgreens around the same time it dropped Bradlees. In Mass. and southern N.H., I don't know any Bradlees that re-opened in former Caldor locations, but most former Bradlees locations were re-opened as Kohl's. There were a number of major discount retailers in this area that were gone by the early 90s: Rich's, Stuarts, Woolco, JM Fields and Grants. Funny how many were re-opened as Caldor, Ames or Bradlees, before closing themselves.

[@undergroundretail]

Bradlees met the fate of a lot of other discounted stores. Spent money to update stores and opened more locations to stay competitive. Walmart just took over 😢.

[@jetman80pops]

Or be like Kmart and don't update stores and close stores. Most Kmarts I was in towards the end for them weren't updated since to 90s.

[@jetman80pops]

The closest Bradlees to me in North Jersey was like 30 miles. Parents very rarely went there. Since we had Kmart Hills and Jamesway. The Two Guys I vaguely remember cuz in 82 I was six or seven and that became a Jamesway when two guys closed.

[@BELCAN57]

Growing up we had a Bradlees/Stop & Shop near us. I remember one of their TV ad campaigns: "Mrs. B is buying"

[@trevonpernell0814]

And people wonder why I call Walmart the 'killer of everything nice'. Here's one example of why

[@tonywestvirginia]

Thanks! I enjoy these videos.

[@jamiebarba5701]

There was a Bradless in East Brunswick on NJ 18.

[@savvybear11781]

growing up my family used to shop at all the chains now long gone - Bradlees being one of them. A former Bradlees near me is now a Burlington

[@Madness832]

In the 1980, that was pretty-much my mother's go-to. Many times, we went to the Neponset, Dorchester, MA, location for school clothes.

[@josephconsuegra6420]

There were also Medi Mart’s next to Bradlees and Stop and Shop.

[@mrmonty86]

If you want an episode on defunct department stores, do some on stores like D.H. Holmes, Krauss, Kreegers, Gus Mayer, and Godchaux's.

[@Gil-jw3om]

Suggestion for another video Star Market or Almacs in Rhode Island

[@MelvisVelour]

There's a good reason many people refer to Stop & Shop as "Shop & Rob"...they robbed Bradlees which we always loved going to.

[@oldgeek239]

Blast from the past. I can hear the their commercials with "Mrs. B"...

[@BusyAir]

The true victim of retail evolution has been the American Worker. But, I'm sure Walmart pays a great wage and provides fantastic benefits.

[@etothej]

I miss Bradlees and Ames.

[@schristy3637]

Could you look in to the unwritten agreement that Publix and Kroger's " May have"??? Publix are building store in Ky . Is it really a thing?? I live a work a "K"( in Cincinnati Ohio) and would like to know.

[@dan0711123]

Anyone remember Mrs. B is buying ?

[@joemazzola7387]

The bradlees here in hazlet n j was next to a super Foodtown the Foodtown was shut down and hurricane Sandy destroyed it just the other day I passed the abandoned bradlees and construction work is under way for what type of store I don't know

[@mbgrafix]

*Mrs B **_stopped buying!_*

[@jergervasi3331]

LOL

[@j2times2006]

Damn i thought I was the only one who remembered that ad

[@mbgrafix]

@@j2times2006 😆

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

The relationship between Bradlees and Stop & Shop was quite similar to ShopKo and SuperValu Foods...

[@RandomNonsense1985]

Grand Union and Grand Way

[@CB-ke7eq]

Funny how all of these chains were founded by the zog machine.

[@BillLaBrie]

Merchants.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Yeah the whole upscale arrangement is actually quite stupid for regular stores I mean in the '80s I mean Lazarus had a bankruptcy they turn around and had another one in the early mid '90s I believe it really didn't work out for them oh and by the way it failed miserably over at Sears too. Nowadays good old Kohl's and Macy's is having trouble but JCPenney isn't doing so hot either it's those fake upscale fake rich people stores that's aimed at the senseless so-called middle class. It's all preppy bullshit.

[@PostMortar]

True. Everyone thought they could be Target or Kohl’s, when in actuality they were just a local version of Kmart/Walmart. Low-end gets a bad rep, but when done right it, and in a way that doesn’t make shoppers feel poor (I’m looking at you Rose’s and Ollie’s), it never goes out of style.