Finally, in the front of the store, we get to the general electronics (and photography) service counter -- it's pretty impressive how this small store had three separate electronics service areas back in the day! I'm really impressed by how well stocked this area is, even if many of the products looked to be cheap throwaway-type items (not all of them, though -- there are certainly quality, name-brand items here, even including Apple products -- I wonder how many other drugstores are out there where you can buy an iPhone!). London Drugs was also capitalizing on the heat wave that hit Vancouver during my visit with a prominent display of air conditioners, including a few from De'Longhi, which I always find amusing since they're pretty much exclusively known for coffee makers in the US! (Apparently, HVAC equipment is actually a major part of their business in Europe.)
I actually have a DeLonghi toaster from the early 2000s purchased from Fry's Electronics of all places. They were the only place that sold DeLonghi appliances here, that I knew of at least, at the time. I don't really use a toaster so it's just sitting in a cabinet somewhere. DeLonghi was a brand often featured on 1990s game shows, but I never saw their products in the stores so it was a bit of a surprise when Fry's had their stuff. Of course, this was obviously back when Fry's was still a competitive store with full shelves.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine those portable A/Cs doing much of anything during a Houston summer, but maybe they are sufficient for a Vancouver summer, lol.
I remember when electronics stores had display cases like those that London Drugs has back behind the counter, but back then stores used to stock their Walkman cassette players and portable CD players in them! Maybe they still have a few of those, but I'm guessing the inventory is otherwise quite different these days!
Interesting! I don't believe I've ever seen De'Longhi appliances (other than coffeemakers) anywhere I've visited, and I don't believe I know anyone who has any of their products at all.
DeleteThe condo I was renting for my trip had a little portable air conditioner in it and it actually worked better than I was expecting -- definitely better than nothing at all, which is what a lot of people around here (myself included) have!
I suspect a lot of these cases were originally used for photography stuff, which is what this part of the electronics department emphasized. But still, you don't see much of that anymore either!