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Economic Recovery? 13 Of The Biggest Retailers In America Are Closing Down Stores

Economic Recovery? 13 Of The Biggest Retailers In America Are Closing Down Stores

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Barack Obama recently stated that anyone that is claiming that America’s economy is in decline is “peddling fiction“. Well, if the economy is in such great shape, why are major retailers shutting down hundreds of stores all over the country? Last month, I wrote about the “retail apocalypse” that is sweeping the nation, but since then it has gotten even worse. Closing stores has become the “hot new trend” in the retail world, and “space available” signs are going up in mall windows all over the United States. Barack Obama can continue huffing and puffing about how well the middle class is doing all he wants, but the truth is that the cold, hard numbers that retailers are reporting tell an entirely different story.

Earlier today, Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert released a letter to shareholders that was filled with all kinds of bad news. In this letter, he blamed the horrible results that Sears has been experiencing lately on “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending…

In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Lampert said the impact of “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending has spread more broadly in the last year to retailers “that had previously proven to be relatively immune to such shifts.”

“Walmart, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Staples, Whole Foods and many others have felt the impact of disruptive changes from online competition and new business models,” Lampert wrote.

And it is very true – Sears is doing horribly, but they are far from alone. The following are 13 major retailers that are closing down stores…

#1 Sears lost 580 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone, and they are scheduled to close at least 50 more “unprofitable stores” by the end of this year.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

If The Economy Is Fine, Why Are So Many Hedge Funds, Energy Companies And Large Retailers Imploding?

If The Economy Is Fine, Why Are So Many Hedge Funds, Energy Companies And Large Retailers Imploding?

Demolition - Public DomainIf the U.S. economy really is in “great shape”, then why do all of the numbers keep telling us that we are in a recession?  The manufacturing numbers say that we are in a recession, the trade numbers say that we are in a recession, and as you will see below the retail numbers say that we are in a recession.  But just like in 2008, the Federal Reserve and our top politicians will continue to deny that a major economic downturn is happening for as long as they possibly can.  In this article, I want to look at more signs that a dramatic shift is happening in our economy right now.

First of all, let’s consider what is happening to hedge funds.  For many years, hedge funds had been doing extremely well, but now they are closing up shop at a pace that we haven’t seen since the last financial crisis.  The following is an excerpt from a Business Insider article entitled “Hedge funds keep on imploding” that was posted on Wednesday…

BlackRock is winding down its Global Ascent Fund, a global macro hedge fund that once contained $4.6 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg’s Sabrina Willmer.

“We believe that redeeming the Global Ascent Fund was the right thing to do for our clients, given the headwinds that macro funds have faced,” a BlackRock spokeswoman told Business Insider.

The winding down of the Ascent fund is the second high-profile hedge fund closing in 24 hours. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Achievement Asset Management, a Chicago-based hedge fund, was closing.

And those are just two examples.  Quite a few other prominent hedge funds have shut down recently, and many are wondering if this is just the beginning of a major “bloodbath” on Wall Street.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

135 retail firms in critical condition, say analysts | Business | The Guardian

135 retail firms in critical condition, say analysts | Business | The Guardian.

UK retailers are facing increased financial stress this year as the big supermarkets fight a price war that has forced the rest of the high street to slash prices and squeeze profit margins.

As retailers prepare for the quarterly rent day on Christmas Day, traditionally the time when banks call in the administrators, more than 24,000 retailers are suffering from significant financial distress, according to research by the advisory firm Begbies Traynor.

The number is up 54% compared with the same time a year ago, with food and clothing retailers among the worst hit.

Begbies Traynor said as many as 135 businesses were in critical condition as retailers chased sales in the final days of Christmas.

The accountancy firm did not name specific retailers but those in difficulty are thought to include Austin Reed, the tailoring firm, which is understood to be close to appointing Deloitte to work on a rescue deal that may include a company voluntary arrangement allowing it to sell off unprofitable stores.

Julie Palmer, a retail expert at Begbies Traynor, said: “Black Friday was lauded as the biggest day of the retail sales this year but it seems the only real winners were the largest online retailers and the big-brand high street chains with the biggest discounts.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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