Retail Apocalypse: Why Are Major Retail Chains All Over Amer

[HeirofNumenor]

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Retail Apocalypse: Why Are Major Retail Chains All Over America Collapsing? -

Posted by Tasha Easterling - February 19, 2013


Written by Michael T. Snyder

If the economy is improving, then why are many of the largest retail chains in America closing hundreds of stores? When I was growing up, Sears, J.C. Penney, Best Buy and RadioShack were all considered to be unstoppable retail powerhouses. But now it is being projected that all of them will close hundreds of stores before the end of 2013. Even Wal-Mart is running into problems. A recent internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to Bloomberg described February sales as a "total disaster". So why is this happening? Why are major retail chains all over America collapsing? Is the "retail apocalypse" upon us? Well, the truth is that this is just another sign that the U.S. economy is falling apart right in front of our eyes. Incomes are declining, taxes are going up, government dependence is at an all-time high, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the percentage of the U.S. labor force that is employed has been steadily falling since 2006. The top 10% of all income earners in the U.S. are still doing very well, but most U.S. consumers are either flat broke or are drowning in debt. The large disposable incomes that the big retail chains have depended upon in the past simply are not there anymore. So retail chains all over the United States are now closing up unprofitable stores. This is especially true in low income areas.

When you step back and take a look at the bigger picture, the rapid decline of some of our largest retail chains really is stunning.

It is happening already in some areas, but soon half empty malls and boarded up storefronts will litter the landscapes of cities all over America.

Just check out some of these store closing numbers for 2013. These numbers are from a recent Yahoo Finance article...

Best Buy

Forecast store closings: 200 to 250

Sears Holding Corp.

Forecast store closings: Kmart 175 to 225, Sears 100 to 125

J.C. Penney

Forecast store closings: 300 to 350

Office Depot

Forecast store closings: 125 to 150

Barnes & Noble

Forecast store closings: 190 to 240, per company comments

Gamestop

Forecast store closings: 500 to 600

OfficeMax

Forecast store closings: 150 to 175

RadioShack

Forecast store closings: 450 to 550

The RadioShack in a nearby town just closed up where I live. This is all happening so fast that it is hard to believe.

But the truth is that those store closings are not the entire story. When you dig deeper you find a lot more retailers that are in trouble.

For example, Blockbuster recently announced that this year they will be closing about 300 stores and eliminating about 3,000 jobs.

Toy manufacturer Hasbro recently announced that they will be reducing the size of their workforce by about 10 percent.

Even Wal-Mart is going through a tough stretch right now. According to documents that were leaked to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart is having an absolutely disastrous February...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News.

“In case you haven’t seen a sales report these days, February MTD sales are a total disaster,” Jerry Murray, Wal- Mart’s vice president of finance and logistics, said in a Feb. 12 e-mail to other executives, referring to month-to-date sales. “The worst start to a month I have seen in my ~7 years with the company.”

So what in the world is going on here?

The mainstream media continues to proclaim that we are experiencing a robust "economic recovery", but at the same time there are a whole host of indications that things are continually getting worse.

Even global cell phone sales actually declined slightlyin 2012. That was the first time that has happened since the last recession.

Perhaps it is time that we faced the truth. The middle class is shrinking, incomes are declining and there are not nearly as many jobs as there used to be.

Mort Zuckerman pointed this out in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal...

The U.S. labor market, which peaked in November 2007 when there were 139,143,000 jobs, now encompasses only 132,705,000 workers, a drop of 6.4 million jobs from the peak. The only work that has increased is part-time, and that is because it allows employers to reduce costs through a diminished benefit package or none at all.

So how can the mainstream media be talking about how "good" things are if we still have 6.4 million fewer jobs than we had back in November 2007?

And sadly, things may soon be getting a lot worse. If Congress does not do anything about the "sequester", millions of federal workers may shortly be facing some very painful furloughs according to CNN...

Federal workers could start facing furloughs as early as April, according to federal agencies trying to prepare for the worst.

Unless Congress steps in, some $85 billion in massive spending reductions will hit the federal government, doling out furloughs to much of the nation's 2.1 million federal workforce, experts say.

If you still live in an area of the country where the stores and the restaurants are booming, you should be very thankful because that is not the reality for most of the country.

I often write about the stunning economic decline of major cities such as Detroit, but there are huge sections of rural America that are in even worse shape than Detroit in many ways.

For example, many Indian reservations all over America have been shamefully neglected by the federal government and have become hotbeds for crime, drugs and poverty.

Business Insider recently profiled the Wind River Indian reservation in western Wyoming. The following is a brief excerpt from that outstanding article...

The Wind River Indian Reservation is not an easy place to get to, but I had to see it for myself.

Thirty-five-hundred square miles of prairie and mountains in western Wyoming, the reservation is home to bitter ancestral enemies: the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.

Even among reservations, it's renowned for brutal crime, widespread drug use, and legal dumping of toxic waste.

You can see some amazing photos of the Wind River Indian reservation right here.

It is hard to believe that there are places like that in America, but the truth is that conditions like that are spreading to more U.S. communities with each passing day.

We are a nation that is in an advanced state of decline. But as long as the financial markets are okay, our leaders don't seem too concerned about the suffering that everyone else is going through.

In fact, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan essentially admitted as much during a recent interview with CNBC. The following is how a Zero Hedge articlesummarized that interview...

Starting at around 1:50, Greenspan states the odds of sequester occurring are very high - in fact, the playdough-faced ex-Chair-head notes, "I find it very difficult to find a scenario in which [the sequester] doesn't happen" But when asked how this will affect the economy, Awkward Alan is unusually clearly spoken - "the issue is how does it affect the stock market."

While not so many of our leaders have taken the path to direct truthiness, Greenspan somewhat shocks a Botox'd and babbling Bartiromo when he admits"the stock market is the key player in the game of economic growth."

Bartiromo shifts uncomfortably in her seat, strokes her imaginary beard and stares blankly as Greenspan explains that while the sequester will have a real effect on the real economy, "if the stock market can hold up through this, then the effect will be rather minor."

Do you see?

As long as the stock market is moving higher they think that everything is just fine and dandy.

And the Obama administration?

They continue to pursue the same policies that got us into this mess.

Their idea of "economic reform" is to threaten to sue businesses that do not hire ex-convicts.

And of course now that Obama has been re-elected he is putting a tremendous amount of effort into "stimulating the economy".

For example, he spent this weekend golfing in Florida, and the Obamas recently spent about 20 million taxpayer dollars vacationing in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is getting worse with each passing day.

If you doubt that economic conditions are getting worse, please read this article: "Show This To Anyone That Believes That 'Things Are Getting Better' In America".

When you look at the cold, hard numbers, it is undeniable what is happening to America.

And our leaders are not doing anything to fix our problems. In fact, most of the time they are just making things worse.

So buckle up and get prepared. We are in for very bumpy ride, and this is only just the beginning.

For more, see The Economic Collapse Blog. http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/
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[Poltax]

One answer to this is simple. The economy sucks. The consumer is ether out of debt and does not want to be in debt again. Or the consumer has all his credit maxed out. With the real estate bust most people were living off of refi money on paper value of their homes, that is not happening now.

My work as a sales rep in the apparel and footwear business selling to retail stores, has seen its ups and downs. Most all of my retail accounts are in agreement with the paragraph above. All business's are getting ready for the taxes that will come this year and especially next year for Obamacare. Everything will go up as this is going to effect every aspect of business. Every single retail account I deal with is running thier business tight and slim. Same with the Manufactures that I represent. Get ready its going to be a bumpy ride.

The best thing any of us can do is be out of debt as much as we can. Have supplies & storage on hand to fall back on. Most importantly, listen to the Spirit for our own individual situation. What inspiration you recive for your situation, may not be the same that I recieve for my situation.

[gclayjr]

HeirofNumenor

Interesting, scary post. As I've commented before, we all see big problems coming and are all trying to see how it is going to unfold. This is something very plausible that hasn't gotten any attention that I know of. This actually has been going on for awhile. I actually thought Blockbuster was already out of business. You mention Barnes and Noble. I used to go to Border's regularly, and they went bankrupt a couple of years ago. Barns and Noble sells more toys and fewer books today. I don't see many "Mom and Pop" book stores still open either.

The counter arguement to your thesis is that "creative" destruction is one of the great things in a Capitalist society (if we actually still have one). The inefficient stores are being replaced by either more efficient or effective stores, or the internet is replacing "Big Box" stores. It is my gut feeling that while that may be true, it may not explain enough of what is going on here. I would certainly like to see more information about this.

Regards,

George Clay

[Col. Flagg]

Easy answer: high prices, money is becoming more and more difficult to come by, inflation is at 15% annually (not 2-3% like the feds say), government over-regulation and control (e.g. - Obama-Care :ymsick: ) is causing a lot of businesses to cut back, wages are stagnant, employees' hours are being sliced and diced, credit card and student loan debt are at all-time highs and the list goes on and on. And didn't Boyd K. Packer deliver an address a few years back at a local Stake Conference where he said the time was quickly approaching where it would become crucial and necessary to 'use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without'? I also think President Hinckley's 'portent of stormy weather' was applicable to what began in 2008 and continues to this day.

[keeprunning]

Plus, everyone pretty much already has everything!

[MsEva]

I noticed that a lot of businesses are going under or struggling. As far as book stores I know last year many Borders book stores closed and they said so many people use electronic forms like Kindle to read. I actually prefer actual books and I don't have a Kindle or other electronic stuff...

[ebenezerarise]

There are layers of reasons for all this and it has been brewing for a long time. Some of these companies -- such as Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, etc -- have fueled rapid expansion with free or cheap money, building in location where they once had hope of growing sales. They aren't meeting those projections because the economy has not provided the trends it once did. Lots of reasons for that.

But pure capitalism is also at play here.

Take, for example, Pontius' book Visions of Glory. You can't find a hard copy of that book anywhere. The one "retailer" with even an outdated e-book link format sells it for around $10. I read about it here, downloaded it for $8 on my Kindle and I can carry it with me everywhere I travel along with hundreds of other books and electronic content. Barnes and Noble has simply not responded to what Amazon offers me. I enjoy going into their stores but I cannot pay their prices. It is that simple.

The real sad one to watch is JCPenney. They used to be a gold standard of retailing and they are just blowing it big time by the old fashioned mistake of not listening to their customers. I'm glad my children are not little anymore because I used to depend upon them rather extensively for modest, moderately price clothes. Now you go into their stores and they have a weak selection you cannot find a price on and no one to take your money. It's pathetic what they have become.

[dlbww]

.

[Col. Flagg]

America has had a pretty easy go of things for the past several decades. Complaining of high fuel prices, etc. while Canadians close enough to the CDN/USA border still line up to purchase gas, milk, eggs, etc. in the USA (because it's still cheaper in the USA). America is simply playing catch-up to the rest of the world and now complaining because their stuff costs a bit more. It was an artificial economy based on having the world reserve currency; which is ending. The age of entitlement is over. America is (part of) Babylon, it's going down (Rev. 18) and you need to get ready or the government will own you.

All that getting out of debt stuff, planting a garden, having a reserve, making do or doing without fell on so many deaf ears. If you are not independent/self-reliant/out of debt/ producing something of value then make that your highest priority. The next crisis will be yet another opportunity to take more agency from the masses. And if you're OK with that .......

Well said. :ymapplause:

[HeirofNumenor]

Easy answer: high prices, money is becoming more and more difficult to come by, inflation is at 15% annually (not 2-3% like the feds say), government over-regulation and control (e.g. - Obama-Care :ymsick: ) is causing a lot of businesses to cut back, wages are stagnant, employees' hours are being sliced and diced, credit card and student loan debt are at all-time highs and the list goes on and on. And didn't Boyd K. Packer deliver an address a few years back at a local Stake Conference where he said the time was quickly approaching where it would become crucial and necessary to 'use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without'? I also think President Hinckley's 'portent of stormy weather' was applicable to what began in 2008 and continues to this day.

:ymapplause: :ymhug:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/05/coun ... n?lang=eng
Pres. Boyd K. Packer, Apr. 2009 Gen. Conf. Priesthood session:

Your generation is filled with uncertainties. A life of fun and games and expensive toys has come to an abrupt end. We move from a generation of ease and entertainment to a generation of hard work and responsibility. We do not know how long that will last.

[kathyn]

If this isn't the "handwriting on the wall", I don't know what is!

My uber-liberal sister still believes that Obama has fixed the economy. When the truth finally is so obvious that even she will admit that we're in a disastrous situation, it will be much too late.