As retail store closures continue to unfold, will have big effect on the U.S. economy

Agree with all. But most curious to know about that 'corporate chain restaurant' thing. What is that?

 

It's all just platitudes and bandaids. Every retail corp which is not keeping up blames the innerwebz, but walk into any of these and you can SMELL the 'out of touch' ness. Then check out the stores which are thriving, and spot the difference.

PS: 'keeping up' is more than simply aesthetics. a huge part of it is pricing.

 

Ah ... Disneyland, then?

 

Interesting thing about Kmart. They're absolutely hammering dept stores in some countries (Australia, for example). No one can beat them on price .. which alone, is enough to keep them going .. but better still, they work hard to keep up with changing tastes. They're doing funky and contemporary homewares at a fraction of the price that very similar items can be had at Ikea, for example. They do fashion staples for a few dollars a piece. I mean, no sane person is going to spend $30 on a basic Chinese-made t-shirt at H&M, when they can buy the same item at Kmart for $3.

Try telling them that online shopping is doom. Their stores are PACKED, all the freaking time.

 

It's off-topic, but I'll answer your question.
Mostly overpriced mediocre quality shovel food. T.G.I. Fridays, Chili's, and Red Robin are prime examples. Basically corporate middle-of-the-line generic chains have not been doing well and are shuttering in droves.
They're not exactly somewhere you would go for a fine meal, but they're not inexpensive fastfood either, and the food isn't really that good.

 

Okay, yep, understand now. We don't really have such places here .. but those we do have invariably do very badly. They seem to be universally incapable of caring about food .. which is really really odd, if you're in the restaurant business. Meantime, since they are so terrible, why do people frequent them? It's not as though you can't tell that the $20 plate in front of you is utter rubbish.

 

This is just my personal opinion, but I think what killed Kmart in the U.S. was, in many areas where these stores were located, the white working class getting replaced by another demographic, who needed something even cheaper than Kmart.
Australia still has that white lower-middle working class.

The middle class, and in particular the lower middle class, became hollowed out, and with them the retail stores and restaurants that catered to them.

(In addition, Walmart was really fast jumping on the bandwagon of bringing in imported stuff from China, which also put a lot of pressure on Kmart, that's part of the story as well, but now with Chinese prices rising a bit relative to the U.S. dollar, and poor people so poor they can't even shop at Walmart, that business model is floundering a little bit)

 

Simple reference to economic theory and empirical evidence. I suppose that may come across as farfetched from a right wing perspective.

 

Yes, as I have said a thousand times on this forum: We are exiting the Industrial Age and entering the Information Age.

It's an entirely new ball-game. Without a ball or even the baseball diamond ...

 

Sure, if you want to blame it on the Information Age. But just take a look at the types of companies on that list. Probably a lot of things consumers were buying were superfluous things they didn't really need, kind of wasteful. Of course these would be the first to be cut when consumers started being a little bit more careful with their money.
Walmart is more worrying though – Not that the rise of Walmart was a good thing for the economy, but it does seem to signify that lower income consumers are having trouble making even essential purchases.

In addition, the level of consumer spending going on probably wasn't sustainable. Not only did it not match real incomes, but also (to a lesser extent), it contributed a bit towards the creation of a bubble. When consumer spending rises, so do incomes, but people don't realize some of that money pouring into the economy isn't sustainable, because it will dry up as soon as the consumer spending goes back down to sustainable levels.

 

computers have been around for 75 years now so the change has been gradual and will probably continue to be so.

 

any business that is killing the competition is good for the economy. Does the liberal want to outlaw competition and progress??

anyway, now Amazon is killing Walmart. Does the liberal want to make Amazon illegal? see why we say liberalism is based in pure ignorance?

 

11 retail chains have closed so far this year,NineWest,Claire's,The Walking Company,BonTon Stores,Toys R Us,Remington Outdoors,A'gaci,KiKo USA,Bertucci's,South Eastern Grocers and Tops Markets.

 

I wouldn't know. Not having ever been 'right wing'.

 

You're of course completely free to abuse the political spectrum in any way that you want

 

Sorry, how does one 'abuse' an idea?

 

Try some self reflection!

 

No, really. How does one 'abuse' an idea/concept?

In the meantime, self-reflection is what brought me out of the fugue of Prog Indoctrination. It's always a good idea.

 

The political spectrum is regularly abused. See, for example, Blair maintaining Thatcherism but pretending a left wing context.

Glad you've convinced yourself

 

I think that's described as socially progressive and neo-liberal. Basically pro-business interests with a few feel-good socially progressive policies, and imagining that with a few simple easy to implement regulations it will solve all the problems.

It wasn't "abused". That's simply a reflection of what the people running things believed. (Maybe because they were getting all their info from reading The Economist )

 

An idea cannot be abused. You're talking waffle.

 

Note you ignored the example. Blair certainly abused the political spectrum, using it to manipulate voters while pursuing unpopular right wing outcomes such as the gradual privatisation of the NHS.

 

I tend to agree with that in the context of a social construct based on the UK experiences of "people going to the shops". The tradition has always been that the "high street" has been the touchstone for consumer confidence in the retail/shopping sector for example footfall - people passing through high street shops. Over the past two decades the "High Street" has become an ever more hostile environment for many people in that local councils/planners/officials have intentionally or unintentionally intruded upon peoples shopping experience - just getting to the high street means running a gauntlet of clogged streets, obstructed freedom of access, lack of parking and when found the high cost of parking, and dare I say it street beggars and roaming gangs and even the weather. Consumers are demanding better services, safer locations and an overall better shopping experience which the "high street" cannot now provide. Out of town enclosed malls are now providing this with easy access, free and plentiful parking air conditioned enclosed locations..etc etc...its a no brainer!
I am lucky in that just down the road from where I live we have the 4th(?) largest enclosed shopping center in Europe, Bluewater. I think the UK has the top 5 largest malls in Europe - that is what is happening in the UK - people are happy to go shopping but on their own hassle-free terms. For those that don't have access to this sort of facility and do not wish to run the "high street" gauntlet there is on-line shopping.

 

Well it seems the experience in the UK is quite a bit different from what's going on in the US. From what you are describing I would gather that people are fleeing the decay and grunge in the inner city and moving to malls in the suburbs. Well this is exactly what happened in the US, 40-some years ago, and if I'm right the UK is on the same track towards experiencing everything that the US went through; they're just lagging behind by a few decades.

 

Possibly, but the concept of the mall is no less than the US there have been malls in the UK for the last 40 years as you say, its just that now they are centralising and getting bigger and better. Land in the UK is expensive; rents and rates are crippling for the smaller malls and they have less choice. If you go to Bluewater for example you get vibrant and eventful experience with ample parking, shops, restaurants, cinemas, outdoor walks and parks, lakes and childrens playgrounds. Westfield in London (Stratford) is even larger. I haven't been to out local high street in years...its a shyte hole.