Business Insider on stores closing in the Retail Apocalypse

I am fulfulling my promise to "have more on Business Insider on the retail apocalypse with an emphasis on stores instead of malls" to conclude Business Insider on dead malls in the Retail Apocalypse with assistance from Dan Bell and Radiohead with two graphs and a video.

First, Business Insider reported last September that more than 6,400 stores were shutting down in 2017.  In true "a picture is worth 1000 words" fashion, they presented the data visually.


I wrote yesterday that I would write about the demise of Payless.  This graphic shows that Radio Shack is another famous chain I need to examine.  Once again, Retail Archeology has videos, which I will use when I post that follow-up.

The third company closing lots of stores is Ascena Retail Group.  I didn't know who they were, but I did know some of the chains they own, including Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Lane Bryant, and Loft.  I might suggest Retail Archeology look at them.  He already has a video about Claire's.

Next, Business Insider followed up this April by reporting more than 3,800 stores will close in 2018.  The following graph displays the affected chains.


Both J.C. Penney and Macy's closed more stores last year than Sears and are still closing stores this year, but fewer than Sears both this year and overall.  That doesn't mean they're immune from my eye.  I'll look at both of them in the future as well.

Speaking of Sears, Business Insider also has a a video that goes along with  Part 1 and Part 2 of Sears, a tale of the retail apocalypse, We Went Inside A Sears And Saw Why The Company Is Dying.

We visited a Sears in Jersey City, New Jersey to see why the company is imploding. We were shocked by the dismal conditions on a Tuesday afternoon.

When asked for comment Sears spokesperson Howard Riefs responded with the following: "Some areas of this particular Sears store are in seasonal transition and other areas are in the midst of project work. For example, we recently moved the men’s department to the lower level and are in the process of replacing the carpeting in the former denim section. Nevertheless, the described images from this store are not representative of the majority of our Sears locations and do not depict what we want our members and customers to experience. We take these matters seriously and this store’s team has already begun addressing the issues. We hope your video depicts a comprehensive look at this store, which includes our all-new Showcase area featuring top international apparel, footwear and accessory brands that are debuting in America exclusively at Sears."

Yikes!  That's worse than anything Retail Archeology showed!

That's it for tales of the Retail Apocalypse for now.  Stay tuned for two more retrospectives of the seventh year of this blog tomorrow and Friday.