Demarcos Closes Its Doors In Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls is losing a decades-old shop and well-known fixture in the community. Demarcos, a men’s clothing store, will close its doors for good after a final liquidation sale Thursday.

The store is one of the original tenants of Grand Teton Mall. It’s been there from the beginning in 1984.

Now Demarcos is bowing out after an economic downturn coming from across the nation right into the heart of shopping centers.

Demarcos locked up to mark everything down.

“Radio Shack’s gone out, and now with Demarcos going out, that’s pretty sad,” said shopper Russell Skidmore.

The company’s president, Rob Marcovitz, chalked it up to a poor economy and declining mall traffic.

“We’re starting to feel the effects of it here, and it’s the case nationally,” said Marcovitz.

Demarcos isn’t the only retailer struggling to make ends meet in this economy.

Dean Goldenstein flew in from St. Louis to help his friend liquidate the men’s store this week.

After 16 years of sales, Goldenstein shut down his store in a strip mall last year because customers began trickling off.

“It just didn’t seem logical to re-sign a lease, when business kept going down,” said Goldenstein.

Marcovitz sees this as a trend. He said Americans are looking more to alternative retailers.

“The U.S. people are getting to be a little more like Internet shopping-type people,” said Marcovitz.

But not everyone seems to agree.

“The mall still has some kind of allure to it,” said Skidmore.

Reporter Jessica Crandall also tried to get some figures on how mall sales are going at Grand Teton. Management there has yet to accept an interview or return her phone calls.

The Commerce Department reports U.S. retail sales rose by 0.4 percent last month after falling flat in December.