Title: Which Stores are Going Out of Business in 2019 and Why? - South Florida Reporter
Headings: Which Stores are Going Out of Business in 2019 and Why?
Which Stores are Going Out of Business in 2019 and Why?
Changing Tastes Determine Which Stores are Going Out of Business
Other Factors in the Retail Apocalypse
Small Retail Retrenches
When You’re Not the CEO
Who We Are

Content: Many of the shopping mall stalwarts simply do not have enough traffic to sustain the high overhead of destination shopping. This includes Amazon, which is shuttering 87 pop-up shops inside Whole Foods, Kohl’s, and a variety of shopping malls. However, Amazon is also still planning to open thousands of brick-and-mortar locations, perhaps having figured out more of the new retail formula than established stores. Changing Tastes Determine Which Stores are Going Out of Business
The primary drivers in which stores are going out of business are demographic changes. While shopping mall staples such as Gap, Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Charlotte Russe are closing stores, it’s more about not keeping up with the tastes of the marketplace. Charlotte Russe’s teens grew up, and much like the gotta-have mall stores of the 90s, they did not keep up with the vital changes in their targeted groups. Victoria’s Secret is experiencing a reversal of fortune as up-and-coming brands such as Adore Me speak to younger shoppers with “Lingerie for Every Body” and modestly priced sets. JCPenney, one of the “anchor stores” along with Sears and other regional department stores long held the mid-range between mass merchandisers and upmarket department stores. Unfortunately, as it tastes changed and wallets tightened during the recession, JCPenney stuck to its previously successful formula and while it remained successful for a time, it did not appeal to younger shoppers as they set up their own homes or changed from school-going teens to young people in the workplace. Perhaps, most especially, none of the “mall stores” was prepared for the advent of the internet, the variety that online shopping could offer, and the convenience to working people of having their purchases delivered to the doorstep in two days with free shipping.