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| Economy |
| Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Shuttering at a Record Pace |
| 2017-04-22 |
| [WSJ] American retailers are closing stores at a record pace this year as they feel the fallout from decades of overbuilding and the rise of online shopping. Just this past week, women’s apparel chain Bebe Stores Inc. said it would close its remaining 170 shops and sell only online, while teen retailer Rue21 Inc. announced plans to close about 400 of its 1,100 locations. "There is no reason to believe that this will abate at any point in the foreseeable future," said Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies for Columbia Business School and a former executive at Sears Canada Inc. and other department stores. Through April 6, closings have been announced for 2,880 retail locations this year, including hundreds of locations being shut by national chains such as Payless ShoeSource Inc. and RadioShack Corp. That is more than twice as many closings as announced during the same period last year, according to Credit Suisse. Based on the pace so far, the brokerage estimates retailers will close more than 8,600 locations this year, which would eclipse the number of closings during the 2008 recession. At least 10 retailers, including apparel seller Limited Stores Co., electronics chain Hhgregg Inc. and sporting-goods chain Gander Mountain Co., have filed for bankruptcy protection so far this year. That compares with nine retailers that declared bankruptcy, with at least $50 million liabilities, for all of 2016. The seeds of the industry’s current turmoil date back nearly three decades, when retailers, in the throes of a consumer-buying spree and flush with easy money, rushed to open new stores. The land grab wasn’t unlike the housing boom that was also under way at that time. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #9 Tried to buy half a dozen pairs of socks from Amazon a few months ago. They screwed up and sent me the wrong kind. I had to pay $12 to send them back before I could get my money refunded. Kinda soured me on the online shopping experience. Posted by Abu Uluque As I grew older I discovered how exciting trips to the mail box and post office had become. Amazon returns, oh well, just more excitement. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-04-22 18:06 |
| #8 This is the non existent back side of the recession that we haven't been having. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2017-04-22 15:50 |
| #7 Tried to buy half a dozen pairs of socks from Amazon a few months ago. They screwed up and sent me the wrong kind. I had to pay $12 to send them back before I could get my money refunded. Kinda soured me on the online shopping experience. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-04-22 13:19 |
| #6 Those online dressing rooms leave a lot to be desired. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-04-22 13:17 |
| #5 Some malls are crime centers and dangerous places. 'ALL' are 'crime centers and dangerous places' in the vicinity of Atlanta. Amazon is your friend. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-04-22 11:28 |
| #4 Years of overbuilding and the rise of online shopping have come to a head; malls as ‘energy suckers’ Some malls are crime centers and dangerous places. Many mall stores also have an active internet business. Energy suckers reads like the WSJ and the author are progs. New models of doing business do emerge so long as the progs don't tax and regulate them to death. At one time the businesses were all in center city and then they moved to the suburbs--now many are moving back to center city as some downtowns become gentrified. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2017-04-22 10:37 |
| #3 It is sad to watch the effects of evolving business models but as long as we can keep the progs from interfering, we will see new ways of doing business. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2017-04-22 10:08 |
| #2 And Wally World is selling on line (Free Store Pickup) |
| Posted by: Jeasing Creque5352 2017-04-22 06:33 |
| #1 And yet, amazon is opening brick and mortar stores. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2017-04-22 05:46 |