Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Toys R Us Closing Over 180 Stores.


     If you want to remain a Toys R Us kid, its time to grow up as the company announced today which stores are closing. As part of the companies bankruptcy restructuring, Toys R Us announced the closure of 182 stores today, and more likely over the year as stated previously, the closure of at least 200 stores this year. Liquidation sales will begin in February and all effected stores will close by late April.

Here is the list of Toys R Us stores closing according to USA Today.

(Locations highlighted in yellow are stores I have been to before)

ALABAMA
Tuscaloosa 2600 McFarland Blvd. East AL
Birmingham 335 Summit Boulevard,  AL

ARIZONA
Yuma 801 W. 32nd Street AZ
Paradise Valley 12801 North Tatum Blvd. AZ
Scottsdale 9139 Indian Bend Rd. AZ
Tucson 4619 N. Oracle Rd AZ
Scottsdale 7000 E. Mayo Blvd AZ
Mesa US 60 and Signal Butte Rd AZ

ARKANSAS
Little Rock 2616 S. Shackleford Rd AR

CALIFORNIA
Indio 42500 Jackson St. CA 
Simi Valley 1189 Simi Town Ctr Way CA
Santa Clarita 26573 Carl Boyer Dr. CA
Covina 960 Lakes Drive CA
Puente Hills 1600 S. Azusa Ave. CA
Brea 2575 E. Imperial Highway CA 
Westminster 530 Westminster Mall CA
Torrance 20120 Hawthorne Blvd. CA
Riverside 2550 Canyon Springs Pkwy S. CA
Yuba City 700 "A" Onstott Rd. CA
Folsom 2785 E. Bidwell St. CA
Pinole 1330 Fitzgerald CA
Pittsburg 4505 Century Blvd. CA
San Rafael 600 Francisco Blvd. CA
Brentwood 5461 Lone Tree Way CA
Fairfield 1400 Gateway Blvd CA
Emeryville 3938 Horton CA
E. San Jose 2179 Monterey Hwy CA
San Jose / Almade865 Blossom Hill Road CA
Fresno 3520 W. Shaw Ave. CA
Union City 31250 Court House Drive CA
Stockton 10640 Trinity Pkwy CA
Santa Ana 3900 Bristol Street CA
Corona 3665 Grand Oaks CA
Mission Bay 1240 W. Morena Blvd. CA
Mira Mesa 8181 Mira Mesa Blvd. CA 
Vista 1990 University Drive CA

COLORADO
Aurora 1150 S. Ironton CO

CONNECTICUT
North Haven 376 North Universal Drive CT
Waterbury 275 Union St. CT
Newington 3491 Berlin Turnpike CT
Manchester 169 Hale Road CT

DELAWARE
Dover 1061 N. Dupont Highway DE

FLORIDA
Tallahassee 1625 Apalachee Pkwy. FL
St. Petersburg 1900 Tyrone Blvd. FL
Tampa 3908 West Hillsborough Avenue FL
Orange Park 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd FL
Altamonte Spring 708 West State Rd 436 FL
Boca Raton 21697 State Road # 7 FL
Port St. Lucie 10732 SW Village Pkwy FL
Royal Palm Beach450 South SR 7 FL
Kissimmee 2601 W.Osceola Parkway FL
Coral Springs 6001 West Sample Road FL
Kissimmee 3214 N John Young Pkwy. FL

GEORGIA
Albany 2601 Dawson Rd. GA
Smyrna 2955 Cobb Parkway GA
Alpharetta 6380 No. Point Parkway GA
Dunwoody 1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy GA
Douglasville 6875 Douglas Boulevard GA
Conyers 8160 Mall Parkway GA
Newnan 221 Newnan Crossing Bypass GA
Fayetteville 132 Pavilion Parkway GA

INDIANA
Indianapolis 3928 E 82nd Street IN
Greenwood 8800 US 31 South IN

IOWA
S. Des Moines 1211 E. Army Post Rd. IA
Des Moines 8801 University Ave IA

ILLINOIS
Highland Park 1610 Deerfield Rd. IL
Schaumburg 16 East Golf Road IL
Vernon Hills 295 Center Drive IL
Matteson 5001 Lincoln Highway IL
Bricktown 6420 W. Fullerton IL
Burbank 7750 South Cicero Avenue IL
Niles 5660 Touhy Avenue IL

KANSAS
Wichita 4646 W. Kellogg KS
Overland Park 8500 W 135th ST KS

KENTUCKY
St. Mathews 4900 Shelbyville Rd KY
Simpsonville 1155 Buck Creek Rd. KY
Lexington 1965 Star Shoot Parkway KY

LOUISIANA
Slidell 137 Northshore Blvd. LA
Big-box toy store Toys ‘R’ Us says it plans to keep its 1,600 stores and online shop well-stocked despite filing for bankruptcy protection. USA TODAY

MICHIGAN
Muskegon 5363 Harvey Street MI
Traverse City 2620 Crossing Circle MI
Lansing 5900 W. Saginaw Highway MI
Grand Rapids 4923 28th Street South East MI
Ann Arbor 3725 Carpenter Road MI
Ann Arbor 3725 Washtenaw MI

MINNESOTA
Minnetonka 14100 Wayzata Blvd. MN
Blaine 170 89th Ave. MN
Woodbury 8236 Tamarack Village MN
Richfield 900 West 78th Street South MN

MISSISSIPPI
Meridian 1003 Bonita Lakes Circle
Bass Pro Dr. MS

MISSOURI
Columbia 1901 Bernadette MO
Cape Girardeau 201 Silver Springs Rd. MO
Bridgeton 5590 St. Louis Mills Blvd MO
Chesterfield 220 THF Blvd MO

NEBRASKA
Omaha 3505 S. 140th Plaza NE

NEVADA 
Las Vegas 2150 North Rainbow Blvd. NV
Spring Valley 7020 Arroyo Crossing Parkway NV
 
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque 45 Hotel Circle NM 

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville 801 Fairview Road NC
Durham 7001 Fayetteville Road NC
Durham 3300 Westgate Drive NC

MAINE
Bangor 6 Bangor Mall Blvd. ME
Portland 200 Running Hill Road ME

MARYLAND
Clinton 8401 Mike Shapiro Drive MD

MASSACHUSETTS
Dedham 302 Providence MA
Millbury 70 Worcester Providence Tpk/Rt 146 MA
Holyoke 50 Holyoke Street MA
Bellingham 217 Hartford Ave. MA
Northborough 6110 Shops Way MA
Framingham Shoppers World Plaza,1 Worcester Ro MA

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua 29 Gusabel Avenue NH

NEW JERSEY
Phillipsburg 1280 Rt. 22 & St. James Ave. NJ
Eatontown 137 Route 35 NJ
Bridgewater 100 Promenade Blvd. NJ
Union 2700 Route 22 East. NJ
North Brunswick 909 US Hwy 1 South. NJ
Burlington Rt. 541 & Cadillac Road NJ
Cherry Hill 2135 Route 38 NJ
Wayne 7 Wayne Hills Mall NJ
Paramus 545 Route 17 South NJ
East Hanover 98 Route 10 West. NJ
Elizabeth-KidsWo 900 Center Drive NJ
Mt. Olive 50 International Drive South. NJ

NEW YORK
College Point 139-19 20th Ave NY
Union Square 24-30 Union Square E NY
Sayville 5181 Sunrise Hwy NY
Massapequa 5214 Sunrise Hwy NY
Henrietta 2335 Marketplace Drive NY
Amherst 1569 Niagara Falls Blvd NY
Kingston 401 Frank Sottile Boulevard NY
Glens Falls 708 Upper Glen St. NY
Latham 221 Wade Road Extension NY
Yonkers 2700 Central Park Ave NY
Middle Village 66 Metropolitan Ave. NY
Westbury 1350 Corporate Drive. NY
Commack 108 Veterans Memorial Highway NY
Williamsport 461 Lycoming Mall Cir
Greece 1530 Ridge Rd. West NY

OHIO
Western Hills 6251 Glenway Ave. OH
Dayton 2661 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd. OH
Mentor 7841 Mentor Ave OH
Dublin 3610 West Dublin-Granville Rd. OH

OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City 1119 SE 66th St. OK
Fort Smith 5609-E Rogers Ave OK
Norman 560 Ed Noble Pkwy. OK

PENNSYLVANIA
Horsham 100 Welsh Road PA
Erie 6680 Peach St. PA
Monroeville 3700 William Penn Highway PA
Exton 104 Bartlett Ave. PA
Ross Park Mall 2003 Cheryl Dr. PA
Washington 301 Oakspring Road PA
Beaver Valley Route 18/Valley View Dr. PA

RHODE ISLAND
Warwick 300 Quaker Lane 

SOUTH CAROLINA
Columbia 254 Harbison Boulevard SC

SOUTH DAKOTA
Rapid City 450 E. Disk Drive SD

TENNESSEE
Memphis 7676 Polo Ground Blvd. TN
Nashville 5731 Nolensville Rd TN

TEXAS 
West El Paso 801 Mesa Hills Dr. TX
Katy 9730 Katy Freeway TX
Allen 170 E. Stacy Road TX
Irving 7730 N. MacArthur Blvd TX
Lewisville 420 E. Round Grove Rd TX
Dallas Galleria 13710 Dallas Parkway TX
Hurst 1309 W. Pipeline Rd TX
Hulen 5800 Overton Ridge Blvd TX

UTAH
Ogden 4042 Riverdale Rd. UT
Midvale 1122 Fort Union Boulevard UT

VIRGINIA
Potomac Mills 14173 Crossing Place VA
Newport News 12153 Jefferson Ave. VA

WASHINGTON
Silverdale 3567 N.W. Randall Way WA
Everett 1325A S.E. Everett Mall Parkway WA
Spokane 6104 N. Division Street WA

WISCONSIN
Brookfield 18550 W. Bluemound Rd. WI
Madison 2161 Zeier Road WI

Thank you for reading Trip to the Mall and continue to follow us on Facebook for additional content and information on shopping centers and retail stores across the Midwest.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Sam's Club Shut Down 63 Locations Today!


     Wal-Mart has closed stores before in the past, no doubt about that, as well as Sam's Club locations, just a few each year though. Sam's Club has never closed this many stores at once and in the most absurd way possible. Yesterday, customers ready to shop and employee's going to there job were greeted by security guards and police at 63 Club locations across the U.S. to find out the store was closed for the day. Most have reopened today for regular business, but yesterday they closed to change there computer system and take down and deals and sale prices.

     These closures came as an announcement directly after Wal-Mart agreed to increase the minimum wage to $11. This is what happens, the employees want to be paid more, the company can't operate more stores because the overall cost will decrease overall profit, everyone wanted to be paid more, but with the increase, Wal-Mart has to cut a percentage of employee's to keep profit's on record.

For more information, here is the article from Business Insider.

Here are the 63 Sam's Club locations that are effected:

  • 8801 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99515
  • 1074 N Muldoon Rd, Anchorage, AK 99504
  • 48 College Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99701
  • 3900 Grants Mill Rd, Irondale, AL 35210
  • 2425 E Florence Blvd, Casa Grande, AZ 85194
  • 5757 E State Route 69, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
  • 1375 S Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ 85286
  • 15255 N Northsight Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
  • 3360 El Camino Ave, Sacramento, CA 95821
  • 17835 Gale Ave, City of Industry, CA 91748
  • 12540 Beach Blvd, Stanton, CA 90680
  • 12920 Foothill Blvd, Sylmar, CA 91342
  • 69 Pavilions Dr, Manchester, CT 06042
  • 2 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT 06477
  • 355 FL-436, Fern Park, FL 32730
  • 7233 N Seacrest Blvd, Lantana, FL 33462
  • 5135 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33611
  • 2994 Turner Hill Rd, Lithonia, GA 30038
  • 501 N Randall Rd, Batavia, IL 60510
  • 21430 S Cicero Ave, Matteson, IL 60443
  • 6600 44th Ave, Moline, IL 61265
  • 808 S Illinois Rte 59, Naperville, IL 60540
  • 900 S Barrington Rd, Streamwood, IL 60107
  • 1055 McHenry Rd, Wheeling, IL 60090
  • 460 S Weber Rd, Romeoville, IL 60446
  • 3015 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46268
  • 10859 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46229
  • 4024 Elkhart Rd #1, Goshen, IN 46526
  • 9598 Cortana Pl, Baton Rouge, LA 70815
  • 9750 Reisterstown Rd, Owings Mills, MD 21117
  • 1 Tobias Boland Way, Worcester, MA 01607
  • 340 E. Edgewood Boulevard, Lansing, MI 48911
  • 32625 Northwestern Hwy, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
  • 3745 Louisiana Ave S, St Louis Park, MN 55426
  • 2800 27th Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560
  • 11 Batchelder Rd, Seabrook, NH 03874
  • 81 International Dr S, Budd Lake, NJ 07828
  • 1900 E Linden Ave, Linden, NJ 07036
  • 301 Nassau Park Boulevard, Princeton, NJ 08540
  • 2649 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse, NY 13224
  • 720 Fairmount Ave, Jamestown, NY 14701
  • 700 Elmridge Center Dr, Rochester, NY 14626
  • 1600 Marketplace Dr, Rochester, NY 14623
  • 5085 Dawn Dr, Lumberton, NC 28360
  • 1101 Shiloh Glenn Dr, Morrisville, NC 27560
  • 4825 Marburg Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45209
  • 9570 Fields Ertel Rd, Loveland, OH 45140
  • 1145 Carr 2, Bo Florida Afuera, Barceloneta, 00617, Puerto Rico
  • Carr 830, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, 00957
  • Carr 3 Km 82 Bo Junquitos, Humacao, 00741, Puerto Rico
  • 615 Old Hickory Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
  • 1805 Getwell Rd, Memphis, TN 38111
  • 1615 S Loop W, Houston, TX 77054
  • 13331 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77077
  • 22296 Market Place Dr, New Caney, TX 77357
  • 12919 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, TX 78216
  • 741 E Little Creek Rd, Norfolk, VA 23518
  • 4571 S Laburnum Ave, Richmond, VA 23231
  • 901 S Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057
  • 1101 Outlet Collection Way, Auburn, WA 98001
  • 13550 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133
  • 7050 Watts Rd, Madison, WI 53719
  • 1540 S 108th St, West Allis, WI 53214
Thank you for reading Trip to the Mall and continue to follow us on Facebook for additional content and information on shopping centers and retail stores across the Midwest.

Macy's Closing 11 Locations; None In Illinois



     Macy's has started off the new year on a bad foot announcing the closure of 11 stores last week. These closures are on top of another 19 stores that will be announced later this year as the leases will expire, according to Business Insider. Closing sales began January 8th and will last 12 weeks, so the locations listed below will close by the end of April.

Here are the 11 locations that will be closing so far this year:

  • Laguna Hills Mall, Laguna Hills, Calfornia 
  • Westside Pavilion, Los Angeles, Calfornia 
  • Novato (Furniture), Novato, Calfornia 
  • Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco, Calfornia 
  • The Oaks, Gainesville, Florida
  • Miami (Downtown), Miami, Florida
  • Magic Valley Mall, Twin Falls, Idiaho
  • Honey Creek Mall, Terre Haute, Indiana
  • Birchwood Mall, Fort Gratiot Township, Michigan
  • Fountain Place, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Burlington Town Center, Burlington, Vermont
 Macy's has been struggling for years although nowhere close to some other major retailers and they are doing appropriate action now to not come close to how many have fallen.

Thank you for reading Trip to the Mall and continue to follow us on Facebook for additional content and information on shopping centers and retail stores across the Midwest.
 

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Heartbreaking: Sears Holdings Closing 103 Stores By April


     The start of a new years usually means resolutions are set, closing more stores was Eddie Lapert's as Sears Holdings started the year off strong. Late last week, Sears Holdings announced the closure of 103 stores, much more substantial than any closing announcement in the last several years. The closures are broken down to 64 Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores. The liquidations sales began on January 4th with a twelve week sales process leading to most stores closing by the end of April. According to Business Insider, Sears Holdings will be left with about 940 stores, down from over 3,500 about six years ago. After these closures, there will be about 400 Kmarts left in the country.

     The effort put into closing stores is based on them being profitable or not, well by now, no Sears of Kmart is profitable, as investors applaud Lambert for closing "unprofitable" stores, quarterly earnings...sales in general have yet to recover.

Here is the heartbreaking list of Kmart locations that will be closing by late April.
  • 1 Kmart Plaza/State Highway 89, Cabot, Arkansas
  • 8701 West McDowell, Tolleson, Arizona
  • 750 West Deuce Of Clubs, Show Low, Arizona
  • 301 Gardner Field Road, Taft, California
  • 8017 South Atlantic Ave., Cudahy, California
  • 1670 East 4th St., Ontario, California
  • 1570 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, California
  • 2685 Hilltop Drive, Redding, California
  • 3020 N. Nevada St., Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • 1002 East Highway 50, Clermont, Florida
  • 10301 S. E. US Highway 441, Belleview, Florida
  • 3711 E. Silver Spring Blvd., Ocala, Florida
  • 430 Northside Drive, East Statesboro, Georgia
  • 2525 Dawson Road, Albany, Georgia
  • 950 Sunset Blvd., Jesup, Georgia
  • 2501 N. Broadway St., Red Oak, Iowa
  • 7501 Hickman Road, Urbandale, Iowa
  • Route 149 West, West Frankfort, Illinois
  • 3404 Broadway St., Mount Vernon, Illinois
  • 1321 Sandy Hollow Road, Rockford, Illinois
  • 5101 E. Thompson Road, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • 3175 W. 3rd St., Bloomington, Indiana
  • 4830 S. Broadway St., Wichita, Kansas
  • 2440 Lone Oak Road, Paducah, Kentucky
  • 3555 Highway 190, Mandeville, Louisiana
  • 1647 Crofton Centre, Crofton, Maryland
  • 301 Tilghman Road, Salisbury, Maryland
  • 67300 Main St., Richmond, Michigan
  • 205 S. Greenville W. Drive, Greenville, Michigan
  • 1700 Cedar St., Helena, Montana
  • 3300 Harrison Ave., Butte, Montana
  • 706 E. Dixon Blvd., Shelby, North Carolina
  • 2515 Horner Blvd., Sanford, North Carolina
  • 395 Westgate Plaza Road, Franklin, North Carolina
  • 175 Freedom Way, Midway Park, North Carolina
  • 815 E. Innes St., Salisbury, North Carolina
  • 701 5th Ave. SE, Devils Lake, North Dakota
  • Milton Road, Rochester, New Hampshire
  • 1235 S. 2nd St., Raton, New Mexico
  • 2100 E. Tucumcari Blvd., Tucumcari, New Mexico
  • 4500 N. Rancho Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • 2671 N. Las Vegas Blvd., North Las Vegas, Nevada
  • 57 Centre Drive, Plattsburgh, New York
  • 2100 Niles Cortland Road SE, Warren, Ohio
  • 4010 W. Owen Garriott Road, Enid, Oklahoma
  • 1025 Washington Pike, Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
  • 2900 N. Elmira St., Sayre, Pennsylvania
  • 463 N. Enola Routes 11 and 15, Enola, Pennsylvania
  • 5050 Jonestown Road, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • 5 Laurel Mall, Hazleton Township, Pennsylvania
  • 1874 N. Township Blvd., Pittston, Pennsylvania
  • 2235 E. State St., Hermitage, Pennsylvania
  • 3301 Aramingo Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 491 Allegheny Blvd., Franklin, Pennsylvania
  • 650 Old Willow Ave., Honesdale, Pennsylvania
  • 190 Cumberland Square, Crossville, Tennessee
  • 230 Longhollow Pike, Goodlettsville, Tennessee
  • 1317 Tusculum Blvd., Greeneville, Tennessee
  • 1400 Wildcat Drive, Portland, Texas
  • 2 Diamond Run Mall, Rutland, Vermont
  • 1201 Louisiana Ave. NW, Chehalis, Washington
  • 5636 US Route 60, East Huntington, West Virginia
  • 102 Emily Drive, Clarksburg, West Virginia
  • 1477 Maccorkle Ave., Saint Albans, West Virginia

Here are the Sears stores that will also be closed by late April.
  • 5900 Old Seward Highway, Anchorage (Sur), Alaska
  • 1679 W. Lacey Blvd., Hanford, California
  • 24137 Valencia Blvd., Santa Clarita, California
  • 9000 Northgate Mall, San Rafael, California
  • 100 Brea Mall, Brea, California
  • 100 Westminster Mall, Westminster, California
  • 5540 Winfield Blvd., San Jose, California
  • 3240 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, Delaware
  • 5900 West Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida
  • 2930 Watson Blvd., Centerville, Georgia
  • 2060 Crossroads Blvd., Waterloo, Iowa
  • 200 W. Hanley Ave., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
  • 1543 Poleline Road, East Twin Falls, Idaho
  • Orland Square Mall, Orland Park, Illinois
  • 1602 State Road 50, Bourbonnais, Illinois
  • 3000 W. Deyoung St., Marion, Illinois
  • 1100 S. Green River Road, Evansville, Indiana
  • 1100 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, Massachusetts
  • 693 Stillwater Ave., Bangor, Maine
  • 2700 State St., Bismarck, North Dakota
  • 1201 Hooper Ave., Toms River, New Jersey
  • 195 N. Broadway, Hicksville, New York
  • 1300 Ulster Ave., Kingston, New York
  • 6000 Glenway Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 3030 Gateway St., Springfield, Oregon
  • 1260 Lloyd Center, Portland, Oregon
  • 1008 Ross Park Mall Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 7300 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1155 Carlisle St., Hanover, Pennsylvania
  • 2200 N. Maple Ave., Rapid City, South Dakota
  • 1000 Highway 6, Houston, Texas
  • 4511 N. Midkiff Road, Midland, Texas
  • 12625 N. I‐H 35, Austin, Texas
  • 1000 Newgate Mall, Ogden, Utah
  • 15711 N. Aurora Ave., Shoreline, Washington
  • 1701 S. Commons St., Federal Way, Washington
  • 121 NE Hampe Way, Chehalis, Washington
  • 1555 Green Bay Plaza, Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • Brookfield Square, Brookfield, Wisconsin
As hard as it is getting to shop at Kmart, I will still support them am much as I can, until the day the last location closes, they will be at the top of my list of shopping choices.

Thank you for reading Trip to the Mall and continue to follow us on Facebook for additional content and information on shopping centers and retail stores across the Midwest.

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Reflection 8: The Confused Hell That Is Physical Shopping.


     The start of a new year, and already reflecting on it. Last year was rough with retail as stores close, that's nothing new. What is done to keep it from happening and also to continue happening is not yet explained. On a regular day, I can take a walk through my mall of choice and somehow sense people aren't shopping with a purpose. As the internet craze has consumed our shopping habits, the only way to purchase something now is knowing it will come in a box with a smile on it. As American consumers, we shop all year, the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday is the kick off to the biggest shopping season of the year. Between that Friday and Christmas Eve, the stores and malls are packed, and online orders are backed up, we love to spend money and fill our lives with property and tangible goods. Leading up to Christmas, all the stores are closed, the shopping seasons has ended, although the day after Christmas, the stores and malls are packed again, as if a switch was flipped on. Although we flood the return desks, and exchange what we received for what we actually want. I notice even a week after Christmas, everyone has bags in there hands walking through the wings or the mall, I wonder "didn't you get enough for Christmas", we want so much, and the market is in our favor, as consumers, we have reached the highest shopping levels in years. This leaves me with one question...why are the stores still closing?


     A chain of stores can go out of business, physically, and still profit very well with online. Many have done it in the past, originally catalog stores like Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward. The physical stores closed, but the company lead on with there online presence. Circuit City and CompUSA also have done it. Retail companies know very well that online dominates over brick-and-mortar, but change the layout of the store to accommodate the transition of shopping habits. Downsizing is the most common change, square footage of stores shrink, and fill shelves with the most commonly sold items. An employee can recommend to a customer if they don't stock something there looking for, to order it online for them to pick up in the store, the company is still making money, just in different ways. Why waist space on products that don't commonly sell, stock only what people need, a niche item is still offered, but not in quantities that justify shelf space in the physical store. Downsizing keeps a chains profits in the green as less overhead expenses such as square footage, total number of employee's, and assets like amounts of equipment. The warehouses remain the same as there still stocked with all the products, and they can ship it from the warehouse directly to your doorstep and not even make you wait for the stores to receive new inventory as there not going to ship on short in a truck just because you order it!

     Relevant to store downsizing, some space is being repurposed for online pick up and drop-off. I am not sure if a term has been coined for what Kohl's and Amazon are doing, customers can now pick-up there Amazon orders and Kohl's orders in a designated space in select Kohl's locations. Whole Foods as well as several malls have a bank of Amazon boxes you can rent with your Amazon account for orders to be delivered and received there. Nordstrom is doing the same with online pick-up as there is a designated space constructed in a portion of the shoe department. Several other chains are doing very similar acts to transition to a variety of selling methods, one biggest factor is to keeping people coming in. The Amazon boxes are in the main entrance of the mall, so if you have to walk into the mall to pick up your orders, likely you will continue into the mall for something...food, a drink, anything, the power of Amazon is being used to keep the"out dated" way of shopping relevant by being incorporating into there business somehow. The Amazon boxes are placed in the dining area of Whole Foods, so supposedly when you pick up you orders, your going to be enticed to getting lunch or dinner, or do your grocery shopping, since after all, your already in the store.

     A lot of empty square footage of some malls is being revamped into bigger and better food courts, although being called food pavilion or dining centers. When you don't always need to buy shoes or cloths, you still need to eat, and so many more choices are being offered now to keep people coming for lunch or dinner. Also to keep shoppers in longer, as there is food provided in the mall, that keeps shoppers from leaving for lunch or dinner, thus keeping them in the mall to shop longer. Better lounge areas are being set up and charging stations for people to rest and charge there devices. To the average shopper, these are just pleasantries, but to the analysis, there fighting tactics to keep you coming back. If there is no where to sit and no where to eat, and you don't need to buy cloths because you bought it online, what purpose do you have being in the mall.

     As stores continue to close and trends shift to online, other methods of receiving goods and services will soon be prime. The only walls a company will need are the warehouse walls as no physical stores will be needed, or at least satellite stores for order pick up and returns. It is indeed an changing world, for the worst in my opinion, but I guess I am just an old soul, born in the wrong time. Only time will tell of the future of retail shopping, at this rate, its won't take much time at all.