Mall Socks
Description: The first Musicland store opened in 1955 in Minneapolis. The company expanded rapidly during the mall boom in the 1980s and continued to grow into the 90s, becoming the US's largest specialty retailer of entertainment products. In addition to Musicland the company also ran Sam Goody, Suncoast, OnCue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. The Musicland Group was purchased by Best Buy in 2001 at the height of Musicland's success, and unfortunately led to its demise. By then, Musicland numbered over 1300 stores, but Best Buy failed to generate the results they were looking for, losing $85 million in 2002. They had failed at properly running The Musicland Group and as a result, they put the company up for sale. The Musicland Group filed...
Description: A retro-style composition featuring a menacing, multi-armed robot with red glowing eyes. In front of the robot, a diverse group of people looks on with expressions of concern. The text "BUY OR DIE..." and "CHOPPING MALL" is prominently displayed in bold, orange lettering against a dark background.
Description: The history of GTE Corporation traces back to the 1920’s and was the largest independent telephone company in the US during the days of the Bell System. By the late 1980’s, GTE was operating not only in the United States but in some 40-odd countries as well. In the 2000’s GTE merged with Bell Atlantic and ceased to exist.
Description: Flea Market Montgomery was a flea market in Montgomery, Alabama that rose to national attention thanks to a homemade commercial featuring the owner rapping and dancing. The song from the commercial is considered one of the most infectious songs of 2006 with the catchy chorus "Flea market, Montgomery. It's just like a mini mall" getting stuck in the collective minds of the world.
Description: Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime, was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002. During the 1970s and 1980s, Service Merchandise was a leading catalog-showroom retailer. At its peak, the company achieved more than $4 billion in annual sales. As the company expanded, it began to open showrooms nationwide, mostly in the vicinity of major shopping malls, which were in vogue in the 1970s.
