The Buzz: Is there a retail apocalypse? Not so fast says one retail veteran – Appleton Post Crescent

Shoppers who believe there’s been a remarkably high number of store closings this year are right.

Statistics released this week show store closures so far in 2019 are 23 percent higher compared to this time last year. Furthermore, they’re expected to continue.

“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” said Coresight Research, a firm that charts retail openings and closings on a national level. It adds that there are “potentially many more on the way due to companies currently in the bankruptcy process and more on the horizon.”

Retail bankruptcy filings in the first six weeks of 2019 are already one-third of 2018’s total and Coresight expects them to continue “at a rapid pace.”

Recent bankruptcy filings include Shopko (closing 251 stores), Gymboree (closing 749 stores including Crazy 8 locations) and Things Remembered (closing 220 stores).

According to a story in USA Today, Payless ShoeSource is reportedly considering filing its second bankruptcy.

USA TODAY: Are more store closings coming?

One factor in the decline of brick-and-mortar stores is well known: online sales have increased relentlessly.

Local retail watcher Jeffrey P. McNulty, however said while Amazon has changed everything, the whole “retail apocalypse” notion is overstated.

McNulty, a Wrightstown resident, worked in retail for 30 years and recently published his insider’s look at the business, “The Ultimate Retail Manual: Strategies for Retailers to Thrive & Succeed in the Digital World.”

“Stores will not die out, but they’ll look a lot different two or three years from now. It’s a transition we’re going through,” he said. “There are a lot of good things happening, but they’re being overshadowed by the word ‘apocalypse.’”

He divides stores into two main camps.

“Those struggling the most are the older established retailers. They have a blueprint that worked for decades and is not now working anymore,” he said. As examples he names Sears, JCPenney, Shopko, Toys R Us, Bon-Ton (including Younkers) and Barnes & Noble.

More: The Buzz: Shopko questions linger on services, departments

More: The Buzz: Year-end review, part 2

Stores doing well, McNulty said, are experiential and immersive, meaning they engage the senses.

“Walmart and Target are doing fantastic because they’re evolving. Home Depot, Costco and Best Buy are doing it. Macy’s is getting better.”

Technology and shopping patterns have changed, and store executives who listen closely to customers can adapt, he said.

“Customers going into the stores now want to look at something and touch it. It’s called showrooming. They want to go home, look on their computer or tablet, order it, pick it up in the store and return it to the store. This is what the customers are demanding now.”

Have a question about a store or business? Reach reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116, [email protected] or @wallenfang on Twitter.

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