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77 Million Square Feet Of Retail Space And Counting – America’s Retail Apocalypse Is Spiraling Out Of Control In 2018 In 2017 we absolutely shattered the all-time record for retail store closings in a single year, and this year it looks like we are going to shatter the record once again. In fact, there are some that are projecting that up to 9,000 retail stores could close by the time that we get to the end of this calendar year. Already, the amount of retail space that has shut down is simply jaw-dropping. If you total up all of the retail store closings that have been announced so far in 2018, it accounts for 77 million square feet of retail space. Let that number sink in for a bit. Many shopping centers and strip malls around the country already have a post-apocalyptic feel to them, and more “space available” signs are going up with each passing day. And in case you are tempted to think that I am making this figure up, here it is straight from Bloomberg…
In the end, we could shatter the all-time record that was established just last year by 20 or 30 million square feet. At moments such as this, the phrase “retail apocalypse” doesn’t really seem to fit the gravity of what is actually taking place. And unfortunately for the retail industry, it doesn’t appear that this crisis is going to end any time soon. Here is more from Bloomberg…
Will retail real estate be the trigger for the next great debacle on Wall Street? Some people think so. A lot of major retail projects are going to go belly up, and somebody is going to be left holding the bag. And the warning signs are definitely there. In fact, retail sector debt defaults set a brand new record during the first quarter of 2018…
But the mainstream media is telling us that the U.S. economy is in great shape, and so everything is going to work out okay, right? Sadly, nothing has changed regarding the long-term trends that are eating away at our economy like a cancer. Just a few days ago I wrote about a brand new report that found that nearly 51 million U.S. households “can’t afford basics like rent and food”. The real reason why our retailers are in decline is because the middle class is being systematically destroyed. Once upon a time the middle class had plenty of discretionary income, but now the middle class is disappearing right in front of our eyes, but most of us are in such a state of denial that we won’t even admit what is happening. Hopefully as stores continue to close by the hundreds people will start waking up. The following is a list of just some of the major retailers that are closing stores in 2018…
A lot of people are blaming online retailers such as Amazon.com for the decline of brick and mortar stores, and without a doubt online sales are rising, but they still account for less than 10 percent of the entire retail industry. And it isn’t just retailers that are closing locations. Personally, I was greatly saddened when it was announced that Subway was planning on shutting down 500 locations in the United States…
I have always been a big fan of Subway, and if they ever closed my hometown location I would be seriously distressed. And banks are closing locations at an astounding rate as well. In fact, from June 2016 to June 2017 the number of bank branches in the United States fell by more than 1,700. That was the biggest decline that we have ever seen. If the U.S. economy really was in good shape, none of this would be taking place. Something really big is happening, and what we have seen so far is just the very small tip of a very large iceberg.
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