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With netflix and movies on demand, I don't see how Hollywood Video and Blockbuster make it.
Hollywood Video closed a slew of their stores last year. I never have used Netflix nor do I plan to. Also, not everybody has onDemand so video stores still have a place.
I live in an area where there is a HUGE amount of retail (one of the pros or cons about Long Island, depending on your point of view, is the sheer number of places to shop, LOL!) at all different pricepoints.
It doesn't surprise me that Linens N Things is on its way out. I never could understand how they AND its 'twin', Bed Bath & Beyond, could both survive in the same market. They look the same, they carry the same merchandise, they price the same, and they even take each others coupons! For a while I even thought they were under the same corporate umbrella (same suit, different pockets) because they are such clones of each other.
As for retailers that I think will be weeded out during 2009, I think the smaller chain video stores like FYE and Hollywood will succumb and the only player left will be Blockbuster. Since supermarkets are regional, not national, I don't see too much changing there, although I think Whole Foods will (and should) expand their number of stores. There are only 2 here on Long Island and both are within 10 miles of each other; very poor planning for an island that is 100 miles long.
IMO at least one of the small discount stores (Marshalls, TJMaxx, etc) will fail because just like LNT/BBB they seem to be pretty much clones of each other. I've only been in any of them occasionally but each time I came away very unimpressed; didn't see anything there that seemed different than what could be bought at someplace like Target. And I think that as gas becomes more expensive, people will gravitate more to the larger discount stores because of their larger floorspace and selection for 'one stop shopping'.
I do miss CompUSA a lot. The only on-shelf retail software sources now are Circuit City and BestBuy here. GameStop stores really do cater almost exclusively to the video-game crowd with some PC games but not many. CompUSA used to have a very good selection of all sorts of software and name-brand computer goodies. CC and BB have what, two rows of software titles at most? Pah. But of course that's not their main focus, as CompUSA's was. Speaking of GameStop I suspect that the only thing keeping them in competition with CC and BB is available shelf space. Depending on the economy vs the price of video games there, they may be one of the 2009 or 2010 fatalities as well.
But didn't Macy's just go nationwide earlier this year? They used to be a primarily East Coast chain but I do recall reading about their expansion to the West Coast. I have a relative in California who emailed me about Macy's taking over one of their previously-West Coast department store chains. I'd think under those circumstances Macy's has already weeded out and closed all the locations that they thought likely to be less- or non-productive after the expansion.
I'm kind of surprised that Lord & Taylor is still around. About a year ago there were announcements that they would be closing either most or all of their 3 or 4 stores here on Long Island. But AFAIK none of them closed. Perhaps they got a cash infusion. However I'm not sure if Lord & Taylor has a retail presence outside the Northeast. They are now owned by the same company who also owns Hudson's Bay Company (a Canadian chain) and Fortunoff's (which is strictly NYC/metro). IMO Lord & Taylor is still a cut above Macy's. During the 1960s-1980s, they were definitely a couple of steps above Macy's for sure. Now they're pretty much the same although IMO the L&T stores themselves are still noticeably nicer even though they have almost exactly the same brands and prices as Macy's. Not sure whether that means Macy's has "come up" or that L&T has "slipped", LOL!
In my area Linens N Things is already going out of business. Today is their last sale day before they close up shop. Mervyns is out of business. But the good news is ... we have a Nordstrom coming to our mall in 2009!!!
It would be great if the Sears were gone. I don't know anybody who actually shops there - they have such junk!
I have to think Sears is on the ropes
Definitely Circuit City
How about Pier 1?
When looking at companies, the most important thing to look at is their cash-to-asset ratio.
Companies that have 1/4 to 1/3 (or more) of their assets in cash are the ones who will survive.
Go back to 1927 just before the recession started in 1928 and look at companies' cash-to-asset ratio. You can predict every single company that would make it.
You can also predict which companies would still be around in 2008 by looking at the cash-to-asset ratio over the period between then and now.
The best example is the Kroger company. When KRK tried to buy Kroger's, it took some of its huge cash stock-pile, paid down debts, then refinanced and restructured its debts to increase its profit margin and its stock shot up and KRK couldn't touch it.
The internet, not just the economy, has ruined many brick and mortar electronics stores.
Wrong. Short-sightedness, a lack of vision, failure to think outside the box, a lack of marketing research, the inability to adapt to a changing market and changing demographics and arrogance led to their failures.
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