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1 in 3 American malls are doomed

Meh, malls got greedy a long, long time ago. They squeezed the retailers dry. If you want into my high flow traffic mall you will need to place at least three other stores in my s*** location malls with zero traffic.

You will pay per square foot for rent, pay for your own renovations and advertising and then we will take an additional % of your sales per month.

This was fine when sales were booming but now it's bust.

This is why all malls hold the same stores...retailers have no choice.

If you look around you will see little retailers springing up again in neighbourhood locations not in malls. They should be supported. They are the way of the future now.

Small time retailer with a strong client base...just like how it used to be...everything cycles
 
Half the time I go to a brick and mortar store nowadays looking for something specific I get told, "we don't carry that but we can order it for you."

I can order it and get it faster than the store can.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/12/1-in-3-american-malls-are-doomed-retail-consultant-jan-kniffen.html

Almost all of the main retailers are reporting horrible sales numbers, JCP today being just the latest. JCP, Sears, Kmart are all going away, Macy's is going to shrink big time, there is just no way we avoid a massive shrinkage of brick and mortar stores. Lots of controversy about why the numbers are so bad, but my gut instinct is that increased housing and Obamacare healthcare costs are sucking people dry, people simply have little money to spend, and what they do have they want to spend on experiences rather than accumulating crap. However I do note that a increasing number of experts are saying that retailers have not modernized the shopping experience inline with customer expectations, that this failure to perform has lead to a boycott of the entire sector in favor of Amazon.

Oh well, I hate shopping in general and mall in particular. It will be sad to see all of those malls dead, all of those people out of work, but it is going to happen anyways.
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There will always be a market for places that sell the best and need a brick and mortar store for the discriminating consumer that demands near perfection. Look at men's dress clothes and accessories at Nordstrom versus Macy's. Macy has let some Target level merchandise creep into their stores. In spite of thinking the consumer is dumb and won't notice, they do notice.

BrewerBob said:
Half the time I go to a brick and mortar store nowadays looking for something specific I get told, "we don't carry that but we can order it for you."

I can order it and get it faster than the store can.
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Mail order disables your ability to spot poor craftsmanship.
 
BrewerBob said:
Half the time I go to a brick and mortar store nowadays looking for something specific I get told, "we don't carry that but we can order it for you."

I can order it and get it faster than the store can.
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And if you look at most store websites, they list far more that you can order than you can get in the store, in fact, most things that I see on websites are not available in stores. What's the point of the stores anymore?
 
Jack Fabulous said:
What is the cause of all of this? Ever hear of Amazon?
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I don't think that's necessarily true, although you do make an excellent point. Amazon has really crashed the brick and mortar industry, however people like to to have places to go, where they can be entertained and touch things they may intend to buy. For instance, I bought this new radio for my garage online:

Guess what it's dimensions are; looks nice yeah?

Radio.jpg

There used to be a great flea market about 25 miles south of my home: been around for over 40 years. Always crowded and had great stuff, new and used, food, bands, pets, fruits and vegetables, everything.

Now it's very poor people, renting squares of asphalt and selling nothing but garage sale attained junk. Nobody goes anymore. And that ain't Amazon.

For malls, that I've seen, it's the high cost of lease space and the junkie little shops that come and go every six months. There's nothing to see anymore. It's not a place to go. It's fly by night shops with cheap imported crap unless you want to do Sears or Penneys. COSTCO is now the place to go! It's like a museum that constantly changes displays of great stuff! No, I think malls are hurting because of the rack renting.

The radio BTW is 7 inches across by 5 inches high...
 
i still dig mall pizza.

i went to a dead mall a couple years ago with my buddy. there was a 1990s arcade there, and half of the games didn't work. i remember walking around that place with ninety percent of the stores closed and thinking that this was more like a dream i'd have about getting older than it was reality.
 
jet57 said:
I don't think that's necessarily true, although you do make an excellent point. Amazon has really crashed the brick and mortar industry, however people like to to have places to go, where they can be entertained and touch things they may intend to buy. For instance, I bought this new radio for my garage online:

Guess what it's dimensions are; looks nice yeah?

View attachment 67201350

There used to be a great flea market about 25 miles south of my home: been around for over 40 years. Always crowded and had great stuff, new and used, food, bands, pets, fruits and vegetables, everything.

Now it's very poor people, renting squares of asphalt and selling nothing but garage sale attained junk. Nobody goes anymore. And that ain't Amazon.

For malls, that I've seen, it's the high cost of lease space and the junkie little shops that come and go every six months. There's nothing to see anymore. It's not a place to go. It's fly by night shops with cheap imported crap unless you want to do Sears or Penneys. COSTCO is now the place to go! It's like a museum that constantly changes displays of great stuff! No, I think malls are hurting because of the rack renting.

The radio BTW is 7 inches across by 5 inches high...
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I bet you the online description told you that too.
 
jet57 said:
Of course it did, but that wasn't the point.
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Sure it is. It told you exactly what you were getting, apparently you didn't bother to pay attention, otherwise you wouldn't be complaining about it. Fault: yours.
 
Cephus said:
Sure it is. It told you exactly what you were getting, apparently you didn't bother to pay attention, otherwise you wouldn't be complaining about it. Fault: yours.
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You missed the point all together: I couldn't hold it in my hands and see it's size for myself and examine it. I had to visualize it...

That's the point about online shopping versus real objects.
 
jet57 said:
You missed the point all together: I couldn't hold it in my hands and see it's size for myself and examine it. I had to visualize it...

That's the point about online shopping versus real objects.
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You can't visualize size? You have no rulers in your house? Seriously?
 
gdgyva said:
i used to own stock in a number of REIT's that owned commercial large properties (malls and strip malls)

i sold all of it a few years back, and bought amazon with the proceeds....
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The scary part about that is investors are so desperate to find return, cash is still flooding into REITs (CRE in general) driving Caps down to irrational exuberant levels. The is one of the next bubbles to burst.
 
Cephus said:
You can't visualize size? You have no rulers in your house? Seriously?
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Yeah, you're not getting it.

Actually, you're refusing to...
 
Yes you are 100% correct. But some on the board are far too ignorant to understand that the level of healthy/sustainable DEBT has nothing to do with the amount, or debt ratio per person, etc etc. But it is only rationally based on the cash-flow to repay. Many on this board still sound like slimy mortgage brokers in mid 2007.
 
Winchester said:
Have? They always were the hangouts for people with absolutely nothing to do... that and old people wanting to do laps indoors.
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Growing up in L.A. in the 80's my friends and I were in malls a lot. The arcades, movie theatres, fast food and book stores (which were my fav) were all within easy reach.
 
Cephus said:
You can't visualize size? You have no rulers in your house? Seriously?
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A picture is inferior in every possible way (except convenience) to holding something in your hand. For many items the disadvantage of only having a picture is negligible, and for other things it's critical. Seems obvious....
 
Mr Person said:
Malls deserve to die a horrible death, then perhaps spend a little time burning in hell.

Atrocious places.
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Can't say I agree. I hadn't been to the mall in over a year, but Bath and Body Works isn't offering free shipping, and so I breezed in. Mommies with strollers and older folks doing laps...an ordinary week-day late morning at the mall.

In my community the trend is mini-malls with anchor stores such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Same schlock but better parking and less wasted time.

Despite the irritating and never-ending e-mails, I do most of my shopping online--clothes, shoes, music, and gifts.
 
Redress said:
I live in the greater Atlanta metro area. I miss drone delivery by just a few miles...I R pissed.
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I live outside of the greater Atlanta metro but also have an apartment in the metro area. Where are they drone delivering?
 
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