The UK commercial property market has found itself at the centre of the storm affecting high streets and shopping centers. Online shopping, high costs for retailers, outdated buildings and high debt levels have sent prices and rents plunging for landlords, as well as pushing well-known names such as Debenhams and House of Fraser to the point of collapse.

“The UK is ground zero. That’s where you have the greatest [level] of online sales as a proportion of total sales, and between that and the reality that occupation costs for retailers were particularly high in the UK, you’ve got the perfect recipe for significant retail disruption”.

Rents agreed in UK shopping centers in the first quarter of 2019 dropped by a third compared with last year — using a measure that takes account of concessions such as rent-free periods — according to the estate agents Savills. In some of the worst affected centers, they plunged by 40 to 60 per cent in just three months.

In Europe, vacancy rates are rising across the retail sector, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In the US, retailers have announced more than 6,900 store closures so far this year, more than in the whole of 2018

Welcome to Amazon Hell on Earth ! :)

Whole Foods cuts workers' hours after Amazon introduces minimum wage

The Illinois-based worker explained that once the $15 minimum wage was enacted, part-time employee hours at their store were cut from an average of 30 to 21 hours a week, and full-time employees saw average hours reduced from 37.5 hours to 34.5 hours. The worker provided schedules from 1 November to the end of January 2019, showing hours for workers in their department significantly decreased as the department’s percentage of the entire store labor budget stayed relatively the same.

“We just have to work faster to meet the same goals in less time,” the worker said.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/06/whole-foods-amazon-cuts-minimum-wage-workers-hours-changes

Retail apocalypse? JCPenney, Payless, LifeWay announce 3,000+ combined store closures

More than 41,000 people have lost their jobs in the retail industry so far this year — a 92 percent spike in layoffs since the same time last year, according to a new report. And the layoffs continue to mount, with JCPenney announcing this week it would be closing 18 stores in addition to three previously announced closures, as part of a “standard annual review.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/retail-apocalypse-jcpenney-payless-lifeway-announce-3-000-combined-store-n988756

Walmart is quietly closing stores — here's the full list

Walmart is closing at least 11 US stores across eight states. The closing stores include one Walmart Supercenter in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Walmart Neighborhood Market stores in Arizona, California, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

The closing date for most of the affected stores is April 19, according to employees of those stores, who confirmed the closings to Business Insider.

https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-stores-closing-list-2019-3

Payless shoe stores plans to close 2,100 U.S. locations

NEW YORK— Payless ShoeSource is shuttering all of its 2,100 remaining stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, joining a list of iconic names like Toys R Us and Bon-Ton that have closed down in the last year. The Topeka, Kansas-based chain said Friday it will hold liquidation sales starting Sunday and wind down its e-commerce operations. All of the stores will remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May.

The debt-burdened chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017, closing hundreds of stores as part of its reorganization. At the time, it had over 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries. It remerged from restructuring four months later with about 3,500 stores and eliminated more than $435 million in debt.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/payless-shoe-stores-plans-close-2-100-u-s-locations-n972366

American companies have a curious habit of running up massive debts while the executives of the companies pay themselves millions of dollars in bonuses. I guess it can only work for so long with retail companies.

For the second time in two years, children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, offering the latest sign of the looming bloodbath in the retail space following stagnant foot-traffic during the holiday sales season (which was dominated by e-commerce), and the strain from higher interest rates. Gymboree, which filed late Wednesday, wasn't the only retailer to file within the last 24 hours: Department Store Shopko also filed on Wednesday.

Gymboree will close 800 Gymboree- and Crazy 8-branded stores in the US and Canada. In its press release, the retailer said it's planning to sell its high-end children's fashion line Janie and Jack, its online platform and its intellectual property - though all of these will remain open for now as the restructuring continues.

Lowe's is closing 51 stores in the US and Canada

...Lowe's is struggling to keep up with Home Depot. Last year, Home Depot's revenue hit more than $100 billion, while Lowe's sales were below $70 billion.

Lowe's (LOW) will shut down 20 stores in the United States and 31 in Canada. The company said that a "majority" of the shuttered stores are within 10 miles of another Lowe's location. The stores will be closed before Feb. 1, 2019.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/05/business/lowes-closures/index.html

Lowe's closing Orchard Supply Hardware chain it acquired out of bankruptcy:

"Sears acquired the chain in 1996 when the Chicago retail giant was looking to expand its share of the home-improvement market. In 2012, it spun off OSH as a separate business, but the newly independent company declared bankruptcy less than two years later, crushed by hundreds of millions of dollars of debt it was saddled with as part of the spin-off."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-osh-closure-20180822-story.html

Sears will file for bankruptcy

The neverending saga of the world's longest melting ice cube, that of Sears Holdings which has flirted with bankruptcy for years only to get bailed out in the 11th hour by its biggest investor and CEO Eddie Lampert each and every time, is finally coming to its logical end.

With its stock crashing to a new all time low, and with a $134 million in debt due on Monday on a bond issue that is currently yielding over 1,000% in the 3 or so business days left to maturity...

Nope, me... or I should say "Us"... Another thing, the dude had major issues - he lost his cert. of occupancy due to the fact that he was a hoarder and his house was considered a health hazard. It took a crew 4 days to clear the stuff out of his modestly sized home. Maybe this is all his fault.

The neighbor had been there for years before I knew him. You are not wrong on the other counts, though.

I lived 3 doors down from one of their head accountant guys 2004-12. Things weren't peachy before the ilk of Romney set in. I am not saying you are not wrong, just that they were running things in an antiquated fashion. They took over the market from other retailers, then they were taken over.

@rockroadpix

I think Amazon is from my post.