In 2023, Dexter Ingram launched IN Network, a non-profit aimed at guiding young minds aged 13 to 26 towards fulfilling careers in national security. A former Naval Flight Officer, his State Department assignments include serving as Director of the Office of Countering Violent Extremism; Acting Director of the Office of the Special Envoy to Defeat ISIS; Senior Counter Terrorism Coordinator to INTERPOL in Lyon, France; Senior Political Advisor in Helmand, Afghanistan; Deputy Director of the Office of Preventing WMD Terrorism, and as a senior liaison to both the FBI and the DHS.
Devoted to community engagement and story telling, Dexter shares his passion for history, national security, and service through his remarkable private spy collection. Dexter serves on the Boards of the International Spy Museum; the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE); the Sycamore Institute; and Globally. He has also served on the Board of Visitors at National Defense University and on the D.C. Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
Dexter, a visionary in national security education, was selected as an International Counterterrorism Fellow in the inaugural class of U.S. CT professionals at National Defense University, as well as a Diversity In National Security Network’s honoree in U.S. National Security and Foreign Affairs. His media experience includes numerous appearances on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, BBC, Abu Dhabi TV (UAE), NHK TV (Japan), and Maghreb News (Morocco). His work has been featured on ABC News "This Week," NBC News "Dateline NBC," USA Today, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report.
Buybuy BABY was a retail shop with clothes and items for children of different ages with locations all over America. The store was also present in a few locations in the Greater Brandon Area, operating and serving customers for years. However, that ended last month when the store decided to close all of its locations in the United States since the store bankrupted, although the company holders tried to save it. It was reported that the company Janie and Jack tried to buy buybuy BABY and one would think this is the perfect buyer because they also sell children’s clothing. Nevertheless, the two parties could not reach an agreement whatsoever, so they decided to take the offer down.
But why do big stores such as buybuy BABY with multiple locations all over the US come to such an end? Don’t big companies have backup plans for whenever something doesn’t work out the way it should? What are the main reasons that send a business towards its closure? I was contemplating why this happens today and came up with a few reasons which I would like to share in the following paragraphs.
One of the main reasons why businesses either close down or are sold to another owner is mainly related to people’s preferences. We are all humans and we change preferences over time which is also proved by scientific research, thus it is totally understandable that we want to engage into other activities. For example, I have a friend who lives in California, and I met him the other month after a long time. Upon discussing life in general, he told me that he had sold the retail company which he used to lead for the past 10 years because he saw that he and his friends had the option to invest in purchasing a restaurant in their hometown. They did this and found out that in just one year’s time they earned way more annually than they used to before, so the decision was definitely beneficial in their end.
The next plausible reason is the market fluctuation. The presence of AI and the advancement in technology have made it possible for new business ideas to flourish and enter the market which has very promising highly valued estimations for the following years. I read a report on LinkedIn on the market research for the next 5 years which said that once a new business idea surfaces, the user behavior is analyzed. For instance, they analyzed how people are enjoying online poker games because of the convenience of playing from the comfort of their home, so this business area is expected to grow by 5.6% by the end of 2028. This proved that this particular industry is rather promising, so more and more people are expected to invest in an area that was unknown in the past 10 years but is now literally blooming.
Another reason which one would say comes inevitably is retirement. We had the case of Bob Rodriguez who was the owner of George Mower’s Service for 48 years. Since Rodriguez is now at the age of 79 and decided to retire, he wanted to sell his business but unfortunately failed to find a buyer. This resulted in him having to close down the business entirely. However, Rodriguez was quite happy but able to travel now with his wife after the retirement and he expressed his gratitude to the community for the support they have always provided him with during his career.
Ever since the pandemic, there has emerged and became quite frequent the difficulty for businesses to face the economic challenges of nowadays. The whole pandemic situation has particularly hit businesses and became the main reason some businesses even closed back in 2020. The situation has unfortunately not improved in the next following years because of the continuous rise in inflation, which has made it unbearable for businesses to even be able to cover their operational costs. So, the economic challenge that was primarily caused by COVID-19 and then continued by the rise of inflation is one of the main reasons why people had to completely shut down their businesses.
The change of consumer behavior is another indicator that pushes businesses to close down. For instance, nowadays people prefer to shop online rather than visit a brick-and-mortar store. The option of online shopping is obviously more convenient, and I am sure we can all relate to this idea. Buying with a click without having to even start the car and go visit a shopping mall is undoubtedly a dream come true. It has been reported that as of 2022, the overall retail sales in online shopping went up to 21% and this percentage is expected to grow even more significantly in the upcoming years.
So, to conclude, we can definitely say that retail has an ever-evolving nature and there are always new things to come in the future. Every store is definitely affected by this nature and some of them can’t even make it past the new changes they might encounter. It is of crucial importance for all store owners and managers to be aware of these changes and understand them, but also embrace them whole-heartedly if they want to survive in this increasingly competitive market.
To go back to what we started this article with, if you are to access the website of buybuy BABY, there is the me
ssage that the site will “be right back”. However, at the moment it is not clear if someone will buy and revitalize the stores across country under the same name, or whether the company will merge into some other company of the same sort.
Bonnie Kudrick is the founder and CEO of HumanLink, LLC. Founded in 2019, Bonnie is a pioneer in integrating and promoting the importance of Human Factors in the federal government. Bonnie specializes in Human Factors Engineering, graduating from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Psychology and the University of Idaho with a Masters of Science in Human Factors Engineering. She also obtained her certificate in Leadership Training through American University.
With her vast understanding of how critical the human piece of any successful person/system team, Bonnie successfully established the Human Performance Branch at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The primary element that has ensured Bonnie's success with clients in private and public agencies is her ability to lead, listen, and respond to the specific challenges that government agencies, airlines, airports, vendors, and operators face on a daily basis.