In this CNBC article (6/2/2017), they give a bunch more facts and stats on the Retail Apocalypse, and a look at the coming Mallpocalypse. Here are some of the key points in the article:
-Credit Suisse predicts 20 to 25% of all malls (in the U.S.) will close down in the next five years. There are about 1,200 enclosed malls in the country, so that means 240 to 300 are expected to close. Other sources have predicted 400 will shut down in the next five years.
-Retail sales growth is the weakest since the Great Recession of 2008.
-Luxury purse maker Michael Kors is closing 100 stores.
-Gymboree is now in bankruptcy.
-Retailers fired 6,100 workers in May 2017. That means about 95,000 retail workers have lost their jobs in the last seven months.
-16 million people, 1 in 10 American workers, work in retail.
Meanwhile...
-Amazon is opening physical bookstores.
-Lidl (pronounced Lee-dul), a German grocery store, is opening lots of new stores.
This isn't a recession that's closing all these stores. Not yet, anyhow, I think we'll head into a recession in the six months to a year. What's happening to Retail stores is what happened to factory jobs in the 1980's-2000's, and what happened to music in the 90's. New technology, automation, and changing buying habits have changed the game. The old school department stores, mall stores, and other retailers just didn't keep up. It's a major business revolution, and it's far from over. Just like factory workers in previous decades, thousands, and likely millions, of retail workers will have to learn a new career... or create their own job or business in some way.
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