US retailers to close hundreds of stores
As consumers stop buying in US recession
HIGH AND RISING world oil and food prices, the implosion of the US housing bubble and the ensuing consumer credit vapour lock have cash-strapped US consumers staying out of retail stores in droves, and this is forcing dozens of US retailers to close hundreds of stores.
Information technology related companies that are closing stores include CompUSA going out of business, Sprint Nextel closing 125 locations, Movie Gallery closing 560 movie rental outlets, and bankrupt Sharper Image shutting down 90 to 180 stores.
Other retailers shutting down shops are: Ann Taylor, 117 stores; Eddie Bauer, 29 stores; Cache, 20 to 23 stores; Lane Bryant, 150 stores; Talbots, 100 stores; Gap, 85 stores; Foot Locker, 140 stores; Wickes going out of business; Levitz going out of business; Zales, 105 stores; Disney, 98 stores; Home Depot, 15 stores; Macy's, 9 stores; Pep Boys, 33 stores; Ethan Allen, 12 stores; Wilsons, 158 stores; Pacific Sunwear, 228 stores; Bombay Company, 384 stores; KB Toys, 356 stores; and Dillards, six stores. Sheesh kebab!
The US financial sector has already been decimated by the fallout from the recent subprime mortgage fiasco. Workers laid off from financial services and retailing positions tend to get forced into lower-paying service jobs. But with consumers being squeezed by increasing gas and food prices, they're not driving and patronising bars and restaurants as often, so it is somewhat doubtful that all of those laid-off employees will be able to find other work soon.
It's hard not to think that the US economy might get worse before it starts getting better. µ
L'Inq
Gather
Comments
Once again venturing into unknown topics...
And again, you should avoid commentary on subjects you either don't understand or can't bring yourself to report objectively on.A "Recession" is 2 or more quarters of negative economic growth. The U.S. has not had one. Closing stores is the natural reaction to having opened too many to begin with, not the desperation of a "Recession" or, more severely, a "Depression."
Unemployment is still under 6%, better than under almost any other economy in history.
Please stop being a tool - it is annoying.
The Revolution is coming!
Meat the Rich!Executive payouts
Quite a few of those companies had very large executive payouts this year too even though their respective company performance was terrible.It was known...
The guy who made the splash in the presidential race, Ron Paul, has been saying this will come to a head, for years. This is what happens, when you have an unregulated central bank that can print money 'out of thin air'. They've devalued the currency so much, I think you guys are right. It's going to get much worse. The telltale sign; The Fed (Federal Reserve Corporation -not part of the US Federal Government) quit reporting it's M3 statistic (amount of currency inflation) two years ago. They don't want us to know how bad it is. So we find out, when we go to the gas pump or grocery store. Needless to say, the politicians will spin it and blame it on this or that. But none of them will point the finger at who's really to blame... Feel bad for you guys too. From what we read, over here, you've got a government that, despite popular disapproval, is going to ratify its Lisbon Treaty. So much, for Ireland. So much, for the people of England. So much, for democracy.And on that note:)
First step is admittance
The US is never going to get out of their recession unless people admit or begin to realize they are in one.Recession is here...wake up!
Easy Hill Billy,We are in a recession and denying it to yourself won't change reality.
Wake up and smell the deficit.
wrt Integr8d
1. Democracy is not a panacea, it's a system where the populace has the ability and freedom to force changes in the political system. Sometimes that takes lots of pressure and people in the streets, sometimes it does not. If the populace does not opt for change, it is not the fault of democracy.2. Here's hoping McCain wins. Then the USA can start another war and use it to mask the economic problem.
Not a Recession
Yeah, Bill, you tell all of the people who are going to lose their jobs in those closings, the people who are losing their houses, the people who are working 2 or 3 low-wage jobs (uniquely American!) that this isn't a recession. Did you ever think that the method that they use to measure might be invalid? Sure, the super-rich are doing better and the corporations who can dodge taxes almost entirely are doing great, but the average person is making less than they did in the 70s, real wages are going down, and more jobs are being exported. To real people with real lives, this is a recession. Keep your Bushtales.wrt Bill
Ahhh, typical misinformed Yank. You swallow whatever your oligarchs wave in your face. Why is that?From this week's Economist Magazine, unemployment figures for some developed or nearly developed economies with unemployment less than the USA:
USA 5.5
Japan 4.0
Britain 5.3
Austria 4.2
Netherlands 4.0
Czech Republic 5.0
Denmark 1.8
Norway 2.4
Switzerland 2.4
Australia 4.3
Hong Kong 3.3
Singapore 2.0
S. Korea 3.2
Taiwan 3.9
Thailand 1.5
Mexico 3.6
Agreed
"Once again venturing into unknown topics..." Bill" Agreed!! The media hype and articles like this is whats hurting the US economy and frighting people not to purchase anything. Are unemployment is 5.6% one of the lowest in the world and we have yet to have a negative growth quarter. (Far from a depression) Most of the retailers mentioned are being replaced by Walmarts and COSTCO's where you can buy most of what those retailers sold for 30%-50% less. -TJGAS Cost Controled by Shisters?
Last Night Newscaster Stated that high oil prices are about to fall. I'm Waiting.It is reported that actual High prices are due to Futures Trading thats driven Up Prices & US Congress has Stopped that form of trading & expect per Barrel prices to Fall 50% in Month. We'll See.
Yet, How does Us get Oil So Cheap? Worse, How can some futures traders in phoenix,Az Control such massively diversified market to point of doubling Price by Whimsy.
Lastly if you bought futures, You may Be Bankrupt. Hahahaha. ahhh....SELL STORE & BURN Our KIDS, in fact just burn everything!
drashek
Count again
Shouldn't that say closing thousand's of stores?Assuming..
that those employment numbers are not "cooked". Regardless it seems people are spending less on crap since they need food and gas, thus closed stores.Recession? Where?
Another example of journalistic malpractice. Here is a little advice. We are not that stupid.To Bill
To BillI'm glad you define events in the economy by exactly what the book says. I'm sure all those who lost their jobs to outsourcing, or those who lost their jobs because greedy bank execs sold mortgages people cannot handle would agree that the economy is in great shape.
I'm sure my uncle, who is an independent owner/operator truck driver thinks the economy is doing great with doubled diesel prices and lower demand for products to be shipped.
I'm sure the 2,000+ people at the Ford plant near where I live would agree that there's no recession even though the plant was forced to shut down due to slumping sales.
Economic growth is typically based on the stock market and what business reports to have made in a quarter. The only problem is, the stock market is completely disconnected from reality and what the majority of people experience day to day. Business' profit recordings can't gauge the success of the economy since they can shuffle money around or claim outsourced jobs as new profit.
The wealthy got wealthier off this escapade. Even the CEOs of companies forced into bankruptcy collected millions with no penalty while the people working for the company now struggle. With politicians like those we have no, it'll never change either.
This nation is heading farther and farther into debt with itself and with other nations. The cost of living continues to spiral while pay does not. As a result, the US is collapsing under the greed produced by our largely unchecked capitalist system and by the anemic government that simply eats out of the hands of the businesses.
Remember, just because the chart doesn't read two or more negative growth quarters doesn't mean it reflects the reality of the economy.
more fiat quid, please
re: "...typical misinformed Yank..."-------
i resemble that comment
wrt NJA
Why should the unemployment numbers be cooked? If they are cooked, why would the USA figure not be cooked?Oh, I get it! All the gov'ts with lower unemployment numbers are just trying to make the USA look bad. They must be evil doers.
USA exceptionalism, we've heard of it.
economy is ok
You fools need to stop whinging about the US economy. All these dire predictions of recession, depression, apocalypse, etc. are just plain idiotic. Are some people hurting economically? Sure. Guess what, some people are always hurting economically, that's called capitalism. Not everyone succeeds all the time. When people whine about the cost of living as they pull out of the Starbucks in their F-150 Supercab pickup trucks, things are just not that bad.100,000 people are dead in China from the earthquake. Another 100,000 or so are dead or missing in Burma from the typhoon. And how many hundreds of thousands have been killed in ethnic cleansing in Darfur? Yeah, things really suck here in the US. Not.
Oh, and hoohoo, you are a fool. Mexico has a 3.5% unemployment rate? 10% of Mexico's population currently resides in the U.S. I'll bet they don't count those folks in the numbers.
Unemployement
Cooking unemployment numbers is a time honored practice, but the reach of said cooking varies from country to country. For instance from the numbers of that list I can tell that Mexico's numbers are heavily cooked (ie, the real number is closer to 10 times or more).In any case things will keep going badly until the US government stops printing more money than there is, which will happen when it stops spending more money than it has. Perhaps fighting unnecessary wars might have something to it and/or the fact that the US spends (depending on who you ask) from 30 to 50% of its revenue in defense (BTW more than the rest of the world combined in hard numbers).
Oh, but everything is just fine, please pass me more sand to cover my head, ok?
Bill the Tool !!
Hi Bill.Your a tool.
We hope you enjoy getting laid off and moving to a trailer park home with redneck neighbours.
They won't like your smug comments either.
Loser.
Thanks
Thanks for printing this article. I always find it amazing that people overseas can see our situation better than the people in self denial here.Scary Times we live in
The US is on the virge of a economic and political meltdown and the only ones that do not seem to realize it are the Americans. The citizens of the USA have lost so many rights and freedoms they look more like the old USSR. The old USA " The Protector of Rights and Freedoms " does not exist anymore. President G.WBush took the Oath of Office ("I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." ) and has done nothing but the opposite.Global Crash ???
Your own Royal Bank of Scotland is forecasting a GLOBAL STOCK AND CREDIT CRASH !!! Not just the US ...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/18/cnrbs118.xml
NEWS FLASH: CIRCUIT CITY GOING UNDER.
Heres some of article:Circuit City's activist investor Mark Wattles said yesterday that several firms are interested in purchasing the beleaguered Richmond electronics retailer and that he expects a deal to be announced within a monthCircuit City has fallen to $3.35 share. lowest since 1991 for that Retailer. Although Circuit City has NO comment, its investor: wattles hopes BlockBuster becomes White knight, yet that seems very unlikely. Losing Monies & only "one" unnamed potential buyer, leaves Circuit City open to any of mirad fashionable ways of going under.
TS Drashek
U.S. Unemployment
The U.S. Unemployment figures are all wrong. They only count people that are currently getting unemployment payments from the government. So if you became unemployed and have not been able to find work in the past 6 months you fall out of the system and are not longer counted in the unemployment statistics.The way they do it is all wrong. I have a friend that just moved from one state to another expecting to quickly find a job... now it been 4 months and they are still actively trying to find a job. There is not much available. Based on this I can see how easy It is for people to fall out of the system and not be counted in the unemployment statistics.
Stats
Currently the Census people do the unemployement calcs for the U.S. It is done by Telephone Surgey asking is someone in the home looking for work, recetly layed off, etc. It does not take into account people who have given up looking or such. They (Gov) abandened the more acurate method of data collection during the reign of King Reagan.Just the beginning...
As the energy required to run a "big box" consumer economy based on growth gets more expensive and scarce, there will be a lot more stores closing. Peak oil production and rising prices will do them in as working people and the poor will be unable to afford the gas or the cost of frequent trips to box stores stretched out along the highways.As for unemployment, the official figures don't tell the full story. If you count the underemployed and those people who have stopped looking for work and those who are forced to work several part-time jobs without benefits you get over 10%.
The country is in decline and we are headed for collapse...first the financial collapse, then the commercial collapse. Next comes the political collapse and we better hope it stops here because a social and cultural collapse will pretty much end things as we know it.
My recommendation, start stocking up on food and other necessary commodities and learn to grow some of your own food. There is going to be real hunger in this country in the not too distant future.
No recession, DEPRESSION
You are all fooling yourselves, you cannot believe that this country could fail and it has. You are the most entertained and ill informed nation on earth, the walking dead! You are in a depression and it is going to get really bad very soon! It has all been planned by the shadow government of this country. It is too late to wake up, might as well watch the game and have a beer!to bill and rob
the US is in trouble it is tools big tools like you who Lie about this economy we are in a recession you idiot, Ron Paul has been saying this for years and now it is happening, I follow the S&P which normally hovers at about 1400-1500 it is now dropped to 1200 when and if it gets to 750 the fat lady has sung. So wake up and face the facts. not just that this is all being done by design. yet we have tools like you who spread disinfo. and more people are waking up