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Tuesday, May 05, 2015

RETAIL APOCALYPSE: 6,000 CHAINS CLOSING STORES

WASHINGTON – The long feared “Retail apocalypse” may be hitting with little or no fanfare if a growing list of store-closing plans by major chains is any indication.

Major U.S. retailers have announced the closing of more than 6,000 stores from coast to coast. The list includes only those retailers which have announced plans to close more than 10 outlets this year and next.

For example, 1,784 Radio Shack stores are vanishing, 400 of the Office Depot/Office Max chain by 2016, and 340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar stores.

The growing list of stores getting shuttered coincides with the decline in discretionary consumer spending over the past six months.
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

IMO, this also coincides with way too many stores being opened in the past and consumers shopping online. Just how many dollar stores and rite aid/cvs/walgreens pharmacies does one town need? Think about it.

Anonymous said...

This is fine for people who shop online, but what about a lot of older people who have no computer and have to go to a real store to buy things? With fewer stores, they will probably charge higher prices, which isn't fair to those with low incomes.

Anonymous said...

60 malls are close to closing also.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a natural progression in a post-modern economy. If you are surprised by this then your head has been in the sand.

Anonymous said...

These stores are having to pay employees to work when there are very few customers coming in. Doesn't make much sense.

Anonymous said...

Dollar stores were touted as being counter-cyclical. As the economy goes bad and people have less money, they move their purchases to less expensive retailers. Does this mean the consumers are totally tapped out?

Anonymous said...

Yes.