Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

What stores do you think will go out of business from this? I worked in retail for years and it intrigues me what is going on with retail. Many of the business publications are predicting stores like kohl’s, Macy’s, JCpenny and some of the the companies that own smaller stores (Ascena and LBrands) will go belly up. I can’t imagine with all this loss of revenue the stores will survive. Mall rents are crazy. I’m thinking about the Thanksgiving/ Black Friday craziness that probably won’t happen anymore. I think the big box places (Wal Mart, Target etc) will come out ahead, maybe even expand and most of shopping will head towards online even more so....

Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I think JC Penney was already struggling so I wouldn't be surprised if they go under. I'm guessing a lot of the bigger names might end up having to close a bunch of locations, but might not completely disappear.

Wal Mart and Target have groceries, so I'm guessing they'll be ok.

I've been stalking Old Navy for a particular dress style that I loved last year. I've been waiting for them to go on sale this year so I can buy all the colors, but surprisingly, they've not been on sale. I'm not sure what they're waiting for - online business is the only thing they have going for them right now.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Macys was already closing stores before this.
Before this all blew up there was an article about how Macy's planned to shut down Commack and teh one in the Broadway Mall in Hicksville- which was there since the 1950s as Gertz, Sterns and then Macy's
JC Penney, Sears, all were closing as well.
Then Dress Barn, etc.

I feel like a lot of brick and mortar stores were having issues due to Amazon and online shopping.
There were threads on here about it.

So this won't help them even a little.
This will just make the decline go faster.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

i come to this topic from another angle... shipping.

the move to online shopping is CRAZY.
we have been told to expect this increase in packages to continue and not decrease... we'll be at this level straight to the holiday season.

we're currently hiring like gangbusters and we're setting up a whole new shift in our station. all together, i think our station alone will hire about 400 skilled and unskilled people.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Message edited 4/21/2020 1:54:51 PM.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I think we were moving away from many retail stores anyway. I think that places like Target and Walmart will survive as well as the large home improvement stores. Anything in an indoor mall is doomed. I think there will be a much bigger move to outdoor malls. But that was happening already too.

The prob is we are also going to see a lot of restaurants go out of business and places that provide activities for children. I can't imagine many people are holding a lot of Pump It Up type parties next year when those places were germ factories to begin with.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Movie theaters which were already struggling, concerts and large events such a obstacle course race like Spartan, tough mudder etc. Small businesses like nail & hair salons.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I know for a fact that Lord and Taylor is closing it's stores and going to online only. So depressing.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I love Lord and Taylor :(

I work with a lot of retailers. I can tell you Bed Bath and Beyond is on the brink of collapse as is JCP. Kohls wasnt far behind but they turned things around somewhat this year when they opened Amazon kiosks in the store.
Macys and other department stores are dinosaurs.
Little shops inside malls like Francescas, Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, and Claires will all be gone by 2021.
Places like TJMaxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods (all owned by TJX) were doing incredibly well, but with the closure they are not making any money. I believe once things reopen they will resurge.
Target, Walmart, Costco, BJs will be fine.
The mom and pop stores that have loyal shoppers will be okay -- those that are dinosaurs and have never invested time or money into going digital are going to be out of luck.
All in all this was happening already.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

Oh and just to add restaurants to the mix.
I find the ones that are embracing social media and offering specials for take out are doing amazingly well in this.
There is a local place by my house that actually had to stop taking orders on Friday night because they were overwhelmed with the amount of people calling in.
They are always on Facebook with specials, they offer family meal kits in addition to the regular menu, they offer curbside booze to go and fun cocktails in pouches that they change every week.

Another place we frequent was offering a free bottle of wine with a $40 take out purchase and they are super busy all the time too.

Social media is huge- they post, people share, etc

They ease fears by saying- just pull up, pop your trunk and we'll put your food in- no contact at all- all payments over the phone by credit card, masked and gloved employees, etc

So I can see some of them doing ok throughout this, while others have already shuttered.

Message edited 4/21/2020 2:25:21 PM.

Re: Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I think the businesses that were already tanking will take a huge hit and probably close. I don't think it's because of the pandemic, but the pandemic just accelerated the inevitable. (Meaning big retailers like JCP)

Many small businesses will unfortunately suffer as well.

Message edited 4/21/2020 2:34:33 PM.

Doom and Gloom question - - fair warning lol

I hate that clothing stores are closing. I have to try everything on (clothing and shoes) bc things just don’t fit right most of the time. And I don’t want to buy online and return all the time.