JC Penney to Close 140 stores...Department Stores are Failing

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DJ Ricky B

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Mar 9, 2015
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J.C. Penney to close up to 140 stores, cut jobs


Sears and JC Penney are going under. We are going to see a lot of malls close over the next few years to add to the list of malls that are already closed up.

JC Penney does mention that their Online Business did well this past holiday season. They likely will become a online entity and maybe have just a few stores in the future.
 
This was predicted 10-15 years ago.
While it's easy to point fingers at online shopping - that's not the whole story. Consider the technology of manufacturing and the diversity of products that now exist at every conceivable price point. Too much choice makes the concept of a department store untenable. The breadth of conceivable product lines even within any single department are too broad and diverse to be well represented, and hence the rise of the specialty store both n and offline.

Can you believe we've returned full circle to the place where there are stores that only sell telephones? Chairs? Handbags? etc.

I think the future of department stores at best will resemble a Bed, Bath, and Beyond where the 'beyond' is actually very narrowly related to the bed and bath.
 
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Plus, warehouse automation, distribution, and delivery systems have become more efficient thanks to breakthroughs in technology. Watch what will happen to jobs when more and more drones deliver merchandise and we have driverless trucks. Traditional brick and mortar retail is sliding, and has been for the past decade. Look at your local mall to see. Brick and mortar stores are trying to play catch-up to online retailers that do not have the overhead of leases, store maintenance, and number of necessary employees to name a few. It's a domino effect that quite frankly will not abate. Retail, fast food, delivery and distribution, commercial real estate, and warehouse positions are decreasing rapidly due to technology.

Technology is moving faster than our society can catch up and adapt.
 
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and as cosumers get used to buying online..they'll want to buy our services that way too.

I see it now. Saw it with wedding photography start about 2 or 3 years ago. Bridal shows used to have brides/moms browsing, asking questions, wanting to see samples, etc. Now they walk up and say "i saw your stuff online, do you have my date?"

The younger people don't need to be, um, 'sold' as they'll see it. They want to 'find and discover' it on their own and buy without a salesman.

Go into a true department store - there is help, aka,salespeople they'll approach you, offer you help in 'finding something'. And they're failing, right?

Walmart, target, big box stores - there is NO help there..you can find a 'sales associate' but most don't know much about what the store sells - "it's over in aisle 10" is about all the help you get. Go ahead, ask 'what's the difference between the keurig and the mr coffee?' and you won't get any useful info.

And I agree, tech is advancing faster than we can adapt.

Enjoy the ride!
 
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I think the next wave of retail stores will be franchises of the online ones .. Amazon local, etc. This way you can buy the most often used items and order the rest .. and you have a local place to return things to. Sort of how Sears started its major expansion phase.
 
I think the next wave of retail stores will be franchises of the online ones .. Amazon local, etc. This way you can buy the most often used items and order the rest .. and you have a local place to return things to. Sort of how Sears started its major expansion phase.

Sears had the opportunity to be the leader in online expansion hey had the shipping and delivery system down through their catalogue stores light years before Amazon was ever a thing but they managed to muff it up
 
I heard that H.H. Gregg will be filing for bankruptcy next week.

Sounds about right. I mean everybody has a flatscreen TV or 2 or 3 of them now. TV sales have been slowing down since late 2014. They sell Appliances, but Appliances like a fridge, dishwasher, washer/dryver is something people buy like once every 9 to 18 years or so. I don't think anyone things to go to HH Gregg for anything else. Not enough volume in appliances for a large store like that.
 
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Yeah, HHGregg didn't enter Maryland until maybe 2010. I have only been in the Glen Burnie store, and the Towson store before. They are well known for selling TVs and trying to outdo Best Buy on TV deals. I would say they secondarily known for house hold appliances. I am not even sure they sell much else besides accessories. They don't have as wide as an array of products as Best Buy sells in their stores.
 
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We have become a lazy society. We want things handed to us too easily today. The thing is those who thrive make the necessary changes as the times change. Those who don't go by the waste side.
 
Too much choice makes the concept of a department store untenable. The breadth of conceivable product lines even within any single department are too broad and diverse to be well represented

I agree.
You'd have to have a pretty big store to cover everything from automotive to feminine hygiene.
And even worse, try to cover all of the items in all your departments with everything from the expensive brands to the economical.
If a department store wanted to sell fashions, you can just imagine how much inventory they would have to buy,
and how much room they would need to display it all.
Not to mention how long shoppers would have to be there to see it.
 
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Also keep in mind that while places like Walmart generally have lower prices (they buy in bulk), they also generally have crappier stuff - as in the flat screen with the same brand name as the best buy screen but a different model number is priced lower for a reason.
 
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Also keep in mind that while places like Walmart generally have lower prices (they buy in bulk), they also generally have crappier stuff - as in the flat screen with the same brand name as the best buy screen but a different model number is priced lower for a reason.


The TVs are the same man. The difference is 1 or 2 minor features.

It's like saying the GMC Sierra is far superior to the Chevy Silverado. The only differences are minor differences in the interior. Mechanically, and design, they are the same vehicles
 
The TVs are the same man. The difference is 1 or 2 minor features.

It's like saying the GMC Sierra is far superior to the Chevy Silverado. The only differences are minor differences in the interior. Mechanically, and design, they are the same vehicles
If they have different features .. they aren't the "same" .. similar maybe