Posted on 04/15/2017 4:03:12 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
From rural strip-malls to Manhattan’s avenues, it has been a disastrous two years for retail.
There have been nine retail bankruptcies in 2017—as many as all of 2016. J.C. Penney, RadioShack, Macy’s, and Sears have each announced more than 100 store closures. Sports Authority has liquidated, and Payless has filed for bankruptcy. Last week, several apparel companies’ stocks hit new multi-year lows, including Lululemon, Urban Outfitters, and American Eagle, and Ralph Lauren announced that it is closing its flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue, one of several brands to abandon that iconic thoroughfare.
A deep recession might explain an extinction-level event for large retailers. But GDP has been growing for eight straight years, gas prices are low, unemployment is under 5 percent, and the last 18 months have been quietly excellent years for wage growth, particularly for middle- and lower-income Americans.
So, what the heck is going on? The reality is that overall retail spending continues to grow steadily, if a little meagerly. But several trends—including the rise of e-commerce, the over-supply of malls, and the surprising effects of a restaurant renaissance—have conspired to change the face of American shopping....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
From the outright boycotts of stores like JC Penney, Target, Macy’s etc. and our “Going Galt” the past eight years to not feed the beast under Obama, all of this had to take its toll and the retail stores were destined for the inevitable cutbacks and closures.
?. If you took personal offense, my comment was directed at the idiots who think the economy was growing and unemployment numbers were low.
Alaska? Anyone who lives here more than a month knows the deal. I’ve been here 24 years.
It's funny, because my grandparents were very comfortable with mail order, as it was part of their upbringing.
I knew of this because when we visited them as kids in the 1950's, various items that they had ordered, such as croquet sets, would arrive during our stay.
Give me five examples.
I live in a college town, a Big 10 university is here. Four or five long-standing restaurants have closed down in the last three months. One was a Denny’s. How the f*** does a Denny’s close down?
Something strange going on.
I love going to the local nursery and dreaming of enormous gardens and then buying a couple dozen for my little one.
This year I bought a lot of stuff on line...and seeds to start stuff at home :)
Yep, we now buy from Ali baba or Mexico direct, thus no need for illegals here to work at walmart....
I try to buy American—especially food given China’s notorious lax food inspection/sanitation system. Not easy though! I think buying anything from China is penny-wise/pound foolish.
I hear China is now shipping food and other items to third parties who then claim they are the country of origin.
The majority of the closures were struggling for years, using poor advertising schemes, and already on the chopping block. Technology also requires changes in venue and strategy to stay viable.
My household is almost 100% online shopping now. Even on Sundays, packages are getting delivered. You can’t really say retail is down without adding in online retail. Recently we’ve started having groceries delivered (Blue Apron). So far, so good.
Tell me about it. I realized that about 2 years ago, and I started throwing stuff out. The wife complained so I simply bought a new house, moved what I wanted, and left the rest with the now, ex-wife. :)
Those ObamaCare premiums are coming out of that discretionary money. Less to spend... anywhere.
As I kept telling the manager of our local Borders, if you let people lounge around, stuffing their faces and reading the books all day, you’re gonna go out of business.
I was in the store several times a week, and saw repeat offenders.
One guy even bragged that he came every day, stayed all day and never bought anything...he just read the books, there.
Also, there were times that I went to buy a particular book, most memorably, a $60 Photoshop book, that was impossible to find anywhere else, only to discover that someone had spilled a drink containing chocolate all over it, effectively gluing the pages together.
Probably half the books I bought had food residue on them, because of all the freeloading-reader slobs, had read them while parked in the big comfy chairs, sipping their mochas and eating pastries.
There’s a Barnes & Noble and BooksAMillion 40 minutes away but their stock is crap, unless you want to read romance novels.
So I’m stuck with Amazon for a book store.
I might as well pay pennies on the dollar for used books, since I was paying full price for ‘used’ books at Borders, anyway.
And that’s why they collapsed...touchy-feely liberal store policies.
Remember Books ‘N Things?
If you thumbed through a book more than 10 seconds, they were all over you to either buy it or put it down.
This is why we have .410s and bird shot.
The Valley Mall in Hagerstown lost Macys recently but is still bustling.
I refuse to go there due to the daily mobs.
As poor as this area is, in general, I have no idea where people get money for all the stuff they buy...except for the welfare royalty, that is.
I could give you twenty but im not accountable to you so i wont.
In 1990, I was the project manager when the commercial auction and liquidation company I worked for sold this property at foreclosure. As I recall, the senior lender bought it in.
I didn’t read it that way. Thanks for taking the time to clarify.
Enjoy all the daylight heading your way...
“Where did your business go?”
Oh, please. Really? Anywhere but Sears.
Clothing has gone to my sewing machine with fabric bought from the church bazaar.
Most of the appliances are working, knock on wood, so will have to decide when they can no longer be repaired by hubby. IIRC, the last purchase, a water heater, was from Ace. Don’t have to buy from Sears. Kenmore used to be a good product but the last couple times we looked, Sears was way too expensive on all brands. Just got a free riding lawn mower when an illegal decided to go back home.
Have enough inherited tools to last three lifetimes. Speaking of lifetimes, Sears is doing away with Craftsman.
Jewelry doesn’t interest me. Have plenty of lawn furniture and grills. There’s no need for toys. Bottom line, there’s no need for Sears. There are other fish in the sea.
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