Sears is running out of time
- Thread starter Old School
- Start date
even tho last item i bought at sears cause it was on sale a 5" vice ...
there aint any Sears close to me anymore and outside of tools sears sells CRAP.
BUT i still need brick n mortar stores because I sure as fuck aint buying shoes or other clothes online to find out they are garbage and do not fit. OR Jewelry OMFG never not even watches...
there aint any Sears close to me anymore and outside of tools sears sells CRAP.
BUT i still need brick n mortar stores because I sure as fuck aint buying shoes or other clothes online to find out they are garbage and do not fit. OR Jewelry OMFG never not even watches...
- Mar 19, 2006
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Sears and Kmart just announced a fresh round of store closures -- see if your store is on the list
[url]http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sears-and-kmart-just-announced-a-fresh-round-of-store-closures-see-if-your-store-is-on-the-list/ar-BBxFCRk?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPDHP[/URL]
Business Insider Hayley Peterson<time abp="329" data-always-show="true" datetime="2016-12-29T07:42:00.000Z">5 hrs ago
Sears just announced a fresh round of store closures.
The company told employees on Tuesday that it will close 30 Sears and Kmart stores in early 2017, half a dozen employees told Business Insider.
Most of the stores will start liquidation sales on January 6 and go out of business between late March and mid April.
Sears announced the closures internally on Tuesday, but did not publicly release a comprehensive list of the stores that would close.
Business Insider confirmed most of the closures with store employees at each location. We will add to this list as we confirm additional closures.
Kmart stores closing:
Jasper Mall, Jasper, Alabama
2003 US-280, Phenix City, Alabama
3001 Iowa Ave., Riverside, California
501 N. Beneva Road, Sarasota, Florida
19400 Cochran Blvd., Port Charlotte, Florida
2111 S. Federal Highway, Ft. Pierce, Florida
1501 Normandy Village Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida
2211 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida
4955 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples, Florida
111 Town and Country Dr., Palatka, Florida
2815 West Parrish Ave., Owensboro, Kentucky
1501 Paris Pike, Georgetown, Kentucky
14662 N. US Highway 25 E, Corbin, Kentucky
1710 W. Highway 192, London, Kentucky
3010 Fort Campbell Blvd., Hopkinsville, Kentucky
2945 Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, Kentucky
9 Plaza Way, Fairhaven, Massachusetts
4645 Commercial Dr., New Hartford, New York
250 Three Springs Dr., Weirton, West Virginia
731 Beverly Pike, Elkins, West Virginia
5132 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, Washington
1050 Division St., Parkersburg, West Virginia
Sears stores closing:
Kentucky Oaks Mall, Paducah, Kentucky
1901 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Town Center Mall, Charleston, West Virginia
Meadowbrook Mall, Bridgeport, West Virginia
Walden Galleria, Cheektowaga, New York
Boulevard Mall, Amherst, New York
This latest round of closures will bring the total number of stores that Sears has closed this fiscal year to more than 200.
That means the retailer will have fewer than 1,500 stores left by early 2017. That's down nearly 60% from 2011, when Sears had more than 3,500 stores.
Sears is shutting down stores to help stem losses from falling sales.
In the most recent quarter, Sears' revenue fell 13% to $5 billion and losses widened to $748 million from $454 million in the period last year.
Same-store sales dropped 7.4%, including a 10% decrease at Sears stores and a 4.4% decrease at Kmart stores.
If you work at Sears or Kmart and have information to share, contact this reporter at hpeterson@businessinsider.com.
</time>
[url]http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sears-and-kmart-just-announced-a-fresh-round-of-store-closures-see-if-your-store-is-on-the-list/ar-BBxFCRk?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPDHP[/URL]
Business Insider Hayley Peterson<time abp="329" data-always-show="true" datetime="2016-12-29T07:42:00.000Z">5 hrs ago
Sears just announced a fresh round of store closures.
The company told employees on Tuesday that it will close 30 Sears and Kmart stores in early 2017, half a dozen employees told Business Insider.
Most of the stores will start liquidation sales on January 6 and go out of business between late March and mid April.
Sears announced the closures internally on Tuesday, but did not publicly release a comprehensive list of the stores that would close.
Business Insider confirmed most of the closures with store employees at each location. We will add to this list as we confirm additional closures.
Kmart stores closing:
Jasper Mall, Jasper, Alabama
2003 US-280, Phenix City, Alabama
3001 Iowa Ave., Riverside, California
501 N. Beneva Road, Sarasota, Florida
19400 Cochran Blvd., Port Charlotte, Florida
2111 S. Federal Highway, Ft. Pierce, Florida
1501 Normandy Village Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida
2211 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida
4955 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples, Florida
111 Town and Country Dr., Palatka, Florida
2815 West Parrish Ave., Owensboro, Kentucky
1501 Paris Pike, Georgetown, Kentucky
14662 N. US Highway 25 E, Corbin, Kentucky
1710 W. Highway 192, London, Kentucky
3010 Fort Campbell Blvd., Hopkinsville, Kentucky
2945 Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, Kentucky
9 Plaza Way, Fairhaven, Massachusetts
4645 Commercial Dr., New Hartford, New York
250 Three Springs Dr., Weirton, West Virginia
731 Beverly Pike, Elkins, West Virginia
5132 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, Washington
1050 Division St., Parkersburg, West Virginia
Sears stores closing:
Kentucky Oaks Mall, Paducah, Kentucky
1901 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Town Center Mall, Charleston, West Virginia
Meadowbrook Mall, Bridgeport, West Virginia
Walden Galleria, Cheektowaga, New York
Boulevard Mall, Amherst, New York
This latest round of closures will bring the total number of stores that Sears has closed this fiscal year to more than 200.
That means the retailer will have fewer than 1,500 stores left by early 2017. That's down nearly 60% from 2011, when Sears had more than 3,500 stores.
Sears is shutting down stores to help stem losses from falling sales.
In the most recent quarter, Sears' revenue fell 13% to $5 billion and losses widened to $748 million from $454 million in the period last year.
Same-store sales dropped 7.4%, including a 10% decrease at Sears stores and a 4.4% decrease at Kmart stores.
If you work at Sears or Kmart and have information to share, contact this reporter at hpeterson@businessinsider.com.
</time>
<hgroup style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: hidden;">[h=1]Just got this Groupon offer in email. Could be last one.
Conventional, Synthetic Blend, or Full-Synthetic Oil Change at Sears Auto Centers[/h][h=2]Sears Auto Center Multiple Locations (6.7 miles)[/h]
[h=3]
</hgroup>
Conventional, Synthetic Blend, or Full-Synthetic Oil Change at Sears Auto Centers[/h][h=2]Sears Auto Center Multiple Locations (6.7 miles)[/h]
[h=3]
</hgroup>
- <input type="radio" name="option" value="https://www.groupon.com/deals/sears-auto-center-nat-12-atlanta/confirmation?pledge_id=45330249" id="breakout-option-45330249" checked="checked" data-option="45330249" data-uuid="2baa7b50-55a7-4b11-99ab-c3eff8c3db96" data-formatted-price="$18.99" data-formatted-value="$29.99" data-sold-message="Over 1,000 bought" data-discount-percentage="37% off" data-savings="Save $11" data-description="Appointment required, same day appointments accepted. Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 additional as gift. Valid only for option purchased. Must book through Online Sears Scheduler. Subject to Availability. Valid only at listed locations. $4 disposal fee & shop fee not included. 10% off additional services during the time of your Groupon redemption visit (code: 48095). Additional fee for over 5 quarts and premium oil filters." style="font-family: OpenSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 1px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute;"><label for="breakout-option-45330249" enabled="" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; transition: color 0.25s ease-out; cursor: pointer; position: relative; padding-left: 2.2em; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; width: 337.984px;">[h=3]Conventional Oil Change[/h]Discount 37%
Over 1,000 bought
$29.99
$18.99
</label>
- <input type="radio" name="option" value="https://www.groupon.com/deals/sears-auto-center-nat-12-atlanta/confirmation?pledge_id=45330265" id="breakout-option-45330265" data-option="45330265" data-uuid="3b047b3a-04fd-471a-a060-fee36b49c5e4" data-formatted-price="$34.99" data-formatted-value="$49.99" data-sold-message="Over 840 bought" data-discount-percentage="30% off" data-savings="Save $15" data-description="Appointment required, same day appointments accepted. Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 additional as gift. Valid only for option purchased. Must book through Online Sears Scheduler. Subject to Availability. Valid only at listed locations. $4 disposal fee & shop fee not included. 10% off additional services during the time of your Groupon redemption visit (code: 48095). Additional fee for over 5 quarts and premium oil filters." style="font-family: OpenSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 1px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute;"><label for="breakout-option-45330265" enabled="" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; transition: color 0.25s ease-out; cursor: pointer; position: relative; padding-left: 2.2em; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; width: 337.984px;">[h=3]Synthetic Blend Oil Change[/h]Discount 30%
Over 840 bought
$49.99
$34.99
</label>
- <input type="radio" name="option" value="https://www.groupon.com/deals/sears-auto-center-nat-12-atlanta/confirmation?pledge_id=45330266" id="breakout-option-45330266" data-option="45330266" data-uuid="a280c517-9d97-492f-8c6c-3075ec99925b" data-formatted-price="$47.99" data-formatted-value="$69.99" data-sold-message="Over 1,000 bought" data-discount-percentage="31% off" data-savings="Save $22" data-description="Appointment required, same day appointments accepted. Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 additional as gift. Valid only for option purchased. Must book through Online Sears Scheduler. Subject to Availability. Valid only at listed locations. $4 disposal fee & shop fee not included. 10% off additional services during the time of your Groupon redemption visit (code: 48095). Additional fee for over 5 quarts and premium oil filters." style="font-family: OpenSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 1px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute;"><label for="breakout-option-45330266" enabled="" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; transition: color 0.25s ease-out; cursor: pointer; position: relative; padding-left: 2.2em; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; width: 337.984px;">[h=3]Full Synthetic Oil Change[/h]Discount 31%
Over 1,000 bought
$69.99
</label>
- Mar 19, 2006
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This morning the headlines in my local paper... Sears closing in Middletown NY in April...its an anchor store at the Galleria Mall....once one goes down others to follow...Macy's and JC Pennys are the others....its a shame but my family is guilty of buying on line...I do know several people that work there....a lot of my kids from my High School have jobs there esp. in the summer......that's the real problem....people lose out....
Yep, it's becoming an issue with the young teens today. I guess there were fights at malls across the country....smh
Tony, I wanted to congratulate you on the game the other day. You did very well and I was never able to catch you - CONGRATS!!! Looking forward towards next year!
Cheers,
kneifl
- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,211
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Sears is 'one sick puppy,' and there may be no remedy
MarketWatch Tonya Garcia<time abp="1673" datetime="2017-01-16T11:17:00.000Z" data-always-show="true">5 hrs ago
Sears Holdings Corp. is using everything in its arsenal to stay afloat, but that still won?t be enough if the company can?t make its brand more relevant and generate sales, experts say.
Last week, Sears (SHLD) announced it had sold its Craftsman tool brand for $900 million to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) the latest move in an effort to keep the business going.
The sale came after Sears announced a new credit facility with funds run by Chief Executive Eddie Lampert of up to $500 million, secured by mortgages on 46 real estate properties. That facility came a week after it said it had secured a standby letter of credit for up to $200 million, also with funds owned by Lampert?s ESL Investments. That facility can also be increased to $500 million, if the lenders agree.
?You?ve got a group of symptoms that would lead one to believe a bankruptcy would be imminent,? said Chuck Tatelbaum, director and chair of the bankruptcy and creditors? rights department at the Tripp Scott law firm, and a 50-year bankruptcy law veteran.
?It?s a sick puppy.?
Even among those who don?t believe bankruptcy is imminent, like Dave Marcotte, senior vice president of the Americas for Kantar Retail, the question is whether Sears still has the juice for a turnaround. Reducing inventory and cutting employees is the company just ?eating itself,? he said. ?All you?re doing is reducing capabilities.?
Without resources, Sears? options are limited.
?All the best quality moves that you can make in terms of real estate have already been done. There are too many stores in poor locations,? said Marcotte. ?[N]othing they have gets them where they need to be.?
Sears has lost $8.2 billion over the past five years. Net losses in the third quarter were $748 million, as sales fell to $5.03 billion from $5.75 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said last week that same-store sales for the first two months of the fourth quarter fell by 12% to 13%.
?Sears has lost its marketplace, especially when they take the Craftsman line away,? said Tatelbaum.
The company will close 150 stores, adding to the more than 2,000 the company has closed, sold or spun off in the last 10 years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Even with those cuts, the outlook is poor, said Tatelbaum. The company could continue to hemorrhage money into 2017 and burn through this latest infusion of cash. It still has more than $3 billion of long-term debt on its balance sheet, according to FactSet. Its most active bonds, the 6.625% notes due October 15, 2018 were last trading at 94 cents on the dollar, according to MarketAxess.
The thing Sears both needs and lacks most is relevance, experts agree. The company is running out of time to build a strong brand, something it desperately needs to drive traffic and revenue.
But now many of the company?s remaining stores are in malls that are also contending with traffic declines. Mall traffic has slipped thanks to store closures from bankrupt or troubled retailers like A?ropostale Inc. (AROPQ) The Limited, which just closed all of its stores nationwide, and Sports Authority. And the consumer shift to e-commerce is taking a toll on many retailers.
?Leading retailers aren?t looking at their assets and asking, ?What can we sell??? said Brendan Witcher, principal analyst focused on retail strategy at Forrester. ?[Sears is] focusing on the operations of being a retailer rather than being relevant.?
Looking forward, there aren?t any big selling occasions to look to near term, with the exception of perhaps Easter. Sears made a push into appliances in 2016, but Tatelbaum believes shoppers might be hesitant to buy.
?They don?t want to buy gift cards or things they might not be able to return,? he said. ?They go to Sears because it?s in the neighborhood, they have a card, or they want a Sears Craftsman product.?
Bringing in shoppers rather than leveraging assets will have to be the focus going forward if Sears is going to survive.
Sears shares closed Thursday down 3.3% and are down nearly 53% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 (SPX) has gained about 20%.
</time>
MarketWatch Tonya Garcia<time abp="1673" datetime="2017-01-16T11:17:00.000Z" data-always-show="true">5 hrs ago
Sears Holdings Corp. is using everything in its arsenal to stay afloat, but that still won?t be enough if the company can?t make its brand more relevant and generate sales, experts say.
Last week, Sears (SHLD) announced it had sold its Craftsman tool brand for $900 million to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) the latest move in an effort to keep the business going.
The sale came after Sears announced a new credit facility with funds run by Chief Executive Eddie Lampert of up to $500 million, secured by mortgages on 46 real estate properties. That facility came a week after it said it had secured a standby letter of credit for up to $200 million, also with funds owned by Lampert?s ESL Investments. That facility can also be increased to $500 million, if the lenders agree.
?You?ve got a group of symptoms that would lead one to believe a bankruptcy would be imminent,? said Chuck Tatelbaum, director and chair of the bankruptcy and creditors? rights department at the Tripp Scott law firm, and a 50-year bankruptcy law veteran.
?It?s a sick puppy.?
Even among those who don?t believe bankruptcy is imminent, like Dave Marcotte, senior vice president of the Americas for Kantar Retail, the question is whether Sears still has the juice for a turnaround. Reducing inventory and cutting employees is the company just ?eating itself,? he said. ?All you?re doing is reducing capabilities.?
Without resources, Sears? options are limited.
?All the best quality moves that you can make in terms of real estate have already been done. There are too many stores in poor locations,? said Marcotte. ?[N]othing they have gets them where they need to be.?
Sears has lost $8.2 billion over the past five years. Net losses in the third quarter were $748 million, as sales fell to $5.03 billion from $5.75 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said last week that same-store sales for the first two months of the fourth quarter fell by 12% to 13%.
?Sears has lost its marketplace, especially when they take the Craftsman line away,? said Tatelbaum.
The company will close 150 stores, adding to the more than 2,000 the company has closed, sold or spun off in the last 10 years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Even with those cuts, the outlook is poor, said Tatelbaum. The company could continue to hemorrhage money into 2017 and burn through this latest infusion of cash. It still has more than $3 billion of long-term debt on its balance sheet, according to FactSet. Its most active bonds, the 6.625% notes due October 15, 2018 were last trading at 94 cents on the dollar, according to MarketAxess.
The thing Sears both needs and lacks most is relevance, experts agree. The company is running out of time to build a strong brand, something it desperately needs to drive traffic and revenue.
But now many of the company?s remaining stores are in malls that are also contending with traffic declines. Mall traffic has slipped thanks to store closures from bankrupt or troubled retailers like A?ropostale Inc. (AROPQ) The Limited, which just closed all of its stores nationwide, and Sports Authority. And the consumer shift to e-commerce is taking a toll on many retailers.
?Leading retailers aren?t looking at their assets and asking, ?What can we sell??? said Brendan Witcher, principal analyst focused on retail strategy at Forrester. ?[Sears is] focusing on the operations of being a retailer rather than being relevant.?
Looking forward, there aren?t any big selling occasions to look to near term, with the exception of perhaps Easter. Sears made a push into appliances in 2016, but Tatelbaum believes shoppers might be hesitant to buy.
?They don?t want to buy gift cards or things they might not be able to return,? he said. ?They go to Sears because it?s in the neighborhood, they have a card, or they want a Sears Craftsman product.?
Bringing in shoppers rather than leveraging assets will have to be the focus going forward if Sears is going to survive.
Sears shares closed Thursday down 3.3% and are down nearly 53% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 (SPX) has gained about 20%.
</time>
I firlmy believe
I firlmy believe
in 15- 20 years time many large malls will be converted to self contained retirement villages......
you have the facilities, food court, security, walking exercise track....
Add an urgent care, a bingo parlor, bus service to nearby Indian Casino.....
Maybe add a sports bar,poker room, and topless club for the incorrigibles and you got it all....
opcorn2
I firlmy believe
in 15- 20 years time many large malls will be converted to self contained retirement villages......
you have the facilities, food court, security, walking exercise track....
Add an urgent care, a bingo parlor, bus service to nearby Indian Casino.....
Maybe add a sports bar,poker room, and topless club for the incorrigibles and you got it all....
opcorn2
With all the online shopping over the next 10 years, it might be a good idea to invest in FedEx and UPS:shrug:
Your Local Mall Is Dying. Unless You Are Rich.
By
Conor Sen
The slow death of the American shopping mall is not evenly distributed. A disproportionate number of recent high profile store closure announcements have been in communities that are already struggling. It's creating a retail Rust Belt. This version of the Rust Belt won't be as easy to wrap up into a political platform as the manufacturing Rust Belt, and creates different types of challenges for the communities impacted.
The bad news for physical retail seems to come in waves, and last week was a particularly bad one. Macy's announced another round of store closures. Sears did as well. The Limited announced it was closing all of its brick and mortar stores to focus on its online business. This is all happening in an overall reasonably good economy, with an unemployment rate below 5 percent and accelerating wage growth. The next recession, whenever it comes, is likely to produce a "shock and awe" moment for malls and physical retail.
These store closures aren't being evenly distributed. Companies are keeping, even investing in, their most vibrant and profitable stores, which tend to be in wealthy communities. It's the least profitable ones, oftentimes in stagnant, lower-to-middle-income suburban communities, that are being shuttered. In this latest round, Sears is closing seven K-Mart stores in Kentucky, compared to four in California. They're closing eight Sears stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania, compared to just one in Texas.
A common refrain when big box stores close is, "People can just shop online." But it's more complicated than that. The loss of big box stores and eventually malls means a loss of social and communal space for communities at a time when there are fewer and fewer social ties between us. Dead malls leave behind a huge physical footprint and infrastructure such as sewer connections that needs to be maintained, while also representing a tax revenue blow to a community between lost property, corporate, income and sales tax dollars.
The closing of a mall in a community also represents a sense of loss, but it's a different kind of loss than when a factory closes. With the factory, as we've seen in politics over the past 18 months, a community can blame it on a bad trade deal or foreign workers. A community can hold onto false hope about attracting a new factory or other similar form of production. But when a mall closes, who do you blame it on? Amazon? The internet? And the loss it represents is not some other community winning over the factory jobs, but rather that capitalism has determined that your community no longer matters.
A walk through Midtown Manhattan or Union Square in San Francisco would suggest that physical retail is not going away, but its new iteration does not give much hope to a lot of communities in the process of losing their malls. The emerging form of physical retail is "experiential retail," as has been built at Santana Row in San Jose, California, or Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia. It tends to be high-end development with a mix of uses including residential, dining, shopping and perhaps some office or hotel space. It's great for the communities that can afford it, but chef-driven restaurants and a handful of luxury boutique shops don't make economic sense most places.
How are we going to think about these communities that are losing their malls? They occupy a space we haven't seen in America before. They are neither rural and agrarian nor urban, and what is a suburb without a mall or much in the way of physical stores? Are Facebook and fast food enough to sustain these communities?
What will come to define their politics, and who will pay for their infrastructure? It would be quite easy to tie together a narrative of factory decline and physical retail decline into a broader narrative of communities that haven?t made it into the 21st century the way thriving coastal and Sun Belt metros have. And at some point, tax cuts, fewer regulations, and restrictive trade deals will be seen as insufficient to address these challenges.
By
Conor Sen
The slow death of the American shopping mall is not evenly distributed. A disproportionate number of recent high profile store closure announcements have been in communities that are already struggling. It's creating a retail Rust Belt. This version of the Rust Belt won't be as easy to wrap up into a political platform as the manufacturing Rust Belt, and creates different types of challenges for the communities impacted.
The bad news for physical retail seems to come in waves, and last week was a particularly bad one. Macy's announced another round of store closures. Sears did as well. The Limited announced it was closing all of its brick and mortar stores to focus on its online business. This is all happening in an overall reasonably good economy, with an unemployment rate below 5 percent and accelerating wage growth. The next recession, whenever it comes, is likely to produce a "shock and awe" moment for malls and physical retail.
These store closures aren't being evenly distributed. Companies are keeping, even investing in, their most vibrant and profitable stores, which tend to be in wealthy communities. It's the least profitable ones, oftentimes in stagnant, lower-to-middle-income suburban communities, that are being shuttered. In this latest round, Sears is closing seven K-Mart stores in Kentucky, compared to four in California. They're closing eight Sears stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania, compared to just one in Texas.
A common refrain when big box stores close is, "People can just shop online." But it's more complicated than that. The loss of big box stores and eventually malls means a loss of social and communal space for communities at a time when there are fewer and fewer social ties between us. Dead malls leave behind a huge physical footprint and infrastructure such as sewer connections that needs to be maintained, while also representing a tax revenue blow to a community between lost property, corporate, income and sales tax dollars.
The closing of a mall in a community also represents a sense of loss, but it's a different kind of loss than when a factory closes. With the factory, as we've seen in politics over the past 18 months, a community can blame it on a bad trade deal or foreign workers. A community can hold onto false hope about attracting a new factory or other similar form of production. But when a mall closes, who do you blame it on? Amazon? The internet? And the loss it represents is not some other community winning over the factory jobs, but rather that capitalism has determined that your community no longer matters.
A walk through Midtown Manhattan or Union Square in San Francisco would suggest that physical retail is not going away, but its new iteration does not give much hope to a lot of communities in the process of losing their malls. The emerging form of physical retail is "experiential retail," as has been built at Santana Row in San Jose, California, or Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia. It tends to be high-end development with a mix of uses including residential, dining, shopping and perhaps some office or hotel space. It's great for the communities that can afford it, but chef-driven restaurants and a handful of luxury boutique shops don't make economic sense most places.
How are we going to think about these communities that are losing their malls? They occupy a space we haven't seen in America before. They are neither rural and agrarian nor urban, and what is a suburb without a mall or much in the way of physical stores? Are Facebook and fast food enough to sustain these communities?
What will come to define their politics, and who will pay for their infrastructure? It would be quite easy to tie together a narrative of factory decline and physical retail decline into a broader narrative of communities that haven?t made it into the 21st century the way thriving coastal and Sun Belt metros have. And at some point, tax cuts, fewer regulations, and restrictive trade deals will be seen as insufficient to address these challenges.
- Mar 19, 2006
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Sears: A great American tragedy nears its end
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...ears-its-end/ar-AAmqGP9?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPDHP
Dana Blankenhorn<time abp="355" datetime="2017-01-30T21:51:11.000Z" data-always-show="true">5 hrs ago
Final chords are fast approaching for what was once America?s best-known, and largest retailer. The ?experiment? of hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, who once promised to turn the company around, instead hangs like a weight around his reputation, even on Forbes? billionaire list.
The stock?s latest fall, 13% on Jan. 30, takes the value of Sears down to $640 million. That?s 71% below where it was in 2016. In 2007, SHLD stock traded at $190 per share. That?s more than $10 billion wiped away.
Three companies killed Sears. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) was killing Kmart long before Sears bought it. Amazon, of course, built efficient e-commerce infrastructure after SHLD had dismantled its. Costco was the final nail in the coffin.
</time>
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...ears-its-end/ar-AAmqGP9?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPDHP
Dana Blankenhorn<time abp="355" datetime="2017-01-30T21:51:11.000Z" data-always-show="true">5 hrs ago
Final chords are fast approaching for what was once America?s best-known, and largest retailer. The ?experiment? of hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, who once promised to turn the company around, instead hangs like a weight around his reputation, even on Forbes? billionaire list.
The stock?s latest fall, 13% on Jan. 30, takes the value of Sears down to $640 million. That?s 71% below where it was in 2016. In 2007, SHLD stock traded at $190 per share. That?s more than $10 billion wiped away.
Three companies killed Sears. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) was killing Kmart long before Sears bought it. Amazon, of course, built efficient e-commerce infrastructure after SHLD had dismantled its. Costco was the final nail in the coffin.
</time>
Amazon is now getting into the shipping biz as well. They will eventually put a huge dent in UPS and Fed-ex
