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America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

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

#301

Post by lurker456 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #174

> 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…

The ones who organize these deals have already taken the money and are long gone. The ones holding the bag after it collapses are the employees, suppliers and institutional investors.

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

#302

Post by lovich »

emodendroket wrote: post #222
snowpanda wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned recently that even Amazon is banning people for returns. My first thought was that they must have returned a ton of products, but after a quick "banned from amazon" search online it showed that many people with a return rate as low as 9% have been banned. Which doesn't seem like a lot especially if we're talking about clothing. Here's one example, but there's plenty more if you do a quick search: http://cbs…

One-in-ten is a pretty high rate of returns.

I don't know that it is for online purchases. My wife is buying clothes and shoes off Amazon lately and we are on our third return for one pair of shoes because their size guide online doesn't correspond to what they send us at all. That's a 200% return rate on a single item, and that's only if we get the correct one shipped to us this time. Non commodity items have turned into a major crapshoot online.

Online shopping has spoiled me for convenience compared to shopping in person though. What's happened is that I've just ended up not buying as many things because I was trained to expect convenance and then it was taken away

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

#303

Post by CalRobert »

cwbrandsma wrote: post #122
pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blistering summers. Come mid-winter...I am not going downtown to walk around outside, we don't hang out outside (unless we are talking winter sports, and then FULLY clothed). In summer, there needs to be shade. Fall and spring, we get wet. But really, it seems like…

To be fair, other places work with this issue. Ljubljana gets plenty cold and has a lovely downtown - one of the prettiest I know. However, it has very little parking (part of its appeal), meaning it would be illegal to build it in the US.

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

#304

Post by wahern »

BadCookie wrote: post #260
astura wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How young? Many malls have banned people under 18 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. This practice started around 10 years ago. Just in case anyone doubts me: http://www.parenting.com/news-break/why-your-teen-getting-ba... >Up to 80 malls across the United States enforce a curfew or escort policy for teenagers I was still looking young in 2008 despite being well into my 20s and that's when I got IDed at a ma…

Your story reminded me of when I went on a cruise for my honeymoon. There was a cruise employee who gave my new husband and me a stern warning about how we should not be on the cruise without our parents if we were under 18. (We were in our mid-20s.) So much of society today wants to keep people dependent on their parents forever, it seems.

I think it's more the case that roving gangs of teenagers put adults on edge. And for good reason. When you put 5 or 10 of the most conscientious teenagers together, collectively they're like a bull in a china shop.

Adults aren't much better, but they're much less energetic unless they've been drinking.

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

#305

Post by Shivetya »

pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

Malls should transform into upper levels for residences and lower levels for businesses and relaxation. landscape all the parking down to a decent size business parking for those in the mall and separate parkign for residents.

no reason failing malls cannot be remade into such. It has been done and no reason they cannot be a hub for such.

but as mass transportation and cars whacked mom&pop stores so the internet reduces the needs for boutique type stores and small chain merchandise oriented stores.

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

#306

Post by StevePerkins »

southphillyman wrote: post #246
StevePerkins wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

#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…

Just curious ...what are the "pre Ray Lewis" days? He never played in Atlanta and isn't from there....

Throughout the 1990's, Buckhead had a TREMENDOUS club/nightlife scene.

In 2000, Ray Lewis was in town for an away game or whatever reason. He and his entourage got into a nightclub altercation that lead to a stabbing death... you know, just read his Wikipedia entry if you're not already aware of those details.

Anyway, it was an EXTREMELY high-profile story in the local press, and shortly thereafter the bar and nightclub scene was drastically curtailed.

Now, it's definitely arguable whether this should be attributed to Ray Lewis. The truth is more complex... political pressure from wealthy local residents had been building for years, and the Lewis incident was really just a "symbolic" tipping point. Regardless, a lot us lifelong Atlanta residents tend to remember that incident as one of those miniature 9/11-ish moments where a culture shifts abruptly.

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

#307

Post by jacobolus »

tspike wrote: post #268
taway_1212 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's just that the things you want don't translate into a good return on investment for the owners and so they don't get implemented. (i.e. customers would like them, but it would not translate into a increase in shopping large enough to actually justify the investment from the owner's point of view). My wider (and a bit tangential/ranty) theory is that the most tacky, tasteless and lacking self-control custo…

There's no way the returns on investing in making the mall a pleasurable place to hang out in the short term outweigh the costs, but if people depended on malls as part of their area's social fabric, I doubt they would be facing this kind of longer-term decline.

This is why it’s tragic to have the primary public gathering spaces be privately owned and controlled with little insight or accountability from the public, only accessible by car and therefore cut off from the rest of the community by an ocean of parking lots and wide pedestrian-unfriendly streets.

The mall only cares about ROI, and providing a nice space for someone to sit and read a book, play hide and seek, host a club meeting, or stage a free play has little obvious monetary value.

Whatever amenities are provided will be carefully balanced against direct extra spending they bring in, instead of abstract civic improvement.

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

#308

Post by bunderbunder »

onion2k wrote: post #97
pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

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…

> Young people and groups of friends don't go to the mall on their own.

They don't go at all. Because most malls nowadays (in my area, anyway) have rules saying they have to be chaperoned by an adult.

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

#309

Post by southphillyman »

StevePerkins wrote: post #306
southphillyman wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious ...what are the "pre Ray Lewis" days? He never played in Atlanta and isn't from there....

Throughout the 1990's, Buckhead had a TREMENDOUS club/nightlife scene. In 2000, Ray Lewis was in town for an away game or whatever reason. He and his entourage got into a nightclub altercation that lead to a stabbing death... you know, just read his Wikipedia entry if you're not already aware of those details. Anyway, it was an EXTREMELY high-profile story in the local press, and shortly thereafter the bar and nightc…

Oh wow thanks, this whole time I thought that incident occurred in South Beach. Makes sense. I'm sad I'll never get to experience the "old Atlanta". I usually hear people describe it as pre and post Freaknik though.

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

#310

Post by lovich »

VLM wrote: post #275
pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

There are two problems with downtowns, in a tiny city, giant city, whatever. First of all downtown already has a purpose which is to extract middle class home equity, run it thru the retail and restaurant wringer where 95% of businesses fail in the first two years or whatever. Its easy for the city to run downtown; the city doesn't have to worry about parking, for example, because those businesses are designed to fai…

I don't know where you are getting the idea that people are congregating around interstate exits now other than your personal experience. Car ownership has been trending down in the US for a few years and the urban population as a percentage of total population has also been growing for a long time.
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