Stores closing at record pace

[CaptTom]

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Originally Posted by Which Roger I agree about the impact, but it won't necessarily be negative. 100 years ago farm laborer was by far the biggest profession, and look what technology did in that area.

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Originally Posted by RunningBum I struggle with this. Am I really supposed to subsidize these jobs? I haven't visited my horse & buggy dealer in awhile, I hope they are still doing ok and are keeping their people employed. Point is, things change, and people and businesses need to adapt.

Oh, my. I didn't mean to suggest the structural changes caused by loss of retail and sales jobs will be negative in the long term. Just that I didn't realize how large a segment of the workforce would be impacted.

I look at it this way: When I w*rked for MegaCorp, nobody in any other industry shed any tears for my co-workers impacted by several rounds of layoffs. If anything, they probably thought "serves them right, w*rking for MegaCorp."

I don't owe anybody a job. Life isn't fair, our system isn't fair, and that's the way it'll always be. We each do what we can and hope for the best.

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Originally Posted by timo2 Our future robot overlords will take care of those jobs.

Or that.

[zedd]

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Originally Posted by Amethyst Of all these things, few of which I will miss (never belonged to any exclusive club), I predict stores will come back in some form. People will always enjoy wandering around, admiring things to buy. Maybe it will be virtual reality shopping, though.

Well maybe. You couldn't drag me into a mall to just wander around. I don't mean to turn this into a "Women shop and men hunt" digression but how many people really enjoy shopping? Sure B&Ms are conducive to browsing, that's one area that the virtual shopping experience is lacking. But take the Amazon-experience for example; you have an idea of what you want, you search for it, read the comments and decide whether or not to buy it. Boom you're done. Well, I'm done anyway. I'm not inclined to browse anything else online. Just sayin.

[jollystomper]

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Originally Posted by samclem Go the next step: Take a Sharpie to the bar codes on a few of your items to help employ more folks as they run around to price check items. 😀 As a bonus, you'll have an opportunity to chat with your neighbors in line.

Funny - I was in the self checkout line at a Megagrocer yesterday, and I had a couple of bakery items that would not scan. I hit the "help" button and the employee watching that area came over, tried to scan them himself, and could not. So... he gave them to me free. He said that was store policy - if it doesn't scan, you get the item free. I do not know if that was truly the store policy, or if he was too lazy to either find the product code and key in the value or have someone go find a comparable item that would scan. Maybe the store decided that the time to hunt down price checks for these items was not worth it.

[CaliforniaMan]

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Originally Posted by jollystomper Funny - I was in the self checkout line at a Megagrocer yesterday, and I had a couple of bakery items that would not scan. I hit the "help" button and the employee watching that area came over, tried to scan them himself, and could not. So... he gave them to me free. He said that was store policy - if it doesn't scan, you get the item free. I do not know if that was truly the store policy, or if he was too lazy to either find the product code and key in the value or have someone go find a comparable item that would scan. Maybe the store decided that the time to hunt down price checks for these items was not worth it.

Of course if you had been the really frugal type you would have told the clerk,"Oh wait, come to think of it, I need about a dozen more of these two items"

[jollystomper]

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaMan Of course if you had been the really frugal type you would have told the clerk,"Oh wait, come to think of it, I need about a dozen more of these two items"

Life has its tradeoffs... since it was stuff that I should not be eating a lot of, I chose to be "frugal" with eating bakery snacks for health reasons, instead of trying to get more. Now, had I been 40 years younger...

[timo2]

I just ran across this article from last month

from the article: "In its 2016 report, Deloitte noted the emergence of a conventional-wisdom-busting trend. After a century of consolidation and concentration in retail, “smaller, more nimble players are stealing share from larger, more traditional, at-scale retailers.”

Revenge of the Independent Hardware Stores | Fast Forward | OZY

[explanade]

WSJ story that the cause of mall closures is newer malls:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-int...are-1492513200

Internet is impacting mall revenues but older malls lose traffic when anchor stores close and new malls in the area attract the traffic.

[CaptTom]

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Originally Posted by explanade WSJ story that the cause of mall closures is newer malls: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-int...are-1492513200 Internet is impacting mall revenues but older malls lose traffic when anchor stores close and new malls in the area attract the traffic.

I'm not going to subscribe just to read one article, but I think the headline is correct. Mall shopping is a fashion statement. Everyone wants to shop, and be seen shopping, in the new, shiny mall. Not the old, out-of-style mall. Makes perfect sense when you think of it that way.

Not being a mall shopper, or a fashion maven, I'm not really affected.

[audreyh1]

Overbuilding of shopping centers then.

One old mostly abandoned "mall" - actually a large sprawling shopping center that was becoming an eyesore - tore down the old stores, completely rebuilt itself including the parking lots, got a bunch of new anchor stores, and is now all spiffy and thriving. That sure beats building new in the fields nearby and leaving behind the eyesore.

[Ronstar]

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Originally Posted by CaptTom ... Mall shopping is a fashion statement. Everyone wants to shop, and be seen shopping, in the new, shiny mall. Not the old, out-of-style mall. Makes perfect sense when you think of it that way......

I agree. I've noticed that DW and her friends only go to the new malls, primarily outdoor malls where there are several buildings with several stores and restaurants connected by open air walkways. And the quaint little standalone shops in trendy downtown areas.

[kaudrey]

They just closed the mall near me - finally, after years of talk, they are tearing it down and turning it into a town-center concept - stores (with outdoor entrances), restaurants, plazas, and condos/apartments. It will be so much better.

[CountryGal]

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Originally Posted by kaudrey They just closed the mall near me - finally, after years of talk, they are tearing it down and turning it into a town-center concept - stores (with outdoor entrances), restaurants, plazas, and condos/apartments. It will be so much better.

I recall a few years ago they tore down the cutest amusement park in Nashville area (Opryland) and made it into a gigantic mall. I haven't been back since.

[H2ODude]

One of the byproduct impacts of the demise of B&M is apparently local newspapers. Our local paper recently revised formats (as in reduced content) and the editors referenced cost of production and loss of revenue from b&m advertisers. As a former employee of local government I really miss the coverage local issues used to get; the paper as now configured is hardly worth the trip to the end of the driveway. But it's a habit I can't break.

Anyway, there must be some truth to the paper's claim. Just scanning the ads you don't see much in the way of Macy's, Dillards, or anyone with the quarter/half/full page ads you used to see. I think the only full or double full you see anymore is Rooms to Go. Classifieds? Ha. I really think it's a shame the demise of local journalism. I had gotten to know local reporters and these were good dedicated people who believed in their mission; I knew they got paid peanuts for it. Anyway...

[CaptTom]

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Originally Posted by H2ODude One of the byproduct impacts of the demise of B&M is apparently local newspapers.

Interesting. I hadn't made the connection, but it makes perfect sense. I always found the local papers - with local B&M store advertising - more valuable than the national papers. The ads were more pertinent to me.

[samclem]

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Originally Posted by kaudrey They just closed the mall near me - finally, after years of talk, they are tearing it down and turning it into a town-center concept - stores (with outdoor entrances), restaurants, plazas, and condos/apartments. It will be so much better.

It just shows how fussy/particular we can be. A conglomeration of stores is just that, and if a consumer wants to buy what one or more of those stores have, it should hardly make a difference if the walkways between them are outside or inside. In most of the US most of the year, indoor walkways make a lot more sense. But, apparently, people prefer to get their outdoor time when they are shopping.
It sounds disconnected from practical considerations, something like fashion. Malls used to have outside walkways where I grew up in SoCal. The rest of the country also had outside connections between their stores, it was called "downtown" or "main street." Then, large indoor malls became the rage, and a destination. Now the pendulum is swinging back. A bit like multi-million dollar hemlines.

[JoeWras]

Interestingly, the oldest and biggest mall in town is thriving, despite the brand new ones that have "walkways" and all the latest. One of the new ones is nearly on life support, despite having the right design, or so they say.

People said when they built the two new competing malls that the old one would die. It did not. Instead, they built up a bit, and they added A LOT of restaurants that are accessible from inside and out.

My guess is this saved them. Like him or not, I think Jim Cramer is right that the "selfie generation" is driving trends. One of those trends is "experiences" that are shared immediately on social media. Nobody wants to share walking the mall. They will share hoisting drinks at the restaurant attached to the mall.

[ExFlyBoy5]

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Originally Posted by kaudrey They just closed the mall near me - finally, after years of talk, they are tearing it down and turning it into a town-center concept - stores (with outdoor entrances), restaurants, plazas, and condos/apartments. It will be so much better.

They have one of these "outdoor" malls in San Antonio and from what I recall, it's fairly popular. I though it was a whacked out idea since it commonly gets to be 170 degrees in S. Texas in the summer; what misery that would be!

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Originally Posted by CaptTom Interesting. I hadn't made the connection, but it makes perfect sense. I always found the local papers - with local B&M store advertising - more valuable than the national papers. The ads were more pertinent to me.

Our local "small town" paper still has plenty of ads. All car dealerships and funeral homes.

[HFWR]

Think running retail stores is more expensive than selling online? Think again.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/104412781

[Amethyst]

I was all ready to type "When I said 'people,' I wasn't necessarily referring to you," but then decided it might sound odd

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Originally Posted by zedd Well maybe. You couldn't drag me into a mall to just wander around. .

[Koolau]

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Originally Posted by CountryGal I recall a few years ago they tore down the cutest amusement park in Nashville area (Opryland) and made it into a gigantic mall. I haven't been back since.

I recall that event. DW and I used to get to Opryland every few years. Lots of entertainment (not a lot of stomach churning rides) and a fun, family atmosphere. We just couldn't believe a mall could make more money. What do we know. My guess is that it's now going down like most of the other malls. YMMV