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That's really interesting about the book section, Kristen! I don't remember seeing a large book section at any of the stores I used to visit, but that was 20 years ago now! :)

The new layout you refer to happened around 2000 and was called "Mission Possible" internally (also called "MP stores" for short). The idea was to encourage browsing and to hide a lot of the overstock behind decorative signage so it didn't feel quite as much like a warehouse. Since many of the fixtures resembled X's, it was nearly impossible to see everything in a department. Guests *hated* the new layout and it was very confusing. Most of the stores I worked in were MPs. The aisle stores that weren't renovated were the first to close. I closed one in Euclid, Ohio in around 2001/2002 and another in Revere, MA in 2004.

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