‘Retail
Apocalypse’ Causing More Than 3,500 Stores to Close: What You’re
Not Being Told
20
September, 2017
(ANTIMEDIA) In
the latest blow to traditional retail sales, this week Toys R’
Us filed for
bankruptcy, following in the footsteps of
an increasing number of other brick-and-mortar chains. But the giant
toy outfitter is not the only company suffering losses, as a
recent report from
Clark.com, a consumer analysis site details.
Though
separate statistics show
that more stores will open in 2017 than will close, the type of
stores making gains suggests frugality is the norm U.S. consumers
amid a continuously harsh economy.
Clark.com
compiled a list of retail stores that announced closures of physical
shops this summer. Sears said at
the end of August that “in
fiscal year 2017, [they] have closed approximately 180 stores
previously announced for closure, and an additional 150 stores
previously announced for closure are expected to be closed by the end
of the third quarter of 2017.”
They will also be closing 28 K-Mart locations, citing a desire to
change their business model so “the
physical store footprint and [their] digital capabilities match the
needs and preferences of our members.”
Vitamin
World filed for
bankruptcy last week and plans to close 51 of 334 stores, which are
located mostly in malls; Gap said in
a press release earlier this month it will close 200 Gap and Banana
Republic stores (and open 270 Old Navy shops); Perfumania filed for
bankruptcy in August, moving to close 64 of 226 stores;
Starbucks announced at
the end of July it will close all of its 379 Teavana shops by next
year; Gymboree plans to
close roughly 350 stores following its bankruptcy in June; True
Religion filed for
bankruptcy in July and moved to close 27 stores; the Ascena Retail
Group, parent company of Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Justice, and other
chains, announced in
June it would shutter over 250 stores by 2019 (in addition to the 71
it had already closed this year). The group noted they could close up
to a total of 667 of their 4,500 various locations.
The
summer trend follows even more closures in 2017 — in
March, Business
Insider noted roughly
3,500 stores would shut down this year. Macy’s revealed plans
to shut down 68 locations in January, J.C. Penney announced it would
close 138 stores back in March, and Abercrombie and Fitch told
investors it planned to
close 60 locations, bringing the total closed to 169. Other retailers
closing stores are Bebe, Guess, Crocs, Guess, American Apparel (which
has filed for bankruptcy twice),
RadioShack, Staples, CVS, and Gamestop.
Wet
Seal and Limited are closing all or nearly all of their locations
this year.
Many
blame Amazon and the popularity of online retail, especially amid the
general collapse of
America’s once prominent shopping malls, and the news media has
repeatedly sounded
the alarm of
the “retail
apocalypse.”
But
a recent report from
the IHL Group, a global retail and hospitality analysis and advisory
firm, argues there is no retail apocalypse. Rather, they contend,
customer preferences are simply shifting. In “Debunking the Retail
Apocalypse,” the analysts point out that more major retailers and
restaurants are opening 4,080 more stores than they are closing this
year.
Nevertheless,
many of the closing stores have been mainstays of American retail
culture for decades, and those finding the most success are focused
on budget pricing. Stores like the Dollar Tree are making major
gains, a trend also reflected in Gap’s decision to close their more
expensive stores, including Banana Republic, to focus on Old Navy,
which offers a much lower price point.
As
the IHL report notes, “According to the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics, since 1996, overall inflation in core consumer goods and
services has averaged 55% over the 20 year period of 1996-2016.”
Prices
on college tuition and textbooks have gone up 200%. Costs have
increased for child care (125%) healthcare (120%), food and beverage
(65%), and housing (60%). In contrast, products like cell phone
services, TVs, toys, and software have become cheaper.
IHL
explains that “products and services that are more likely to be
considered as necessities have grown significantly in costs over the
last 20 years and items that are typically in the luxury category
have gone down in price.”
“In
a vacuum, these prices don’t tell us much,”
they explain. “However,
when compared with income growth over the same period we can see that
a much higher percentage of consumers cannot keep up with inflation,
thus are shopping more at lower cost retailers and less at higher
image/brand stores.”
IHL
notes that 40% of Americans have not been able to keep up with
inflation, and as a result, the higher costs for basic necessities
have affected their shopping habits. So has student loan debt, the
decline of the middle class, the growth of e-commerce, and the fact
that large retailers have prioritized store expansion over customer
experience.
Considering
the economic situation, it’s unsurprising that the types of
businesses opening the most chains are mass merchants — like
Target, Wal-Mart and Dollar General — and convenience stores. IHL
also notes that 2,026 fast food stores opened this year.
Interestingly, more cosmetics stores are opening than closing
(cosmetics become
more popular when
economic times are tough).
Ultimately,
IHL notes, retail sales are up $121.5 billion from July 2016.
However, Americans are carrying roughly
$1 trillion in credit card debt against very little savings.
While total retail sales may be growing, those making profits and
finding success are doing so amid a climate of overall economic
decline. While the “retail apocalypse” may not have come to total
fruition, Americans’ financial futures certainly seem to be on the
downturn.
The
Everything Bubble Is Ready To Pop
20
September, 2017
It
wasn’t always this way. We never used to get a giant, speculative
bubble every 7–8 years. We really didn’t.
In 2000, we had the dot-com bubble.
In 2007, we had the housing bubble.
In 2017, we have the everything bubble.
I
did not coin the term “the everything bubble.” I do not know who
did. Apologies (and much respect) to the person I stole it from.
Why
do we call it the everything bubble? Well, there
is a bubble in a bunch of asset classes simultaneously.
I
don’t usually predict downturns, but this
time I bet my reputation that a downturn is coming. And
soon.
When
there’s nothing left but systemic risk, everyone’s portfolio is
on the line.
To
that end, I’ve put together a FREE actionable special, Investing
in the Age of the Everything Bubble,
in which I discuss ways to prepare for the coming bloodbath (download
here).
The
West Begins To Panic Over China's OBOR Trade System
From July
There
is always another $27 billion lying around, it seems, when Lockheed
Martin needs more money for expensive weapons system
As
if it couldn't get anymore obvious. LATAM and Communist entities
like Russia and China have been in unison for years on a goal of
lessening dependence on USD for trade. Now in the past
month you have seen Mexico consider remonetizing its Libertad, A
"gold backed" Yaun / Oil contract, and now, Venezuela is
jumping ship. And why shouldn't they?
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Venezuela began publishing prices for its oil in Chinese yuan in a bid to avoid the US dollar and counter US sanctions, the country’s President Nicolas Maduro said.
“We are already pricing [oil] in Chinese yuan … because of the sanctions which were facilitated by [opposition politician] Julio Borges and which were adopted by [US President] Donald Trump. They have caused great damage … And we are forced to defend ourselves,” Maduro said Friday while aired by the Telesur broadcaster.
Maduro has already said in the past that Venezuela was going to free itself from the “vice of dollar.”
The
Entire Economic Recovery Is One Big Myth
Top Financial Expert Warns Stocks Need To Drop ‘Between 30 And 40 Percent’ As Bankruptcy Looms For Toys R Us
By
Michael Snyder
18
September, 2017
Will
there be a major stock market crash before the end of 2017? To
many of us, it seems like we have been waiting for this ridiculous
stock market bubble to burst for a very long time. The experts
have been warning us over and over
again that
stocks cannot keep going up like this indefinitely, and yet this
market has seemed absolutely determined to defy the laws of
economics. But most people don’t remember that we went
through a similar thing before the financial crisis of 2008 as well.
I recently spoke to an investor that shorted the market three years
ahead of that crash. In the end his long-term analysis was
right on the money, but his timing was just a bit off, and the same
thing will be true with many of the experts this time around.
On
Monday, I was quite stunned to learn what Brad McMillan had just said
about the market. He is considered to be one of the brightest
minds in the financial world, and he told
CNBC that
stocks would need to fall “somewhere between 30 and 40 percent just
to get to fair value”…
Brad McMillan — who counsels independent financial advisors representing $114 billion in assets under management — told CNBC on Monday that the stock market is way overvalued.
“The market probably would have to drop somewhere between 30 and 40 percent to get to fair value, based on historical standards,” said McMillan, chief investment officer at Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Financial Network.
McMillan’s
analysis is very
similar to mine.
For a long time I have been warning that valuations would need to
decline by at least 40 or 50 percent just to get back to the
long-term averages.
And
stock valuations always return
to the long-term averages eventually. Only this time the bubble
has been artificially inflated so greatly that a return to the
long-term averages will be absolutely catastrophic for our system.
Meanwhile,
trouble signs for the real economy continue to erupt. As noted
in the headline, it appears that Toys R Us is
on the brink of bankruptcy…
Toys R Us has hired restructuring lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis to help address looming $400 million in debt due in 2018, CNBC had previously reported, noting that bankruptcy was one potential outcome.
Kirkland declined to comment.
Earlier Monday, Reorg Research, a news service focused on bankruptcy and distressed debt, reported Toys R Us could file for bankruptcy as soon as Monday.
This
is yet another sign that 2017 is going to be the worst year for
retail store closingsin
U.S. history.
I don’t know how anyone can look at what is happening to the retail
industry (or the auto industry for that matter) and argue that the
U.S. economy is in good shape.
But
most Americans seem to base their opinions on how the economy is
doing by how well the stock market is performing, and thanks
to relentless
central bank intervention,
stock prices have just kept going up and up and up.
In
so many ways, what we are watching today is a replay of the dotcom
bubble of the late 1990s, and this is something that McMillan also
commented on during
his discussion with CNBC…
Part of McMillan’s thesis is rooted in his belief that the lofty levels of the so-called FANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet — seem reminiscent of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s.
“I’ve been saying for about the past year, this year looks a lot like 1999 to me,” McMillan said on “Squawk Box.” “If you look at the underlying economics [and] if look at the stock market, the similarities are remarkable.”
I
am amazed that so many big names continue to issue extremely ominous
warnings about the financial markets, and yet most Americans seem
completely unconcerned.
It
is almost as if 2008 never happened. None of our long-term
problems were fixed after that crisis, and the current bubble that we
are facing is far larger than the bubble that burst back then.
I
don’t know why more people can’t see these things. It has
gotten to a point where“even
Goldman Sachs is getting worried”…
The stock market bubble is now so massive that even Goldman Sachs is getting worried.
Let’s be clear here: Wall Street does best and makes the most money when stocks are roaring higher. So in order for a major Wall Street firm like Goldman to start openly worrying about whether or not the markets are going to crash, there has to be truly MASSIVE trouble brewing.
On that note, Goldman’s Bear Market indicator just hit levels that triggered JUST BEFORE THE LAST TWO MARKET CRASHES.
When
things fall apart this time, it is going to be even worse than what
we went through in 2008. In the aftermath, we are going to need
people that understand that we need to fundamentally redesign how our
system works, and that is something that
I hope to help with.
We cannot base our financial system on a pyramid of debt, and we
cannot allow Wall Street to operate like a giant casino. Our
entire economy has essentially become a colossal Ponzi scheme, and it
is inevitable that it is going to come horribly crashing down at some
point.
But
for now, the blind continue to lead the blind, and most Americans are
not going to wake up until we have gone over the edge.
Michael
Snyder is
a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional
District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign
on his official
website.
His new book entitled “Living
A Life That Really Matters” is
available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.
The
Global Debt Crisis Is Much Worse Than We Are Being Told
The
Crash Is Coming! Prepare For The Imminent Economic Collapse 2017
Stock Market CRASH!
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