Moe's to close

Submitted by M Gulo Gulo on

In a sad note, Ira spoke today on WTKA that Moe's will close at the end of June. The MDen is expanding by opening a Detroit location. Re-opening on Main St and expanding the Briarwood location. Unfortunately a casualty of this will be the closing of Moe's. MDen purchased Moe's in May 2017. Moe's has a phenomenal history and is a landmark in the college apparel industry. It is sad to see it go. Here's to you Moe's

M-GO-Beek

June 21st, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^

That seems like a financial decision with poorly thought our public-relations aspects. Even if "Moe's" has 100% MDen clothing, for alumni, there should always be a place on State St called Moe's to buy apparel at.  If there is too much MDen in the area, close the other MDen and maintain a Moe's presence.

bluebyyou

June 21st, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^

You have to have stores where people shop. While students may be near the M-Den State Street location, a large number of people also frequent Briarwood Mall.  Enlarging the size of the Briarwood store seems like a great idea to me.  I'm sure M-Den will include the clothing lines Moe's carried when Moe's closes.

4roses

June 21st, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^

Its not that there aren't people shopping there, its that they figure the loss in revenue that comes from closing the campus store is offset by the cost of operating it and an increase in revenue at their other locations. Why operate X stores if I can operate X-1 and still sell the same amount of goods? Sucks for sure. Only way to change the equation is to buy your gear elsewhere. 

mGrowOld

June 21st, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^

Another piece of my Michigan college experience gone.  Kinda sad to be honest.

My memory of Moe's was they always had real nice stuff, it was expensive, but nice.  I worked across the street at the Bivoac but used to like to check out what M gear they had in stock.

My niece worked there for three years back in the mid 90's when she was in school so I always got the good stuff from here then (and with a nice employee discount).

Oh well...things change.

plaidflannel

June 21st, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^

Most of my Michigan apparel is from Moe's, so this is disappointing, but not shocking based on how empty it was the past few times I visited it.  Agree with other posters that their gear seemed priced a little higher, but was more traditional and higher quality.  I think MDen's expansion and The Victors Collection stole a lot of business from Moe's.

LSAClassOf2000

June 21st, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^

Just in general, Ann Arbor is a very different place than it was even a few years ago, let alone 10-20 or more years, and sadly, some of the staples of near-campus life have been among the casualties. 

I still have a lot of stuff from Moe's. This is sad news indeed. 

Bando Calrissian

June 21st, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^

WD on the day the buyout was announced: "The best in the business is now the undisputed champion. Great stuff."

Yep, they sure are. Buy the competition, bleed out the competition, close the competition, then go straight to the mall. SMDH.

The Granddaddy

June 21st, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^

Oh well ... Moe's hasn't been actual Moe's since like pre-2010 before it went to whoever had it before MDen (I think underground?) Hasn't been the same in a long time.

VintageM

June 21st, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^

Best memory of Moes is all the athlete polaroids they used to have on the wall, dating back to the 70s I believe.  Will miss it for nostalgic reasons but not current reasons.

HarbaughsLeftElbow

June 21st, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^

Would be cool to see this location open as some sort of "College Apparel" mini museum that retained the Moe's signage. 

MDen just seems like it didn't really have any ideas for the space. It was too similar selection to their other stores. 

Is MDen trying to sell the trademark rights to Moe's or just nailing it in the coffin?

Section 1.8

June 21st, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^

I hate getting this news.  Makes me cherish all the more the New Era Professional Model "M" hat that I got at Moe's on South State Street in 1979.  If my house was burning down and I could only run out with two arms full of stuff, that hat would be one of the collected items.

I hope that somebody from the M Den reads this and realizes that they could have done better with Moe's as an operating sub-brand.

When it is gone, there will never be another Moe's.  I'll further lose interest in licensed apparel, etc.

 

bronxblue

June 21st, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^

I liked Moe's, but honestly I thought them and M Den couldn't survive together, so it makes sense they are being closed.  It sucks because I agree with others that it was a nice place to go and had quality products.

JWG Wolverine

June 21st, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^

This seems so simply stupid to me, why not just sell MDen stuff in Moe's? Is the fact that it is the first place to ever sell a college shirt not a one of a kind and great marketing point? Just make the MDen around the corner slightly smaller, and promote Moe's more, or just rename it "MDen at Moe Sport Shops" or something.

Bando Calrissian

June 21st, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^

Well, that's what MDen kind of did, they rebranded as "Moe's by the MDen." But then MDen put nothing on the shelves and turned what used to be one of the finest UM apparel shops in town into a ghost. Last few times I was in there, it was noticeable how little there was to choose from. It looked empty, it felt empty, and decidedly un-Moe's. It was sad.

MDen ran out the clock on an Ann Arbor icon. Not surprising they want to double down on being the Michigan store at the mall instead of nurturing what makes Treetown special. And not surprising that those who don't get why that's a big deal are the same folks praising every little thing MDen does.

Gob Wilson

June 21st, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^

Wow. This makes me sad. I grew up in Ann Arbor and remember going to Moe's when I was about 5 years old with my grandfather who had played football for UM 40 years earlier. Tears.