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America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

bloomberg.com

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Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#171

Post by jjeaff »

cbhl wrote: post #48
ewheeler wrote: post #13

The 'Retail jobs growth by state' chart in this article (approx 2/3 down the page) is lovely: one square line chart for each US state, positioned roughly according to geography, all equal in size. I find it very easy to grok compared to choropleth maps and similar charts that attempt to stay true to geography. Unlike other non-map presentations of US state data, this layout preserves ability to spot regional similari…

I felt like this chart shows that retail store closures are a lagging indicator for employment. Stores are up in NY, WA, TX -- all states where people migrate to to work in tech companies. (Not sure about ND and UT, though.)

Utah has experienced a tech boom as well. They have multiple unicorns. Qualtrics, Domo, pluralsight, as well as a large presence from Adobe, Microsoft, and eBay among others.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#172

Post by StevePerkins »

samsolomon wrote: post #102

I live near Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, and they could not be any busier. It's packed at 2pm on a Tuesday when I'm going to an eye doctor appointment. On the weekends there are often traffic issues in from people entering and leaving. I feel like it's not that malls or retailers are dying, but instead all the revenue is going to a few places with wealthy, urban locations. Perhaps this has to do with the i…

#1: Buckhead is an affluent residential neighborhood, that turned into a startup hub and investment banker district in a couple of decades... but hasn't changed the "residential neighborhood" infrastructure. There are 24/7 traffic issues even when Lenox is closed.

#2: The Atlanta metro had about two-dozen thriving malls a couple of decades ago. Today there's, what? Lenox/Phipps, Perimeter, maybe Cumberland (?). Mall of Georgia way out in the boondocks, having killed all the others along the I-85 corridor? Even Lenox isn't as hopping today as it was in the "old Buckhead" (i.e. pre-Ray Lewis) days. The trend is pretty stark.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#173

Post by colmvp »

xeromal wrote: post #168
craftyguy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Young people and groups of friends don't go to the mall on their own. Malls merge consumerism with social activity - they're for people who enjoy shopping with their friends. I don't think this has been true, at least in the US, since the 1990s.

Go to a mall on the weekend and tell me. Maybe the malls are dying in dead cities, but they're booming in LA who already has plenty of mom and pop shops too. Both are thriving.

Some of the malls in the GTA are doing quite well too, but I've noticed most of them are going upscale.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#174

Post by mschuster91 »

> The root cause is that many of these long-standing chains are overloaded with debt—often from leveraged buyouts led by private equity firms. There are billions in borrowings on the balance sheets of troubled retailers, and sustaining that load is only going to become harder—even for healthy chains.

Oooh, I am so happy if this really happens. The entire financial industry that makes "profits" from loading purchased companies up with debt and then leaving them to die needs to burn in a fire.

The strategy certainly works in the short term (and nets impressive "profits" for the owners/shareholders of such holdings), but in the long term... let's just hope no one will ever be able to pull through this kind of "deal" again.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#175

Post by superb_herb »

egypturnash wrote: post #113
irrational wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you still shop in brick and mortar stores? Other than food (groceries and restaurants) and sometimes clothing, I haven't shopped in a brick and mortar store in so long that I can't even remember when was the last time. It's just so easy to buy things online, even small one off purchases. The other day I needed some AAA batteries so I just hopped on Amazon and ordered them and they showed up a day later. I probably…

I still make a ton of brick and mortar purchases. I’m one block away from a drugstore, where I get things like batteries, bathroom needs, and lighters. Three blocks away from both Trader Joe's, equally close to the weekly farmer's market. But I also live in an actual city instead of an endless sea of suburban houses.

I also live in a city, with TWO Duane Reades in a 5 minute walk from my place. And I STILL get all my drugstore items from Amazon. They're cheaper, and I don't have to waste thirty minutes wandering through a horribly-lit chain store.

On Amazon, I can get three months' worth of toilet paper, shampoo, batteries, and vitamins delivered to me in 1 or 2 days. So convenient. And cheaper than stores.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#176

Post by c0nducktr »

mac01021 wrote: post #142
crisdux wrote: post #42

I'd imagine this is also partly due to the America's demographic changes and the aging population. The large baby boomer generation is retiring and entering a period in their lives where their consumption is lower. Generation X is smaller and can't keep up the consumption. Generation Y is slowly entering a consumption phase.

Why is consumption lower after you retire? You've finally got time to spend all that money that you've been spending all your time earning.

Because then people realize how limited their budgets are.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#177

Post by s73ver_ »

itswhateverman2 wrote: post #128
onion2k wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spend, spend, spend: shop till you drop mentality. If you think malls are only about consumerism then you've misunderstood a big part of their appeal for a lot of people. Young people and groups of friends don't go to the mall on their own. Malls merge consumerism with social activity - they're for people who enjoy shopping with their friends. If that's not you then fair enough, but don't disparage malls simply becau…

I think you misunderstand. Malls only end up as a social gathering spot when there's nowhere else to go. And even then, that only really appeals to teenagers who have nothing else to do. A mall would never be preferable to what was mentioned above, a downtown with brick paths and quality scenery/stores, etc.

A mall would be 10x preferable to that stuff when it's -10 degrees out.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#178

Post by _ea1k »

crankylinuxuser wrote: post #161
craftyguy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Young people and groups of friends don't go to the mall on their own. Malls merge consumerism with social activity - they're for people who enjoy shopping with their friends. I don't think this has been true, at least in the US, since the 1990s.

At our local mall, there's a sign warning that under 18 aren't allowed without adults. They also removed much of what would attract teens and that age group. And many of the "older person stores" are ridiculously priced. Amazon, Walmart online, Aliexpress, and others are cheaper. Malls are full of expensive stuff, not very good stuff, and caters to nobody in particular. I know for us, it's because "Payless Shoes" tha…

I agree. It feels like a lot of malls have basically optimized themselves for a customer base that is not really sustainable.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#179

Post by tomjakubowski »

unabst wrote: post #163
Balgair wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SM is loud and very touristy. Buskers are allowed amps for their guitars and I can't count the number of languages spoken. It's more of an airport terminal than anything approaching 'local'. God have mercy on you at the pier. I'd go Culver City, as a better 'local' kinda thing, but even then you need to get up to SB to really stand a chance of a quiet coffee on the street. > Parking is wack though. Literally all of L…

Even Beverly Hills has great parking. The major bottleneck downtown is parking right now and has been for a while. SM moved fast to build multiple parking structures... and that's where all the foot traffic comes from. Not sure why DTLA is so nonchalant about this. Don't see any construction whatsoever.

You don’t see any construction in DTLA? Are we both living in 2017?

It seems like every other day a new 40+ story mixed-use tower, with requisite parking structure, is breaking ground around here.

The thing that baffled me about downtown’s parking situation was how so many otherwise undeveloped parking lots managed to stick around given the opportunity cost of land downtown. That was until I realized a production crew can’t set up base camp in a parking garage.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#180

Post by 52804375092485 »

narrator wrote: post #52
sytelus wrote: post #24

Retail is the prime example of middleman business. The middleman businesses don't produce anything by themselves and attempt to extract profits via information asymmetry and/or some value adds such as geographically closer availability. Eventually both of these should be done by machines. Throughout the history technology has been killing off middleman businesses such as travel agents, insurance agents, stock brokers…

I know all you alpha-nerds just never want to leave the house and could live in a 20foot square cube and sit on the toilet with your laptop while only consuming auto-delivered soylent and a caffeine IV drip for all you care, but let me help you all out with a little in understanding this retail thing: Retail is mostly about entertainment now, primarily for women. Women like to shop for clothes and try stuff on. They…

If you've got a point to make, don't squander it with an insult and a patronizing tone. It doesn't contribute anything to the conversation.
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