Which retail chains will not survive into April or so of next year?

[leftofthedial]

Are you stocking up on gift cards this holiday season?

Me neither.

[mitchtv]

1. circuit city for 1

[leftofthedial]

2. borders seems to really be hurting

I don't think both Target and KMart will make it for long. (Unfortunately Wal*Mart will.)

I think at least a couple of the fast-food chains will also go away pretty soon.

[ogneopasno]

7. Why Target?

[davsand]

9. Yes, the Borders chain sounds like they are in very real trouble.

I like the bookstores very much so it makes me really sad to see it.

I think you will see a bunch of the chain restaurants close up as well. Even the fast food places are in a horrible bind--cut food cost (quality) or cut payroll (service.) Neither of those choices bodes well for long term success. Regular restaurants are in a similar bind.

I had a conversation about this just the other night with a manager at a Perkins, and he was really upfront about the fact that if it doesn't turn around soon they will be closing the doors after the first of the year. He says they are off about a third in the number of dinners they are selling and he's worried it will only get worse if the economy declines any more.

Hubby made the observation that any restaurant chain that targets older people might be feeling it a bit sooner, and I think he may be right.

Bar traffic is also down from what I'm hearing.


Laura

[Odin2005]

41. I've heard Bennigans is going under.

Which really sucks, I like their food.

My mom is the manager of a small town bar and the bar is really hurting for business.

[Kool Kitty]

51. The Bennigan's by us in central Jersey

closed a while ago.

[Rebubula]

64. Bennigans

They have been closed for a few months now.

Having worked there in the early 90's - I can tell you that though the food may taste good, none of it is prepared there. All came in plastic bags and was heated up by surly 'cooks'.

[KamaAina]

66. Borders just opened a store in New Orleans, to a cool reception from the blogosphere.

Actually, "cool reception" is putting it mildly...

http://toulousestreet.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/local-bookstores

Two quick notes on local bookstores. With the opening of the new Borders on St. Charles Avenue, its (sic) more important than ever to remember the local stores that have continued to serve the city when all chain bookstores chose to locate exclusively in the suburbs.

Note: This truly righteous blogger is occasionally spotted in these parts under the name 'markus'.

http://peoplegetready.jockamofeenanay.com/?p=2619

Walking through the glass doors of the new Borders Books installed inside the historic Bultman Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue is akin to being instantly transported from 19th century New Orleans to the contemporary anywhere-America purgatory of big box stores on Veteran's Memorial Highway (sic; actually Veterans Memorial Blvd.) in Metairie. The book selection sucks, the music selection is even worse, and the coffee isn't even local. It doesn't look like Borders tried to feign anything with local New Orleans flavor. Don't even bother to venture a look.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. Borders has two choices:

1). Jump head-first into the deep end of the discount pool. I'm a Neil Young fan and am planning to buy the new "Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968" CD. Best Buy is selling it for $19.99...but they're not selling it to ME. Borders has it on the Web Site for $15.39. If that's also the IN-STORE price, I might get it the next time I am in Sunnyvale. If not, Amazon has it for $14.99. These days, if it's not a survival item like food and clothing, I am MOST CERTAINLY price shopping.

2). Tower failed to see the train coming down the tracks, or if they DID, they thought they could get out of the way in time. A couple of years ago, the Tower Records on Bascom Ave in Campbell was a weekly destination for me on Tuesdays (new releases day). Today, it is a discount pet food store. Borders could become a Pet Food Store too. Their choice.

[CatholicEdHead]

16. Target should survive until April

They are pretty big, some stores may close but they are part of the old Dayton-Hudson empire so they can go an year or two in these tough conditions. At worst they will be a regional chain again (greater Minnesota area).

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Target just built two new stores up here in the past year.

They can't be doing that badly.

[JDPriestly]

20. WalMart has a lot of family ownership, I think. I wonder if that protect

them from some of the predator short-selling of their stock. Are their sales that much better than those of other retail companies? (Not that they or any other business would necessarily have to report honestly on those numbers.) When I visited my mom some weeks ago and took her to WalMart, I noticed that the shelves were not that well stocked. Maybe that's just the way WalMart works, and they managed to keep things looking full, but then when you looked further, you couldn't find the sizes that you wanted. I didn't think it looked that busy. Maybe it was just a bad day.

[leftofthedial]

22. WalMart is extremely predatory

in the markets they are in (which is just about everywhere)

[LiberalEsto]

25. Our Borders is closing

Gaithersburg, Maryland.

:cry:

[seemunkee]

58. Bad location

Can't see it from the road and no other stores worthwhile to draw traffic.
Plus my old boss is no longer shopping there. I think he kept the IT tech book section profitable single handed.

[LiberalEsto]

74. That shopping center is always packed

A lot of people go there for Bed, Bath and Beyond, Ross, and Panera in addition to Borders. Finding parking at Gaithersburg Square is difficult, especially on weekends. That Borders served as an unofficial community center to some extent, and it will be horribly missed by my family.

I think people's budgets have gotten so tight that they just can't afford to buy new hardcover books at $25 to $30 a pop.

[Rebubula]

65. That sucks

I worked there for about a year (10-12 years ago) and loved that place.

I basically lived at Lake Forest Mall for three years - worked at Chi-Chi's.

[LiberalEsto]

72. My kids waitressed at Ruby Tuesday's

at Lakeforest a few years ago. I almost never go there. I shop at Big Lots and Ross.

[blue_onyx]

38. I have three Targets within 10 minutes of me

and they are all busy....even the one next door to Walmart. I hope Borders is ok. It's a Michigan based company and we can't afford to lose more jobs. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kmart close. The one near my house is the original store and is really run down. I don't go there unless there's a really good deal.

[Odin2005]

39. Target going down would be a disater for Minnesota.

Target is based here in Minnesota and is a very important part of Walmart's competition in these parts.

[blue_onyx]

36. yeah, Circuit City won't make it

I was there this week and it did not look good. The store near my house is suppose to stay open but some shelves were empty and others were a little sparsely stocked. There weren't many customers there either. It was a Wednesday afternoon but the Best Buy down the street was packed.

[jmowreader]

3. My top 5...

1a. Kmart

1b. Sears

(Since Kmart and Sears belong to the same people, I'm putting them both down.)

3. Circuit City, but we knew that already.

4. One of the three office superstores. My guess is OfficeMax.

5. One of the three home improvement chains (Home Depot, Lowe's and Menard's)--probably Home Depot.

[leftofthedial]

4. I have several friends who work at Home Depot.

I agree with your list though.

[madrchsod]

10. john menard and family controls the empire

i`m sure they are experiencing problems. the biggest drain on their empire could be the property they can`t sell.

[alfredo]

14. I think Lowes will survive if Home Depot goes quickly.

[spinbaby]

23. I was in Sears at our local mall yesterday

Empty. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was on sale. One cashier at the registers. They didn't need any more.

[emilyg]

27. Macy's was empty today.

[Odin2005]

43. Holy Christ, MENARDS!?! They just built a new store here.

That would really suck, that where my parents go to get their house and lawn and garden stuff.

[Taverner]

5. Mervyns

Oops...too late

[GoesTo11]

6. I just got my lowest credit card bill in memory!

I've just turned off the spigot. Bad for the economy, but what are you gonna do? If there were things I needed, I'd still get them.

[SmileyRose]

8. In a perfect world , I wish they'd ALL bite it.

but since so many people will be unemployed if they do then I keep wishing them to return to profitability.

In my fantasy though, all the big box everyone bites it and the corner family stores come back. I really, REALLY miss neighborhoods with the local groceries, the hardware place where you can buy one of something and the guy in there will tell you that you since it's not water soluble, you are going to need a can of mineral spirits to go along with that can of varnish. I miss the fruit/veggie stands in the summer and that little hole in the wall place where you can walk to after supper in the summertime and get a soft ice cream.

I know I know................sue me.

[PDJane]

12. Yeah, I have the same problem........

when I moved to Toronto from the Ottawa Valley, the stores were charming and different.....especially in the Village. Now, even the village is homegenous; the only place to purchase something out of the ordinary is in the little ethnic enclaves throughout the city.

And I resent paying for clothes that are of poor quality and on which all the buttons fall off at the same time. I object to polyester and plastic everything. I realize I'm practically a fossil too.

[NOW tense]

15. Maybe you are coming back in style.

[seemunkee]

59. We still have the hardware store

but the frozen custard stand closed two years ago, when Cold Stone moved in.

[DainBramaged]

70. we can't go back 100 years in time

that's why it's called progress

[alfredo]

13. Talbots. Dillard's Pier 1 Rite Aid

[shanti]

47. jjill

which is an offshoot of talbots.

[alfredo]

50. Talbots wants to sell them.

[Quantess]

55. Rite Aid?

That's a real surprise. They seem like they are doing fine, to the casual observer.

[Tashca]

18. Kmart is history

I suppose they will drag Sears down with them. I hope Sears stays.

[obiwan]

19. And their sibling in crime, Sears.

What an evil pairing!

Two of the more respected names in retail marketing, brought down by short-sighted, greedy, arrogant, and ignorant children management who didn't have a clue past their own satiation.

[SmileyRose]

21. I hope craftsman can survive

but if it does I wish they'd start manufacturing the tools here again.

[ThomWV]

24. Craftsman tools have really turned to shit. I won't buy them at all any more

Seriously, they have really turned into junk. A far cry from the old days when they were hands down the best deal in hand tools available. No more.

[Doremus]

31. Because they went to China, like everything else.

No more made in USA.

As an antiques dealer and appreciator of old things, I really, really, REALLY hate seeing what they've done and are doing to Sears. That company helped make this country. Their catalogs were the lifeblood of early communities and settlers. :cry:

May the self-absorbed, porcine MBAs run through their offshore accounts and find themselves in sandwich boards on the street.

[Ediacara]

26. Borders

[grasswire]

28. the article I read named these:

Chicos
Williams Sonoma
Rite Aid
Saks
gee....there were a dozen and that's all I can remember. Some surprises, though.

[Muttocracy]

33. didn't Rite Aid just buy out Eckerd?

or was that just in this area? I assumed Rite Aid was doing OK since they'd built a lot of stores.

Locally, we had an explosion of CVS, Rite Aid, and Eckerd and it was absurd to have as many of those stores as were around in a small area, on top of large grocery stores. When WalMart and Target moved in, I figured something would go. After the Rite-Aid /Eckerd merger, one old store building and one new store building are vacant; one of the CVS branches closed too.

[mitchtv]

35. CVS just bought Longs Drugs here in Calif.

Plus they just opened a new store here. It seems to be a life and death with Walgreens

[recoveringrepublican]

44. CVS bought out Eckerds here in Florida a couple of years back. nt

[Kool Kitty]

54. Rite Aid took over the local

Eckerd here by us a couple of months ago.

[TK421]

68. Williams Sonoma? NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

NO!!!!!!!

[wellst0nev0ter]

29. Steve And Barry's

[CoffeeCat]

30. Here's a few off the top of my head...

Pier One
Pet Smart
Fashion Bug
Hooters (sorry guys)
Banana Republic
Caribou Coffee
Talbots
Ann Taylor
Brugger's Bagel Bakery
Lane Bryant
Pottery Barn
The Body Shop
Baby Gap
Eddie Bauer
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Circuit City
Borders
Sears/Kmart
Cheesecake Factory
Coldstone Creamery
Crate & Barrel
Village Inn Restaurants
Numerous, individually-owned Hallmark stores
Cinnabon
Long John Silvers
Burger King
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Fazoli's
Coach House Gifts
Spencer Gifts
Foot Locker
Home Depot
Lowes
Sunglasses Hut
Macy's
Radio Shack
Sharper Image
Toys R Us
Babies R Us
David's Bridal
Swiss Colony Stores
Claire's Jewelry
Zales Jewelry
Kay's Merchandise
American Eagle
Bath and Body Works
Victoria's Secret (sorry fellas!)
The Buckle
General Nutrition Center
Payless Shoes
Build-a-Bear-Workshop
Famous Footwear
Starbuck's
Ethan Allen Furniture
Glamour Shots
Williams Sonoma
Harry & David
Things Remembered
Yankee Candle
Lens Crafters
Pearle Vision
J Crew
Express
The Limited
Limited Too
Rainforest Cafe
Ace Hardware
Journeys
Urban Outfitters
Maurices
Shoe Carnival
Coldwater Creek

...that's just for starters.

[LeftyMom]

32. Agreed about TRU and Circuit City.

They both started fucking over their customers to cut costs years back. That's usually the start of the death spiral, because each customer you fuck over on something small is one you'll never make another dollar off of, plus they usually tell friends and family.

[blue_onyx]

42. Circuit City sure does treat customers crappy

My cousin bought a plasma TV from Circuit City and it's now broken less than a year later. He had an extended store warranty on it and he is having a really hard time trying to get them fix the TV. I guess if they didn't care about customers before, they really won't care now that they are on their way out.

[Tutonic]

48. Never saw anyone buy anthing in Shaper Image or Wilson's Leather.

And how did Claire's Jewelry make a profit from selling 99 cent jewelry? Also need to add Spencer's Gifts to the list. They should have gone under twenty years ago.

[jmowreader]

57. In other words, all chain retail except for Wal-Mart

They're not ALL going under.

[yardwork]

60. Where do you get your info for that list?

I know that everybody is hurting, but I thought that some of those stores were doing fairly well. I'm really curious where you got your info.

[CoffeeCat]

61. That list is just my opinion....

I have very little faith in most retail-chains surviving, especially stores
that are mainly in malls.

Again, just my opinion, but I think my list is very sparse--compared to the
businesses that will truly go under.

I think there are many businesses that are doing "fine" right now. However,
I don't think all of the businesses that are doing "fine"in one specific market
will all survive,

For example...in the home-improvement area...you've got Lowes, Home Depot, Menard's,
Ace Hardware. One of those will survive, in my estimation.

I think it will be that way across the board.

I also think specialty and high-end specialty stores are complete toast. How many
gourmet doggie bakeries will survive this? Or how many stores that only sell high-end
baby furniture or contemporary furniture survive? I'd say...maybe 20 percent.

Walmart will be the bigger winner.

[yardwork]

63. I agree that high-end boutqiue stores will go under - they're already closing.

I think that this will be very, very bad, but I wondered if you had a source or formula for your specific selection.

[earth mom]

62. Wow-that's about every well known chain out there....

:wow:

:yoiks:

[Undercurrent]

34. .

CondeNast's Portfolio reports the following retailers are closing:
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/11/28/Retail-Stores-Going-Out-of-Business

Mervyns
149 remaining locations, sale began October 30

Linens n' Things
371 stores, sale began October 17

Shoe Pavilion
64 stores, sale began October 20

Whitehall Jewelers
373 stores, sale began August 13

Steve & Barry's
173 remaining locations, sale began November 20

Tweeter
94 stores, sale began November 3

Circuit City
155 stores, sale began November 5




According to the Trade Show Guru the following are either closing completely, or reducing the number of stores:
http://www.trade-show-guru.com/2008/11/gift-cards-stores-closing/

Ann Taylor - closing 117 stores

Bombay - going out of business, closing all stores

Cache - going out of business, closing all stores

Circuit City - closing 155 stores

Disney - closing 98 stores, more after January

Eddie Bauer - closing 27 stores, more after January

Ethan Allen - closing 12 stores

Footlocker - closing 140 stores, more after January

Home Depot - closing 15 stores

GAP - closing 85 stores

JC Penney - closing a number of stores after January

K B Toys - closing 356 stores

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherines - closing 150 stores

Levitz - going out of business, closing all stores

Linens and Things - going out of business, closing all stores

Macys - closing 9 stores

Movie Galley - closed 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy.

Pacific Sunware - going out of business, closing all stores

Pep Boys - closing 33 stores

Piercing Pagoda - going out of business, closing all stores

Sharper Image - going out of business, closing all stores

Sprint/ Nextel - closing 133 stores

Talbots - closed their men’s and children’s clothing stores

Whitehall Jewelers - going out of business, closing all stores

Wickes Furniture - going out of business, closing all stores

Wilson Leather - going out of business, closing all stores

Zales - closing 82 stores, 105 after January

[Sabriel]

37. Bush Stuff R Us

I hear it's going under real soon. Like in about 44 days.

[annabanana]

40. E.J. Korvette's

Oh. . .wait. .

ummm . . Klein's?

[Kool Kitty]

56. Geez, I remember both of those stores fondly.

[Odin2005]

45. K-Mart and Sears.

The original Big Box and the original department store...

[Odin2005]

46. K-Mart and Sears

The original Big Box and the original department store.

Sharper Image and PacSun are already in rigor mortis...

[regnaD kciN]

49. The elephant in the room here...

...is the specter of monopoly retailers in many areas.

Circuit City goes down? Then it's Best Buy (and nothing else) if you want home electronics or appliances.

No more Borders? If you want a book from a bricks'n'mortar outlet, you've got Barnes & Noble, period.

The end of Home Depot? Lowes is it. (Or vice-versa.)

Cold Stone Creamery melts away? Customers are frozen to Baskin-Robbins.

Goodbye Target and K-Mart? Hello Wall*To*Wal*Mart!

That's the problem with big business capitalism. In the Great Depression, if a local department store or grocer went under, there were others to deal with and, when times got better, it was always possible to set up a new competitor, starting locally and growing from there, for (relatively speaking) reasonable start-up costs. Now, failure of any of these chains means a default monopoly in that market. And that is not going to be good for consumers in the long run. (And it's not going to be good for society if we wind up with only one national book chain, as it's all-too-easy for them to enact de facto censorship based on what they choose or refuse to carry.)

[Quantess]

52. Linens N Things

All going out of business, all across the nation. That's not just a rumor.

[leftofthedial]

53. they already shut the store down in my town

[Witchy_Dem]

67. I heard Sears was in trouble. Went in there and noticed their sale prices (70%) were still higher

then local competitor prices. Plus the place was empty when the local Walmart and Target stores were jammed busy.

[CoffeeCat]

69. Kmart doubled coupons last week...

They doubled all coupons up to and including, $2.

I can't help but feel that the promotion is a Hail Mary pass.

Sears owns Kmart, correct?

[Witchy_Dem]

71. Seems to be a murky deal.

Between leases on property and stock sales it seems they are siblings instead of parents. lol

Either way some coupons would not have helped Sears up here at all.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart_investors/index.htm

[slackmaster]

73. I'll bet it's all over for the Scotch Boutique