This is not what I've read in the media. Why are Sears, Kmart, Penny's, Macy's, Payless, Radioshack, Abercrombie & Fitch, Staples, The Limited, etc. closing a large number of stores. Costco and likely Target have a thriving on-line clientèle, so remain viable for the moment. So far, grocery stores seem to be just flirting with on-line business. Safeway offers on-line purchase with home delivery. Just today, Parcel Post delivered me three months worth of Petco dog food. It was less expensive than buying it in store. One only has to look at the range of products available on Amazon to know that this is retail businesses' future.
The independent small businesses are doing better than ever around where I live. New shopping centers, are built to resemble small town main street (with better parking). The big enclosed shopping malls are struggling for tenants.
Well, let's review those companies indivdually rather than lump them together, since their business models are starkly different.
Sears: Overpriced merchandise aimed at a clientele that can afford to buy better at exclusive stores like Sachs; massive floor space underused and poor planogram planning; marketing plans that fizzled out as they were based on obsolete verbiage and anachronistic sales pitches; bloated management structure that paid a handful of schmoes a ton of money but neglected its line staff, also bloated. Now they're closing stores in Canada due to these factors and the horrible PR of firing its people with no severence while paying fat packages to his departing execs and senior managers.
Kmart: Hypermarket analogous to Zellers up north that focused on cheap, generic products and inferior quality clothing at shopping mall prices (for sports apparel and jeans). Couldn't compete with Walmart's superior prices & selection or Target's brand loyalty and product standards. Too big and too many stores; didn't prepare for the Internet. No marketing.
Macy's: Still around, but downsizing its big city real estate. Like Sears they had a higher-end clientele until the 90s, but didn't downsize their inventory or their prices for the Internet flea market era. Now they have enormous buildings to pay for and are struggling to sell them. No surprise here. Again, tone-deaf executive management that ignored the warning signs and consumer trends in favor of the cookie cutter approach that buried Eaton in Canada 20 years ago.
Payless: They have a niche for shoe products. Since shoes are something you need to try before buying, online retailers haven't cornered this market yet. Moreover, their shoes are affordable. They're not failing.
Radioshack: Spent too much focus on eletronics parts that you can buy on Amazon and less on video games, cell phones (as they were then coming out), and camcorders. Best Buy buried them. Also, terrible customer service - why ask for someone's address when they buy batteries?
A&F: Failing? Hardly. They have brand loyalty, and though their share has shrunk since their heydey in the 90s, they still turn a profit. Just less stores around the mall.
Staples: What about them? They have competitors like OfficeMax but basically their online business is booming. How do I know? Because I used to sell printers for them and was privvy to the P&L of the store I worked at. I've seen none close in any area I went to. I think you're just throwing out random companies at this point.
The Limited: Don't know them. That should tell you something. If no one knows your brand, you're in trouble.
You left out Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Sam's Club, and quite a few others. Maybe you should quit believing what you're spoonfed on CNBC.
