Mr. Song Takes Off to the Burbs

**g-dub** · April-25-09, 10:47 AM

Not sure what to make of this. A lot of people cheered this rare example of a small family-owned shop doing booming business in the city. Now, they're off to the burbs. Usually, it's the other way around: business is bad in the city, so you pick up and move to where there's more money [[and less crime), but they were doing quite well on Woodward by all reports. I can understand needing a larger space, and I'm sure they'll do good business in Southfield, but why not at least keep the original shop open while opening another location? Bummer.

http://freep.com/article/20090425/NEWS02/90425002

**R8RBOB** · April-25-09, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by g-dub

Not sure what to make of this. A lot of people cheered this rare example of a small family-owned shop doing booming business in the city. Now, they're off to the burbs. Usually, it's the other way around: business is bad in the city, so you pick up and move to where there's more money [[and less crime), but they were doing quite well on Woodward by all reports. I can understand needing a larger space, and I'm sure they'll do good business in Southfield, but why not at least keep the original shop open while opening another location? Bummer.

http://freep.com/article/20090425/NEWS02/90425002

I'm going on a limb and say that, the majority of this hat business live either in northwest Detroit or in the burbs. I guess the owners of this business realized that their customers simply don't live in the area of Woodward. Sad but it is what it is.

**j to the jeremy** · April-25-09, 12:16 PM

And they had just repainted their sign, unless I'm mistaken...

Too bad. That stretch of Woodward always seems like it's barely holding on to most of those stores. I hope someone moves into the space.

DetroitDad · April-25-09, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by R8RBOB

I'm going on a limb and say that, the majority of this hat business live either in northwest Detroit or in the burbs. I guess the owners of this business realized that their customers simply don't live in the area of Woodward. Sad but it is what it is.

I disagree. Detroit is still viewed as a pit you should be trying to climb out of. I wouldn't be surprised if the boom in business was just a way for this family to finally get out of Detroit.

**thecarl** · April-25-09, 12:50 PM

where does aretha live?

**g-dub** · April-25-09, 12:55 PM

Aretha lives in [[or used to live in) Bloomfield, and she has [[or had?) a condo at Riverfront Towers.

**digitalvision** · April-25-09, 02:11 PM

Doesn't surprise me at all. DetroitDad is right, most people still view it as they've "made it" when they cross the other side of 8 mile.

I'm going to get flamed for this, but I gotta speak truth to power... Only the urban pioneers and [[mostly) white "T" semi-gentrified district [[Lafayette Park, CBD, Midtown, Corktown) folks look at it as a place to stay.

Most black families [[even in those nicer areas) I know want to get the hell or have left out of here as fast as possible. And let's be frank, I'm sure Mr. Song's focus clientele is middle-to-high income black.

I'm sure their core clientele has moved to Southfield and farther out. The move probably makes a lot of business sense.

**iheartthed** · April-25-09, 02:21 PM

I bet they moved because it was cheaper to do business in Southfield [[i.e. insurance).

I doubt this move was motivated to be perceived as "making it". It doesn't make sense as a motive when you look at the demographics of his customer base. Their clientele seemed to be perfectly happy supporting the business where it was already located [[and the customer would probably prefer to support a business that is located in the city, whether or not she lives in the city herself).

**digitalvision** · April-25-09, 02:29 PM

Don't know about that, IHD.

When it comes to retail, location is EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. I've seen poorly run retail thrive in a great location; and great run retail fail all because of location.

I'm not saying the owner had that "make it" motivation, but I'm saying that the owner serves that demo which has moved due to that motivation.

Sure, insurance will probably be cheaper - taxes in Southfield, not as much - but it all comes down to sales and customer feedback. They could go through credit card info, etc. and find out that most of their clientele is in Southfield or shifted that direction, it only makes sense [[BTW, I know businesses leaving Southfield because their insurance is starting to get more costly as it's amazing, when it's a majority black area, which southfield is now, insurance companies seem to raise rates).

If their customer base was still in Detroit like I'm postulating it was, they would of stayed, regardless of the higher cost.

**R8RBOB** · April-25-09, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitDad

I disagree. Detroit is still viewed as a pit you should be trying to climb out of. I wouldn't be surprised if the boom in business was just a way for this family to finally get out of Detroit.

I'm with you that quote about trying to get out of Detroit. However, I'm not trying to buy a hat and I have never been to that location. The guy Song is following his clientele who got out of Detroit and not coming back.

**Locke09** · April-25-09, 02:45 PM

They said they are moving because they need more space. Maybe that's all there is to it.

Anyway, whether their clientele is primarily Detroit or suburban, they know that their new poularity means that their clientele will follow them. Southfield is not far from Detroit and Detroiters will follow them there because they spend the majority of their money outside of the City anyway.

**iheartthed** · April-25-09, 02:50 PM

Mr. Song is one of only about 10 milliners that exist in the entire country. His is not the type of retail that thrives off of attracting walk in customers from the street; his customers are looking for something specific when they come to him. He services a niche so extreme that his customers would likely follow him to where ever he went, especially after all of this publicity he has received as a result of the inauguration. Also, I'd bet that a significant percentage of his business comes from outside the metro area, and for those customers it wouldn't matter to them whether his store were in Detroit or Birmingham. And for the customers of his who are local, I'm pretty sure that most have few qualms about shopping in Detroit.

**R8RBOB** · April-25-09, 08:02 PM

It is sad when a business in Detroit feels that they have to leave the city for the suburbs but I cannot be upset about this. I have never spent money with Mr. Song and I doubt I will never. Not because I don't want to but because he has not what I want. Mr. Song's customers are his return customers and more than likely they live in the suburbs or they live in Rosedale or Sherwood. He is following his base which is understandable.

I'm sure if Mr. Song's clientele lived near his current location there would be no doubt he would stay put but that is not the case so I wish him well and hopefully someone can get his location to achieve their dreams like Mr. Song.

MIRepublic · April-25-09, 10:11 PM

Yep, Mr. Song moved all the way up to the boonies of...Southfield. lol I think Iheartthed kind of hit it on the head, though. I don't think this is hardly some huge statement on the city.

**g-dub** · April-26-09, 12:59 AM

It's not a huge statement on the city, but the question is: why not keep the original location open? No doubt they'll so well in Southfield, but they were doing very well on Woodward. It is not typical for a business doing well anywhere to just up and leave. Expand to new territory? Yes. Close up shop at the busiest period you've ever had? Not so much.

MIRepublic · April-26-09, 02:15 AM

Who really knows? Given that he's renting the building out in Southfield, the move may be related to little more than being offered a better deal on rent. Or, it actually could be a statement about the city. It'd really be nice if the local media wouldn't do some due dilligence on these stories. That blurb was all but two sentences. Given that, I don't think it's safe, either way, to make a good assumption on this. The tease of a story leaves more questions than answers such as whether or not this was a long-planned move or if he'd tried to get help from the city to stay. The media digging a little deeper would have been worth the effort, for sure.

**thecarl** · April-26-09, 02:40 PM

so far, it seems like this thread considers mr. song's location as an either-or proposition, but how about this: locationS, plural. you know, like hudson's did!

Bearinabox · April-26-09, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by thecarl

so far, it seems like this thread considers mr. song's location as an either-or proposition, but how about this: locationS, plural. you know, like hudson's did!

Run it by Mr. Song and see what he says. Maybe he'll reopen the New Center store for you.

**thecarl** · April-26-09, 03:56 PM

while many of my posts are serious, there are obviously some that i must follow with an explicit "buh-dooomp chhhhhhhh."

Bearinabox · April-26-09, 03:58 PM

I still don't get it. I guess I'm irredeemably dense.

**thecarl** · April-26-09, 04:48 PM

bear, then, it seems my statement was overly obtuse. i see your point, that perhaps mr. song could be lobbied to keep the detroit location, which apparently is not in the proprietor's interest. considerations of loyalty, goodwill, profit, long-term gains, and the like, are not enough to keep the business in detroit - but the business could actually remain in detroit, and expand elsewhere! and that is somewhat the point of the hudson's reference - that considerations of loyalty, goodwill, profit, long-term gains, and the like, are not enough to maintain a presence in the city. ultimately, hudson's had to abandon the ancestral site of its popularity, despite all the emotional considerations of both seller and consumers alike.

quelle dommage.

Bearinabox · April-26-09, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by thecarl

bear, then, it seems my statement was overly obtuse. i see your point, that perhaps mr. song could be lobbied to keep the detroit location, which apparently is not in the proprietor's interest. considerations of loyalty, goodwill, profit, long-term gains, and the like, are not enough to keep the business in detroit - but the business could actually remain in detroit, and expand elsewhere! and that is somewhat the point of the hudson's reference - that considerations of loyalty, goodwill, profit, long-term gains, and the like, are not enough to maintain a presence in the city. ultimately, hudson's had to abandon the ancestral site of its popularity, despite all the emotional considerations of both seller and consumers alike.

quelle dommage.

My point was more along the lines of "it's not the thread that considers Mr. Song's location an either-or proposition, it's Mr. Song who apparently does."

I don't know why Mr. Song decided to leave the city; it's possible that the business would have gone under if it had stayed here, and it's also possible that the proprietor simply wanted a shorter commute to work. Who knows. Either way, I'm not sure the Hudson's analogy applies, for a number of reasons:

1. Hudson's first expanded out of the city, and then closed the downtown store three decades later. If they had never opened the branches, maybe the downtown store, as the only Hudson's in existence, could have continued to attract enough customers to remain profitable. Then again, maybe not. Again, no way of knowing.

2. Hudson's opened the branches in the middle of nowhere, and the customers moved out there over the next several decades. In Mr. Song's case, the shift has already happened.

3. Leaving the city didn't save Hudson's.

Feel free to poke holes as necessary.