Today's news... our Sears store is closing in October. Penneys will close this month. Our mall, which is very modern and very well maintained, will now be down to one anchor. As recent as 5 years ago, there were 90 stores... today, there are 40 ... still including Sears and Penneys.
The handwriting is on the wall... Except for select metro and upscale communities, malls are on the way out.
Pretty easy to understand, if you have a background in retailing. The cost of supplying dozens, hundreds and thousands of stores with merchandise that the customer wants to take home today, is just not sustainable in 2017. Imagine having to stock 50 ladies bathing suits in sizes and color... in just one model.
Think of the economies of scale for Amazon... that can stock 300 of the same bathing suit... and service 5,000 towns.
Enough... Today's question for you, is "How is your local mall doing?"
As the world around us changes, so too, can we look for changes in society as a whole. Malls, as a place to go, has become a big part of our lives, and in the lives of our children. In our mall alone, there are physical fitness classes twice a week, sponsored by our local hospital. It's a hangout place for kids. There is an indoor playground for little kids, and three or four groups that hold weekly or monthly meetings on things like investing, small business, general health, and community issues.
Does all the business go to Amazon? No... We have a free standing Walmart, that operates on an Amazon-like online order/pickup as well as the full lines store. The downtown continues to offer specialty stores... privately owned and managed. Mostly mom and pop stores that have been around for decades, but still well supported by local residents.
Along with Walmart... (on the outskirts of town) there are businesses like Pet smart, Kohls, and numerous sporting goods stores and "dollar" stores, Target, Home Depot, as well as the usual phone stores and mainline restaurants, so our community is not devoid of services.
It's just changed... no more the indoor mall center, for walkers, for browsing... for wandering in and out, just to look.
Care to share what's happening with malls in your area?
The handwriting is on the wall... Except for select metro and upscale communities, malls are on the way out.
Pretty easy to understand, if you have a background in retailing. The cost of supplying dozens, hundreds and thousands of stores with merchandise that the customer wants to take home today, is just not sustainable in 2017. Imagine having to stock 50 ladies bathing suits in sizes and color... in just one model.
Think of the economies of scale for Amazon... that can stock 300 of the same bathing suit... and service 5,000 towns.
Enough... Today's question for you, is "How is your local mall doing?"
As the world around us changes, so too, can we look for changes in society as a whole. Malls, as a place to go, has become a big part of our lives, and in the lives of our children. In our mall alone, there are physical fitness classes twice a week, sponsored by our local hospital. It's a hangout place for kids. There is an indoor playground for little kids, and three or four groups that hold weekly or monthly meetings on things like investing, small business, general health, and community issues.
Does all the business go to Amazon? No... We have a free standing Walmart, that operates on an Amazon-like online order/pickup as well as the full lines store. The downtown continues to offer specialty stores... privately owned and managed. Mostly mom and pop stores that have been around for decades, but still well supported by local residents.
Along with Walmart... (on the outskirts of town) there are businesses like Pet smart, Kohls, and numerous sporting goods stores and "dollar" stores, Target, Home Depot, as well as the usual phone stores and mainline restaurants, so our community is not devoid of services.
It's just changed... no more the indoor mall center, for walkers, for browsing... for wandering in and out, just to look.
Care to share what's happening with malls in your area?