During a recent visit to a mall in Mesa, Arizona I passed by a “hobby shop” on the way out. “Hobby Shop” did not even begin to describe what was inside. I had almost passed it up since the door and markings did not immediately attract my interest. Walking in it became clear that a good deal of my future money may end up in their cash box. I am a big fan of Formula-One racing. I was a nice surprise to see a HUGE room totally dedicated to RC indoor track racing. Wow.. I should have started my visit with this place !
The hobby store owners are taking this to new heights. Some of the tracks went all 3D for the “off-road” mountain climbing the RC Controlled 4-wheelers. And there’s “Drifting” tracks, Mini Tracks, Kid Tracks, Big Car tracks, and many other options. There’s even a practice track for Grandma and she was there practicing! The store is used frequently for all-day events and anyone can come in for $10 and race all day ! Naturally the hobby store sells everything you would need to start an RC hobby and get racing same day.
Why did I find this so amazing and a sign of good things to come? Here’s why: The thriving business that used to occupy this huge space belonged to a huge bookstore. Since books can easily be sold online nowadays the bookstore is no longer there. Sadly neither are the bookstore employees. This is the stunning change-over that we’ve all witnessed first hand as online retailing has taken over anything that will fit in a box. But this new occupant… CANNOT BE REPLACED by the Internet Online Shopping Craze. In order to race those fast little cars, you gotta be there. (and I do plan to do just that…) My good friends, this could be the secret sauce to America’s Mall Revival. Start your engines. It’s only a matter of converting those empty spaces to cater to our desires for those goods and services which simply have no place online. Like racecars!
