A giant wave of store closures is about to hit the US

Business Insider ^ | Dec 31, 2016 | Hayley Peterson

[TaxPayer2000]

Retailers are bracing for a fresh wave of store closures at the start of the new year.

The industry is heading into 2017 with a glut of store space as shopping continues to shift online and foot traffic to malls declines, according to analysts ~SNIP~

Nearly every major department store, including Macy's, Kohl's, Walmart, and Sears, have collectively closed hundreds of stores over the last couple years to try and stem losses from unprofitable stores and the rise of ecommerce.

But the closures are far from over.

Macy's has already said that it's planning to close 100 stores, or about 15% of its fleet, in 2017. Sears is shuttering at least 30 Sears and Kmart stores by April, and additional closures are expected to be announced soon. CVS also said this month that it's planning to shut down 70 locations.

Mall stores like Aeropostale, which filed for bankruptcy in May, American Eagle, Chicos, Finish Line, Men's Wearhouse, and The Children's Place are also in the midst of multi-year plans to close stores.

~SNIP~

[UCANSEE2]

It is my theory that Amazon and E-Bay are behind the ‘flash mob violence’ at shopping malls.

[MayflowerMadam]

Remember Tandy?

[BobL]

“The reality we’re facing here is that we simply don’t need all the retail space that has been constructed in this country over the last 30+ years. “

Back in the 80s, in California, as aerospace factories were being shutdown (thanks the Neocons think the Cold War was over) and other factories were being shutdown (thanks to the locals figuring the best way to reduce pollution is to simply shut down polluters), there were almost always replaced by “shopping centers”, and it wasn’t like there was a shortage of them to start with.

I always wondered how this was going to work - instead of a facility that generates money by high pay (like a factory), you have a retail mall that sucks in money. Looks as though their Chickens are Coming Home to Roost.

[Leep]

Can still get off the chair, and get outside, if you want.
Just don’t have to go to the big box stores.

[CurlyDave]

...And Costco stores do not seem to be closing.

By being a membership store they gain two advantages:

1) They keep the feral youths out, and

2) Much lower shoplifting both from (1) and from higher-class customers.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Question: How is the now vacant retail space to be re-purposed in the future?

I think you're years early here. There's a tipover point of emptiness below which a mall becomes unprofitable. I'm not sure where it is... maybe 15 to 20% unoccupied stores. Most malls I've seen aren't there yet. More likely, new entrants with new concepts will come in and fill the empty slots, at least for a while.

[Hildy]

A perfect opportunity for some visionary to make malls into housing..either low cost or high end...Or else we are going to have a lot of empty buildings in our Country.

[aomagrat]

It's a vicious cycle. Inventory costs money. The internet is reducing brick and mortar inventory turns, so stores have to reduce inventory to only high turnover items.

In the middle of washing clothes today my washing machine broke. During the spin cycle the tub broke loose and fell down inside the machine. I'm not a mechanic, but I didn't think that would be a quick fix. It was only a $299 machine anyway, so I went to Home Depot to get a new one so I could finish washing clothes. They had rows of machines and when I picked out one, the sales clerk asked me when I wanted it delivered.

"I'll take it with me" I replied.
"We don't have any in stock" replied the clerk.
"None at all?"
"Well we have this display unit of a discontinued model. We usually don't keep them in stock at the store. We deliver them from the warehouse."
"When can you deliver one?"
"January 5th would be the soonest."

So I left and went to Lowe's, where they had plenty in stock.

[RayChuang88]

The issue here is that even with Obamacare phased out, business regulations simplified and with major tax reform, it may take at least a year for its positive effects to improve the overall economy. We could see a lot of retail locations closed but not abandoned (e.g., go into mothballs) so as the economy improves, they will reopen again.

Indeed, the major railroads are storing a lot of locomotives and freight cars, knowing that once the economy improves, they will all be back in service. This is especially true of coal transport, which could be booming by middle 2018.

[Rome2000]

There’s also the almost unlimited inventory.

Used to be you would go to the store and have to choose from what they had on hand.

Now you can buy clothes you actually like.

[Maine Mariner]

Watch for BLM causing big problems with the Mall of American
in Bloomington, MN sometime next year.

[RS_Rider]

“I was such a 1970s nerd”

Bet you still have a “Powerhouse-5” flashlight.

[Mycroft Holmes]

Radio shack is still the only place to get basic electrical components.

---

Bop logo for catalog. The parts will be on their way that day.

[nopardons]

I HATE those kiosks and the smarmy people employed there; they're like panhandlers or worse. I hope that all of them go out of business!

OTOH....Malls, in certain places, are just hangouts for mobs of thug kids and should be closed.

The problem in "retail" is many fold...the big department stores expanded to too many places, about 25 years ago, and then the net began to make inroads.

Shopping was once an "experience"; now, especially for Millennials, many people seem to have agoraphobia; even dating, face to face, is too much for them to bear.

[eXe]

Ours in town died almost to the day they dropped ciggs. People used to go there, pick up a pack of smokes and whatever else they needed, now with Walgreen, Walmart and numerous other places that are cheaper to shop at, no one bothers going there anymore unless its for some kind of prescription you cant get anywhere else. They are ten times the price on their prescription stuff as well.

[TomServo]

And Heath kits...

Awesome times...I have several pieces of Heath kit gear from my Dad's Ham days....he used to threaten to kill me if I ever touched any of it. They're in boxes in my attic - untouched for 40 years...;-)

[cp124]

The fact that our economy was going to survive on retail and service was a joke that nobody with half a brain believed anyway. The free traitors and globalists sold the masses a bunch of crap. The Dollar Store employees can’t even afford the $10 toaster now as they spend any disposable income getting to their 4 jobs.

[ClearBlueSky]

Ebay and Amazon dont deliver burgers..so why are Burger Kings closing? The one a block from me has been bulldozed!Great location was always busy. So why??No more chicken fries and the best chocolate milkshakes!Barbaric!!

[eXe]

Funny how CVS has no issue selling booze which kills way many more people..

[Rebelbase]

Churches also buy them to create a megaplex of worship, classrooms, workshops, recreation centers, etc.