Posted on 02/01/2016 8:58:20 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Major retailers in the United States are shutting down hundreds of stores, and shoppers are reporting alarmingly bare shelves in many retail locations that are still open all over the country. It appears that the retail apocalypse that made so many headlines in 2015 has gone to an entirely new level as we enter 2016. As economic activity slows down and Internet retailers capture more of the market, brick and mortar retailers are cutting their losses. This is especially true in areas that are on the lower portion of the income scale. In impoverished urban centers all over the nation, it is not uncommon to find entire malls that have now been completely abandoned. It has been estimated that there is about a billion square feet of retail space sitting empty in this country, and this crisis is only going to get worse as the retail apocalypse accelerates.
We always get a wave of store closings after the holiday shopping season, but this year has been particularly active. The following are just a few of the big retailers that have already made major announcements…
-Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, including 154 inside the United States.
-K-Mart is closing down more than two dozen stores over the next several months.
-J.C. Penney will be permanently shutting down 47 more stores after closing a total of 40 stores in 2015.
-Macy’s has decided that it needs to shutter 36 stores and lay off approximately 2,500 employees.
-The Gap is in the process of closing 175 stores in North America.
-Aeropostale is in the process of closing 84 stores all across America.
-Finish Line has announced that 150 stores will be shutting down over the next few years.
-Sears has shut down about 600 stores over the past year or so, but sales at the stores that remain open continue to fall precipitously.
But these store closings are only part of the story.
All over the country, shoppers are noticing bare shelves and alarmingly low inventory levels. This is happening even at the largest and most prominent retailers.
I want to share with you an excerpt from a recent article by Jeremiah Johnson. The anecdotes that he shares definitely set off alarm bells with me. Read them for yourself and see what you think…
*****
I came across two excellent comments upon Steve Quayle's website that bear reading, as these are two people with experience in retail marketing, inventory, ordering, and purchases. Take a look at these:
#1 (From DJ, January 24, 2016)
"Steve-
[Regarding the] alerts about the current state of the RR industry. This is in line with what I've been noticing as I visited our local/regional grocery store, Walmart, and Target this week in WI. I worked in big box retail for 20 years specializing in Inventory Management. These stores are all using computerized inventory management systems that monitor and automatically replenish inventory when levels/shelf stock get low. This prevents "out of stocks" and lost sales. These companies rely on the ability to replenish inventory quickly from regional warehouses.
As I shopped this week and looked at inventory levels I was shocked. There were numerous (above and beyond acceptable levels) out of stocks across category lines at all three retailers. And even where inventory was on the shelf, the overall levels were noticeably reduced. Based on my experience, working for two of these three organizations in store management, they have drastically/intentionally reduced their inventory levels. This is either due to financial stresses/poor sales effecting their ability to acquire new inventory, or it could be the result of what was mentioned earlier regarding the transporting of goods to these regional warehouses. Either way this doesn't bode well for the what's to come. Stock up now while you can!"
#2 (From a Commenter following up #1 who didn't provide a name, January 26, 2016)
"I'd like to tailgate on the SQ Alert "based on my experience…" regarding stock levels in big box stores. This weekend we were in two such stores, each in fairly isolated communities which are easily the communities' best source for acquiring grocery items in quantity.
I myself worked in retail (meat) for thirty years so I know exactly what a well-stocked store looks like, understand the key categories and category drivers, and how shelves are stocked and displays are built to drive sales and profits. I also understand supply chain and distribution methodologies quite well.
Each of the stores we were in were woefully under-stocked. This time of year-the few weeks following the holidays-is usually big business in groceries and low stock levels suggest either poor ordering at the store level, poor purchasing at the distribution level or a purposeful desire to be under-stocked.
Anyone familiar with the retail grocery industry is also familiar with how highly touted "the big box store's" infrastructure is. They know exactly when demand is high and for what items and in what quantities. It is very unlikely that both stores somehow got "surprised" by unusually high demand. It is reasonable then to imagine that low stock levels in rural areas with few options is a purposed endeavor to assure that both the budget conscious and the folks in more remote areas are not fully able to load up their pantries.
Simply put I believe the major retailer in question is doing their part to limit the ability of rural America to be sufficiently prepared. Nevertheless, we are wise to do our best to keep ahead of the curve. God bless your efforts, Steve."
*****
Yes, this is just anecdotal evidence, but it lines up perfectly with hard numbers that I have been discussing on The Economic Collapse Blog.
Exports are plummeting all over the globe, and the Baltic Dry Index just plunged to another new all-time record low. The amount of stuff being shipped around by air, truck and rail inside this country has been dropping significantly, and this tells us that real economic activity is really slowing down.
If you currently work in the retail industry, your job is not secure, and you may want to start evaluating your options.
We have entered the initial phases of a major economic downturn, and it is going to be especially cruel to those on the low end of the income spectrum. Do what you can to get prepared now, because the economy is not going to be getting better any time soon.
Cabella (actually Worlds Foremost Bank) does have some overhead with their Visa cards. They had to pay over $10 million in fines and restitution in 2011, and they got hit with another million in fines and refunds in 2014.
http://www.lowcards.com/cabelas-bank-fined-1-million-deceptive-credit-card-practices-24030
Regarding Montgomery Ward’s, remember that the third biggest retailer in America was gobbled up by Mobil Oil who quickly turned them into the tenth biggest retailer.
After I made my post, I was afraid you might misinterpret it. I certainly didn’t intend to be critical of anything you wrote or your choices to make online purchases. I do such all the time. I think it must’ve just been something in your post that made me think of some of my experiences with libtards. I apologize if it came across as otherwise.
No worries! :-)
Never had a problem with their fit. At least not yet.
tx!
Some verify size, style and brand and then go home online and buy stuff cheaper.
Also banks are firing all their tellers and rePlacing them with rotating bankers.
The AAA has also fired half their staff.
SOMETHING BAD THIS WAY COMETH!
“No atmosphere in the retail outlet,though”
—
If there is one thing I could not care less about is atmosphere when I’m shopping.
I’m a quick,in and out shopper—I have detested it my entire life.
My late Mom LOVED shopping. I’m sure I was a great disappointment to her. :-)
\.
**** “With Amazon Pantry, one rarely needs to hit the grocery store anyway.
Couple that w/ ‘Ship to Store’, for a lot of places, and it’s in/out. No need to BROWSE and impulse shop. I think you’ll see small store-fronts for the big-name stores in the future. Shipped to & pick-up from. Nothing more.
B&M...going the way of the buggy whip” ****
Never underestimate the Stupidity and Greed of Government/Politicians and then understand that the Internet is just a button push away from existence. Knowing that what do you think Obama is squeezing Amazon for $ ?
In our area, Sears has a main store in town with everything and a smaller satellite store on the Amish side of town, just a store front with lots of appliances.
***** “What if you did not HAVE to go there to pick up the gun you bought online?” *****
That would be so cool
The only thing keeping retail going is clothing. When some smart person gets rich by coming up with a way to virtually try on clothes, retail is toast.
Ha! Just for s&g, turn off the internet for ONE day and watch the world EXPLODE on D.C./State/etc.
More so than if they put the TV broadcasting to color-bars for a week.
starting reading the post...knew it was you :)
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