topic Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings in Community Chat

😟 Additional B&M store closings

LoveMyBaby — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 03:19:20 GMT

According to Clark Howard's website:

AVENUE -(plus-size women's fashions) 222 closings
Party City -55 additional closings
Sears & Kmart - 26 additional stores closing
Walgreens-200 closings
GNC - 900 store closings
Charming Charlie - 260 closing
Francesca's - approx 30 closings
Dressbarn 650 closings
CVS -46 locations
BED BATH & Beyond- 40+locations
ShopKo all 370 locations
Charlotte Russe -all 500 stores/49 states
AMAZON - Closing 87 pop-up locations
Dollar Tree - pClosing or rebranding some 600 Family Dollar locations.
Abercrombie & Fitch - up to 40 stores being shuttered
Victoria Secret - closing 53 stores
GAP - 230 store closings over the next two years.
TESLA -closing the bulk of its dealerships
JC Penney - 27 more stores closing
WHOLE FOODS - converting all WF 365 stores to the flagship banner
PAYLESS - 2,100 store liquidation
PERFORMANCE BYCYCLE - 100+ stores closing
PETLAND DISCOUNTS - 70+ stores closing
H&M - 160 closings
TUESDAY MORNING - 24 planned closings
PAT CATAN's - All stores closing, 1/3 to be reopened as Michaels
Gymboree - bankruptcy
CHICO's -250 planned closings

advice was don't purchase new gift cards and be sure to use up any gift cards to the above stores.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

wishmoon — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 03:28:40 GMT

These poor people who will be out of jobs, I really feel sorry for them.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

millieshops — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 03:39:07 GMT

Sad for people who like retail jobs as well as for those of us who like to buy in person.

But truth be told, there's not much in that list I'd miss even if the closings came near me because most are not places I've ever shopped.

And even at places I once where I once browsed and spent frequently, I have already cut back severely.

If I didn't have to go to the supermarket, the gas station, and myriadf doctors, I'd actually be saving $$$$$. As it is, I have just changed where the money goes!

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

Puppy Lips — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 04:00:04 GMT

Sad. Many people losing their jobs and more empty store fronts. But Jeff Bezos can be so proud. I am sure this is not all Amazon’s fault, but they certainly played a part.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

speedy girl — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 04:36:10 GMT

I just hate to see this. More of our choices being taken away from us. And the loss of so many jobs. Makes me feel bad for so many reasons.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

dex — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 04:36:45 GMT

@Puppy Lips @We all have played a part.We wanted the best price and even better have our shopping delivered.Online price comparison shopping is much quicker than running around the malls.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

beach-mom — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 05:38:11 GMT

It is sad.

Charming Charlies is folding completely. DD and I went when they first marked everything down to 25% off. Believe it or not, there wasn't a whole lot left. I got one bracelet; DD found a few more things. I used to get some unusual gifts there - little trays, notepads, etc. I liked the way they had everything color coded in one spot, from clothes to jewelry and handbags, to other accessories.

QVC had them on a few years ago around Mothers' Day. They had some handbags with coordinating jewelry. I almost got one set, then decided to wait and see what else came. They never came back that I know of.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

OnlyShopsOnline — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 05:48:58 GMT

I have some thoughts.... First, times change. And the way we shop changes. I'm 61, but grew up in a neighborhood that didn't have a local large grocery store until I was about 8 years old. We had small grocers, and they delivered groceries. Then the large grocery stores put them out of business.

The large department stores were located in the city. You could travel to the city to shop, or call and have items delivered to your house. We had Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs, and I guess they were the precursor to online shopping. When did Sears put out their first catalogue....around 1900?

My mother had eggs delivered fresh from a farm. And, I can vaguely remember our milk being delivered. Things changed.

I've looked at that list of businesses. The first thing that comes to mind is that maybe they overexpanded. And, the baby boomer generation is retiring, and we just don't need anymore stuff. So I think that also plays a lot into it. My house is fully furnished. I have enough handbags and jewelry for two lifetimes. And, my closet is pretty well set right now. My biggest personal expenditures are sewing machines and fabrics, as I now quilt. And, hubby and I like our technology devices. None of these things can be purchased from any of the stores in the list.

I do prefer shopping online when I can. Crime is rising. The world is just plain nuts. I've had several instances over my lifetime where I've been "accosted" by oddballs in the area of some of our local malls. If it weren't for the fact that someone else was approaching at the time, I most certainly would have been robbed at one point. I'm getting too old to deal with this! I mentioned this in another post, a few weeks ago....I don't want to mingle with the general public anymore and risk running into any more crazies. I prefer to choose with whom I socialize.

As far as the pharmacies, they built all of those ridiculous locations, over the years, so that they could influence the prices that insurance companies paid toward prescription medications. I mean, seriously, we have a CVS and Walgreens at just about every corner.

Times are changing. People's habits change. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. It's an adjustment in the way we live.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

RoughDraft — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 05:59:44 GMT

Our choices are not being taken away from us. The market is adjusting to the way the public chooses to shop.

Two household homes are over-taxed with raising children, working and trying to keep things together, therefore, on-line shopping is our choice. I remember when I was younger and working a five day work week and trying to do everything...shopping, cleaning, cooking, bill-paying, etc. and thank goodness I had the energy to get it done. Our nieces who work wouldn't think of doing the same thing. They shop on line and have everything delivered. I don't blame Amazon, Walmart or any other company for seeing and opening and taking it.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

AngelPuppy1 — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 10:32:43 GMT

I get that times are changing but I still feel bad about all the stores closing. And the people who will lose their jobs. Yes, I get that people enjoy shopping on line. I do at times also when I cannot find what I want locally. When given the choice, I will always choose shopping at B&M stores.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

Meowingkitty — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:33:53 GMT

When I was younger and newly married almost every weekend I would go to the mall for at least a couple of hours to try on clothes, look at stuff, see what’s new, etc. I almost always bought something. Now when I do go to the mall it’s to go into 1 maybe 2 stores. Get what I need and leave. Half the time they don’t have my size or I can get it cheaper online. I’ve tried to recapture the thrill of going to a mall recently by saying “on Saturday I’m going to check out the mall and see what they have” only to check out a few things and get bored and leave. I can do than in the comfort of my home. Malls aren’t fun anymore.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

I am still oxox — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:39:52 GMT

Went to my local Acme Supermarket last night, I knew they are closing early Nov, there was very little dairy on the shelves and the manager was posting the store closing sign.

The market is on the rear side of a strip mall on a busy street, before Acme the site was an A and P, it is sad since I have gotten use to shopping at this market

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

software — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:09:08 GMT

Some of these store closings have nothing to do with the consumer. Retail is a business, yes the consumer is a piece of the puzzle but many closings are due to a strictly business decision based on economics, sometimes a management failure.

I won't miss Walgreens. They purchased Rite Aid, put them out of business and where I live there's a Walgreen on every major intersection. Although I will say, it's the only 24 hours pharmacy in my city. We do have a hospital, in an emergency, you can get a script filled there. Their pharmacy is not open to the public after hours but there is always a pharmacist on duty 24/7.

I will miss Charming Charlie. I'm sad about Dressbarn & Gap. I love all the Gap brands, good quality at a decent price.

I'm curious to see what happens with Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.

Bottom line, I don't spend enough money at any of these stores to matter.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

Pook — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:09:22 GMT

Quit blaming Amazon and online retailers. Most people will go with the most efficient and economical way to shop. At one time we had to make the time to go to B & M stores or do without. I rarely if ever tried on clothing in the stores but took them home and then often had to make another trip to return or exchange things. I always hated wasting time shopping so I just about always catalog shopped when I was younger and avoided having to go to stores when I wanted something. That also gave me access to much more interesting and unique clothing and products. It is more and more obvious that going to malls and stores locally is a thing of the past for most now.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

goldensrbest — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:45:40 GMT

There are drug stores,and banks on just about every corner around here, i have not been in a drug store for a long time ,the mall here is just a Shadow of what it once was.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

mac116 — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:50:56 GMT

My husband used to work as a manufacturer 's rep to major department stores. About 20 years ago, he said that we were "over retailing". My son worked as an accountant for a large grocery chain, and he commented that they would build a new store or take over a closed store so that no one else in the grocery business could move in. More stores than the consumers could support. I feel bad for anyone that loses a job, but many of these companies have made decisions that have caught up with them.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

blueroses47 — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 13:56:33 GMT

@Meowingkitty wrote:
When I was younger and newly married almost every weekend I would go to the mall for at least a couple of hours to try on clothes, look at stuff, see what’s new, etc. I almost always bought something. Now when I do go to the mall it’s to go into 1 maybe 2 stores. Get what I need and leave. Half the time they don’t have my size or I can get it cheaper online. I’ve tried to recapture the thrill of going to a mall recently by saying “on Saturday I’m going to check out the mall and see what they have” only to check out a few things and get bored and leave. I can do than in the comfort of my home. Malls aren’t fun anymore.

I feel exactly the same as you do about shopping in malls these days. I go occasionally but it never seems the same as it did in my younger years.

I'll add one more dimension to it, as well. When I do go to a mall, for whatever purpose, I find the experience extremely depressing. Extremely sad and depressing.

I don't know if it's because the malls seem a little "dead", although I much prefer them quiet, and I purposefully go at quiet times (avoiding evenings and weekends), or if the atmosphere reminds me of shopping in my past, feeling sad about the loss of certain things as years go by.

I'm not sure, but it never fails....I always find malls depressing these days.

I would be sorry to see them disappear completely, though, since I still like to go out to a real store now and again. I tend to go to smaller malls that have stores like Marshalls, TJMaxx and stores like that.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

gardenman — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 14:04:56 GMT

Retail is brutally competitive and Darwinian. The fittest survive, the rest perish. If you're doing something well and making money doing it, others will copy what you're doing and steal your customers. If you've got a product that's selling well, others will get that same product, or something similar, undercut your price and steal your business. Unless you're doing something others can't do, you've got to fight to stay alive every minute of the day in retail. This is just how retail works and has always worked. I can rattle off the names of multiple chains that were enormously successful for a while, but are now gone. No one stays on top forever. Somewhere out there is, or soon will be, a Walmart killer, an Amazon killer, and behind them somewhere is a company that will kill them. This is the nature of retail. It is a brutal space where no one survives for long.

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

hckynut — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 14:25:46 GMT

@LoveMyBaby

I watched BIG companies take away most small mom and pop businesses. Technology marches on and now those companies are feeling the same loss. Our country, in my lifetime, has always been based on capitalism. Now most businesses take advantage of technology, as do most customers.

It's a shame in some ways for sure, but those in any retail business have to stay "ahead of the curve", or they probably won't survive in this era. Don't know about you, but most of the things I buy are via the online retailers. Convenient and generally much cheaper. That's a hard thing to compete against.

I always keep in mind the unemployment numbers are the lowest they have been in many decades, as are the types of jobs. Don't like seeing anyone lose their job. I watched as the BIG manufacturing plant where I was employed moved to another country. Fortunately it was after I retired.

hckynut

Re: 😟 Additional B&M store closings

Lipstickdiva — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 14:22:34 GMT

Our Pat Catan's closed several months ago and is re-opening as Michael's this weekend.

I can't really say I'm shocked about Walgreens. It seems there is a store on every corner.

Sad what is happening. So many people are going to be out of jobs. I just saw this morning that Cisco is laying off 500 employees.