Posted on 05/03/2015 4:02:11 PM PDT by dennisw
Submitted by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores? The “retail apocalypse” that I have written about so frequently appears to be accelerating. As you will see below, major U.S. retailers have announced that they are closing more than 6,000 locations, but economic conditions in this country are still fairly stable. So if this is happening already, what are things going to look like once the next recession strikes? For a long time, I have been pointing to 2015 as a major “turning point” for the U.S. economy, and I still feel that way. And since I started The Economic Collapse Blog at the end of 2009, I have never seen as many indications that we are headed into another major economic downturn as I do right now. If retailers are closing this many stores already, what are our malls and shopping centers going to look like a few years from now?
The list below comes from information compiled by About.com, but I have only included major retailers that have announced plans to close at least 10 stores. Most of these closures will take place this year, but in some instances the closures are scheduled to be phased in over a number of years. As you can see, the number of stores that are being permanently shut down is absolutely staggering…
The truth is that middle class U.S. consumers are tapped out. Most families are just scraping by financially from month to month. For most Americans, there simply is not a whole lot of extra money left over to go shopping with these days.
In fact, at this point approximately one out of every four Americans spend at least half of their incomes just on rent…
More than one in four Americans are spending at least half of their family income on rent – leaving little money left to purchase groceries, buy clothing or put gas in the car, new figures have revealed.
A staggering 11.25 million households consume 50 percent or more of their income on housing and utilities, according to an analysis of Census data by nonprofit firm, Enterprise Community Partners.
And 1.8 million of these households spend at least 70 percent of their paychecks on rent.
The surging cost of rental housing has affected a rising number of families since the Great Recession hit in 2007. Officials define housing costs in excess of 30 percent of income as burdensome.
For decades, the U.S. economy was powered by a free spending middle class that had plenty of discretionary income to throw around. But now that the middle class is being systematically destroyed, that paradigm is changing. Americans families simply do not have the same resources that they once did, and that spells big trouble for retailers.
As you read this article, the United States still has more retail space per person than any other nation on the planet. But as stores close by the thousands, “space available” signs are going to be popping up everywhere.
closing:
180 Abercrombie & Fitch (by 2015)
75 Aeropostale (through January 2015)
150 American Eagle Outfitters (through 2017)
223 Barnes & Noble (through 2023)
265 Body Central / Body Shop
66 Bottom Dollar Food
25 Build-A-Bear (through 2015)
32 C. Wonder
21 Cache
120 Chico’s (through 2017)
200 Children’s Place (through 2017)
17 Christopher & Banks
70 Coach (fiscal 2015)
70 Coco’s /Carrows
300 Deb Shops
92 Delia’s
340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
39 Einstein Bros. Bagels
(more at source)
Too many stores, too much clothing in people’s closets. Many people could last 20 years with the stuff they have.
also worthy of note is that people are buying stuff online
My take is that a lot of business and retail selling is done today in non-taxable ways via the black market, grey market, mobile food trucks that dodge taxes and so on.
Also uber and airbnb....taxes are not paid. IOW a lot of immigrants and liberals are going Galt
Many stores will be closing over the next two years. They are literally running on empty, if you go into most of them Monday thru Friday and often Sunday afternoons.
They cannot keep bleeding borrowed cash, even at the lower interest rates.
A lot of these are expensive clothing chains I shopped at during and after college. Now that I’m a bit older, I don’t care that my jeans aren’t Abercrombie. A lot of parents I know are scaling back on kids’ clothing.
When they go bust we can subdivide them for housing for third world illegal aliens and their broods
There’s was a little store close to me that had been there for decades and I loved it. It sold make up, perfume, did facials, etc. They provided services you can’t buy online. The clients were upper middle class mostly. The owner had to declare bankruptcy a few months ago - and she cited a dwindling lack of disposable income.
Our taxes are too high in this state and everything going on is having a snowball effect on more than just the “poor”.
>>>also worthy of note is that people are buying stuff online<<<
Personally I love Amazon. More choice. Good prices. Usually no sales tax. And you don’t have to put up with crowds. I’m a man obviously and there is no thrill to shop for me. I bet many men are exactly like me. And in today’s world there are so many more men shopping than before.
Most people don’t have disposable income.
After rent, utilities, groceries - there’s nothing left over.
And people have no money to buy and the market is following suit.
The day of the high-priced marked up over MSRP mall store is over.
Pet store quality dog food is cheaper on Amazon than in the local feed store. Plus free shipping and zero sales tax makes it a bargain.
UPS just drops the big bag at my doorstep - now there’s convenience and I no longer have to drive to park and go into the store to buy what I need.
I agree. I don’t even have any for those first three things.
I worry when more of the country finds out first hand how bad things are. This depression is going to generate a lot of (or more of) crime, I think.
Hey, America, how’s that hope and change working out?
Yes I do but they are chock full of good useful information.
although the economy is not growing, a primary reason for the closings is over exhuberant expansion. Sales projections and growth based on over optimistic extrapolations resulted in unwarranted growth.
I predict that will be the fate of more and more motels and certain hotels.
No hope and very little spare change.
Also Malls are uncomfortable during holiday. Seems “Homeland Security’ is obsessed with Conservative White Christians - while the rest of us are worried about radical Muslims...
Liberal elites running stores don’t like everyday Americans - and we’re half the population... If they only want liberal elite shoppers they should close down the large stores and open small boutiques... Liberal elites make everything they touch joyless...
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