Retail Apocalypse

Last week we were made aware that Walmart closed hundreds of stores across America.  Some say that was a long standing plan by Walmart to bankrupt all the local businesses with a new Walmart and then shut down the store, thereby consolidating costs and forcing Walmart shoppers to drive 20 miles to the next Walmart.

Others wonder if these store closings are the first small warnings of what will eventually become a "Retail Apocalypse"?

Major retailers in the United States are shutting down hundreds of stores, and shoppers are reporting alarmingly bare shelves in many retail locations that are still open all over the country.  It appears that the retail apocalypse that made so many headlines in 2015 has gone to an entirely new level as we enter 2016.  

As economic activity slows down and Internet retailers capture more of the market, brick and mortar retailers are cutting their losses.  This is especially true in areas that are on the lower portion of the income scale.  In impoverished urban centers all over the nation, it is not uncommon to find entire malls that have now been completely abandoned.  

It has been estimated that there is about a billion square feet of retail space sitting empty in this country, and this crisis is only going to get worse as the retail apocalypse accelerates.

We always get a wave of store closings after the holiday shopping season, but this year has been particularly active.  The following are just a few of the big retailers that have already made major announcements&

-Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, including 154 inside the United States.

-K-Mart is closing down more than two dozen stores over the next several months.

-J.C. Penney will be permanently shutting down 47 more stores after closing a total of 40 stores in 2015.

-Macy s has decided that it needs to shutter 36 stores and lay off approximately 2,500 employees.

-The Gap is in the process of closing 175 stores in North America.

-Aeropostale is in the process of closing 84 stores all across America.

-Finish Line has announced that 150 stores will be shutting down over the next few years.

-Sears has shut down about 600 stores over the past year or so, but sales at the stores that remain open continue to fall precipitously.

But these store closings are only part of the story.

All over the country, shoppers are noticing bare shelves and alarmingly low inventory levels.  This is happening even at the largest and most prominent retailers.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=90#EMefSHjq7oXtHJbq.99

A billion square feet of empty retail space??  That's a really big empty shrine dedicated to the American god of consumerism!!....and it's empty??

The fact is that America doesn't need a 20,000 square foot BED, BATH AND BEYOND every 5 miles across the entire country!  Now that we can actually order our towels and bedding ONLINE and have it delivered to our homes with no sales tax and free shipping.....how do you imagine that all these retail stores are going to continue paying the massive heat bills, electric bills, property taxes and maintenance costs that it takes to keep a store like that open?

For some years now, America's economy has been powered by the CONSUMER ENGINE.  The only reason our economy keeps chugging along is NOT because we we make things to ship all over the world (even though we do), it's not because we save money and loan it to the rest of world at interest, it's because we buy an ENORMOUS amount of crap!  Sadly, most American's can't afford all the crap that they want so they borrow the money at interest to enable them to buy it today!!

Of course when they borrow and buy that's like putting fuel on our CONSUMER ENGINE.

"But Dennis, what would happen if the consumer engine were to sputter, gasp, heave and ultimately collapse?"

What do you THINK would happen if the main engine to our economy stopped?

What do you THINK would happen if the Federal Gov't couldn't find any other nations or businesses to loan them one thousand billion dollars every year to support their massive deficit spending plans?

What happens to YOUR personal finances if you suddenly lost your job and at the same time had your VISA cards cancelled and your furnace and car both needed major repairs?

"Yeah, but Dennis, the Federal Government can ALWAYS just print/create more money!  Enough so they can do, buy or pay for anything they need!"

Really?  Do you honestly believe that?  If so, someone needs to point out how delusional that belief really is.

It's impossible to borrow enough money in hopes that one day you will be wealthy.