My local Waterstones is the last surviving dedicated book store in the city and is really a destination as much as anything else. They run a lot of activities in their coffee shop too (book clubs and such).
I was certain covid would have been the final nail in the coffin but their renewed focus really is working - they’re thriving in a way they haven’t been in 20 years.
anything that looks cheap, is of low quality, or in bad condition:
Like most souvenir shops, it sells a lot of old tat.
(The kind of high-margin items that you didn’t come to the shop for and most people won’t buy anyway.)
Further, I'd observe that most of the companies getting bought by funds for turnaround are.. in need of a turnaround. So many of them were on the path to failing if left to their own devices anyhow.
That said there are structural legal/tax issues that benefit "corporate raiders" in these these take-private deals.