Forest Grove UPS Store
I finally got out to visit some of my old neighbors in the shopping center yesterday. For the restaurants like Quiznos and Cornerstone, who rely so much on Pacific University traffic, this time of year can be a bit slow. I was happy to find they are both still there, along with La Sierra, and seemingly doing ok.
But imagine my surprise to see the UPS Store with a Gone Out of Business sign in the window. The place was completlely gutted! I guess, as so many of us small business owners have already experienced, the tough economy got them a little behind in the rent, and the landlords decided to pull the plug.
You would think, espcially at this time of the year, that a shipping business would be booming. But what most people did not realize was that The UPS Store was a locally owned and operated franchise. As I was chatting with my old friend Nick, manager of Quiznos, he told me a story of an irrate customer who became very flustered when she found out the store was closed. “Where am I supposed to drop this off now?” she asked. As in – she already paid for the shipping online, printed out her shipping label, and was going to use the UPS Store as a drop off point. Nick explained to her, “That’s why they are out of business.” When we do our own shipping online, and just drop these packages off, the store receives nothing, not one single penny.
And now, just like my old Computer Store, and The Medicine Shoppe, and The Dry Cleaners, there is another vacancy.
The Center (the official name of the strip mall) was bought by a company that runs out of Portland, right after I moved in – in 2005. They manage large commercial buildings as well as apartment complexes all around the Pacific Northwest. The problem I have with big corporations buying up commerical real estate here in Forest Grove, is that they have no idea how our local economy works here in the Grove. I was talking to Phil Carrow, owner of Phil’s 1500 Subs, a few weeks ago, and he told me that I was paying more rent for my little 1,000 sq ft shop than he does! And he’s been there 20 years! Out here in the Grove, we don’t have the same type or amount of foot traffic that they do in Downtown Portland, or Seattle. This is a small little country town – the back 40. And if they don’t adjust the rents accordingly, there will be more and more vacancies to come.
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OMG! That IS a shock! I used to ship stuff out of there all the time because it’s closer than the Post Office for me. That’s so sad! I liked the people who ran that place and their cute little dogs! Sadness!
But I think you are right about a Portland place owning property here in the Grove and not understanding. Too bad someone local doesn’t own that shopping center.
I assert that the UPS franchise model is broken from the perspective of revenue sharing between franchise and corporate. Fed Ex Kinkos are popping up all over the place. I have nothing against UPS. In fact, I look forward to trying them as soon as my wife can find the account information.
Welcome back, Chuck!
Sadly, we are about to lose another fine family business as Gene Horton will close Horton’s Office Supplies in the Ballad Town Center at the end of this month. Gene just wants to retire, but he can’t find anyone to buy the business (lack of financing credit, mostly).
Strap in for more – especially if M67 passes. Many small businesses will be pushed over the edge and we will lose even more friendly local venues for our everyday needs.
Sad times, indeed.
Thanks Dick,
Horton’s is news to me. Sad indeed.
I’m thinking Blockbuster’s won’t be far behind, and once Wal-Mart opens – who knows. I hope BiMart and Freddy’s can hold tight.
It is good to be back
Where to begin… Well the UPS store was a failure due to the lackluster participation of the owner of the franchise (Anna)! She made the choice to close the store, period. It is very unfortunate for everyone to lose the UPS Store in “the Grove” and it will certainly leave a void. Maybe if Anna had put forth more effort and even showed up once in a while she could have actually been successful! She was dishonest with her business and landlord as well.
FOREST GROVE CLEANERS has reopened!
The issues of the Forest Groive Shopping Center have zero to do with the fact that it is owned by a small company with a Portland address and everything to do with Forest Grove residents patronizing the businesses! We are so fortunate to have Cornerstone, La Sierra, Forest Grove Health and Fittness, Quizno’s, etc. in our community so let’s support them instead of attempting to paint a “cruel landlord” picture that is completely untrue!!
It’s horrifying to hear once again how the poor owners are blaimed for the downfall of this business. UPS corporate, plain & simple is the ONLY reason this franchise is failing all over the globe. The reason the owner may end up absentee at a certain point, is because they are so beaten up by corporate both mentally and financially. When they get to the point of continually losing money (which doesn’t take long at all), they must GO OUT and find ANOTHER way to make money to dump into this losing proposition. There is a huge list of what is wrong and crooked with this franchise. And anyone who owns or who has owned one knows exactly what I’m referring to. Those on the outside should NOT comment, unless they know more about this.
Very sad what happen. This is not the only UPS store in turmoil right now. Others have shut down or are losing money. Only the super big UPS Stores will survive. This is mostly due to UPS and drop off customers. Most UPS stores are doing 60-40 ratio of drop offs to paid for shipping packages. I know back in Michigan several stores have gone under in the last 5 years or so.
I own a UPS store myself( not in Michigan) and my revenues continue to shrink as Drops offs continue to rise.
Word of warning. Do not go into the UPS store business unless you are super wealthy and can afford to buy one of the major stores in your city. Even then I would not encourage it. Franchise business is very difficult to make money unless you own several stores.
For a few years i was making about 50,000 a year owning a UPS store and now I am seeing my yearly revenues crash into the mid 30 range. I cant imagine what will happen in 2011 or 2012. I will most likely put my store on the market in early 2011. With the horrible economy and plummeting revenues I would be lucky to get 100,000 right now.
UPS does not care about its franchise owners. This is most obvious. I do not see much future in this business.
Thank you, David.
Yes, that is exactly what the problem is. UPS decided to go with their own agenda, making us work for them, related to that pitiful drop off situation…not to mention work orders that we also make close to nothing on. They would never think of actually being a responsible franchisor who has an interest in supporting their franchisees (those who continue to support them). We’ve been trying to sell for 7 or 8 months now, with no luck at all. Selling these stores now has become harder than ever…as there are more and more stores for sale, as time goes on. And when potential buyers research the franchise, they see this and run. Or they’ll see the numbers and realize this business DOES NOT make money. Unless UPS changes some much needed issues it will be a great challenge to get out of this in one piece.