Part economic downturn - prices up, incomes stagnant.
Part tapped out purchasing - owning too much stuff, not enough space.
Part new alternatives - Amazon, enough said.
A map of these closings would tell us where the jobs ain’t.
I am pretty sure I have only been in about three of these stores - Barnes & Noble and the couple of dollar stores listed at the end of the list.
You know it’s getting bad when Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are closing stores.
That with the downturn in the oil patch, can’t be good.
Never been to any of those. I wear jeans tshirts and “tennis” shoes and ball cap. All from Walmart. I shop at CVS, Walmart, Kroger and Tom Thumb when any of them have a sale. I hit the Salvation Army store and Salvage Grocery once a month. I don’t care about labels or what’s popular to wear or eat. Day old hamburger meat from Walmart still makes a better cheaper burger than MCdonalds or one of those other places.
They way overbuilt Dollar Tree/Family Dollar. There’s one on every corner. But Chico’s???? NOooooooo. Okay, I maybe go once every two or three years. I’m surprised Barnes and Nobles still exists at all given Amazon. People go there to look at the book and then go home and buy it on line. I’ve started buying clothes on line. If I like a brand, I find it on line and order what I see. If I hate it, I send it back. Most places have free shipping.
The Staples/Office Depot closing is not surprising since Staples bought out Office Depot. Most areas had one of each within easy driving distance so it makes sense to consolidate. Unfortunately I have already noticed the cost of the most basic office supply items increasing which doesn’t surprise me. Going to be hard for our small business to absorb. We can only pass on so much to our clients.
Bottom Dollar Food?
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Prepper market is going great guns. Hmmmm. I wonder what that may mean.
Notice some businesses are those which cater to the wealthy. So if the wealthy are punished with higher taxes the hurt trickles down to the non-wealthy.
I shop at Target a couple of times a week.
The other day, I wanted to buy a WaterPik. Actually, I decided I’d buy two.
When I went on line to see if Target had them, I found out they did... but the web page said “item not available in stores.”
So I made the purchase on line. About $80, including sales tax. Free shipping, and I got the 5% Target card discount.
It’s hard to understand. They’re undercutting their own stores with internet sales.
Maybe I’ve been living out here in the country too long. I’ve never heard of half these stores.
Build A Bear?
Deb Shops?
Just Baked?
Wet Seal? (most seals are :)
Noticeably missing: Wal*Mart, Hobby Lobby, Lowes and Home Depot.
Too expensive, better deals online, and personally, I love consignment boutique/home furnishing, and yard sale shopping. In the last few years, I’m still amazed at the deals and the quality of items I’ve been able to purchase at far fewer prices than buying/charging at retail stores. Many Americans are catching on!
eCommerce. Next question.
Thanks for the cool article. Yes, Zero Hedge is cynical and lacks hope in the Lord. Number closing:
223 Barnes and Noble. I went there in the 1990’s.
70 Coco’s. Bummer. I went there once a week with family.
50 Fresh and Easy. They recently built too many too quickly.
14 Friendly’s. I hope my cousin who works there will find work.
50 Guess. Please close and get rid of lame advertising and sweat shops.
40 JC Penny. Sad.
400 Office Depot. Good. That place is repulsive.
63 Pep boys. Sad.
1,784 Radio Shack. Wow.
55 Staples. They always seem empty.
I give what extra cash to my adult children to help with the grandchildren.
Shrink-to-fit regime of recirculating debt.
When the factions are done robbing people through both political parties from every level of government, maybe we’ll produce something.
Where are these stores closing? In Democrat/Communist run inner cities? Gee! I wonder why? /s
Many of them may be closing because they lose too much to shoplifters and after the riots begin, looters. It’s hard to burn down amazon.com.
People don’t have money to shop, because our government is making us a third world, socialist welfare state where everyone, except politicians and their cronies, will be equally poor.
Not too long ago, I wasted close to three hours on a Saturday morning looking for some tools and hardware at a Home Depot, a Lowes and a local hardware store. I eventually found most of what I needed but was able to locate online within minutes the things I couldn't find. And in the process, I realized I overpaid for the things I did find.
Amazon Prime...not a bad deal. For $99 a year, you get most Amazon items delivered to your home in two days with no extra shipping charges. And you get a bunch of on-demand movies and TV shows to watch in the bargain.
If even cantankerous middle-aged men like me would rather buy things online than going to the stores, then yes, I think it's time to say bricks and mortar retail is in real trouble.