Retail and mall shopping ain’t what it used to be

The US retail sector may be at its peak, and with changing demographics and competition from online sales, the once-popular mall and department store may become a lot like the dominant species of our pale blue dot. Like the dinosaurs, the department store model looks like it will soon be ancient history. Let’s talk, as there is more evidence than not to support this prediction.

The Kansas City Business Journal published an article titled: “Study: Department stores must prune mall space to flourish again,” published on April 25, 2016, which stated: “A real estate research firm says that Department stores must close hundreds of sites — about 20 percent of all anchor space — in U.S. malls to regain their decade-old productivity, The Wall Street Journal reports.For example, Sears Holdings Corp It would have to close 300 stores, or 43 percent of its total, to achieve the sales per square foot it had in 2006, according to the Green Street Advisors study.This is so even though Sears and other retailers have closed hundreds of stores. stores in recent years with the increase in online sales and discount stores.

Meanwhile, The Louisville Business Journal recently published an eye-opening article titled, “Major Retailer Plans to Close All Its Louisville-Area Stores Except One,” posted on April 22, 2016, which stated, “Kmart Plans to Close All But One The retail chain’s parent company, Sears Holding Corp., announced Thursday that it will close a total of 78 Kmart and Sears stores, and that number includes four Kmart stores in the Louisville area, WDRB TV reports.

And what exactly did that Wall Street Journal article say in addition to all this? Well, read it yourself; “Glut Plagues Department Stores” by Suzanne Kapner, and the research firm’s recommendation that at least 800 anchor tenant department stores need to close in the US for profitability to stabilize, that would be about one fifth of all department stores. You can say; Oh!? For the retail sector, I think this is what all the retail equity fund managers are collectively saying now, and one would have to wonder; because? Why is this happening?

Well, consider the exuberant growth over the years and the increase in online sales, the expansion of Wal-Mart superstores, and the decline in Americans’ disposable income, due to college tuition costs, the health insurance and the rising costs of things that were previously unknown. , but now the necessities of modern life such as: smartphones, cable TV, etc. Wages and salaries on average have stagnated and, coupled with moderate to zero inflation, have stalled in growth. The world is changing and the retail world must adapt or die: there is no longer a choice in the matter. Please think about this.