Thursday, April 02, 2020

Vermont Pushes the "No Selling" Envelope

Frankly, this presents a BIG problem to the affected retailers.

“Large ‘big box’ retailers generate significant shopping traffic by virtue of their size and the variety of goods offered in a single location,” Agency of Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle said on Tuesday. “This volume of shopping traffic significantly increases the risk of further spread of this dangerous virus to Vermonters and the viability of Vermont’s health care system."...

Accordingly, the State has determined that these retailers will no longer offer certain "non-essential" items for sale, including.......


  • Arts and crafts
  • Beauty supplies
  • Carpet and flooring
  • Clothing
  • Consumer electronics
  • Entertainment (books, music, movies)
  • Furniture
  • Home and garden
  • Jewelry
  • Paint
  • Photo services
  • Sports equipment
  • Toys
They may be "non-essential", a point I will not necessarily concede (clothing IS essential!).  Regardless,  the State has just told these retailers to shut off 70% of their sales volume, making the stores unprofitable, as grocery margins are much smaller than margins on "home and garden" or "sports" goods.

So then the stores will close and dump their employees into the street.

Hmmmm.

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