Bebe, a chain dedicated to women’s clothing, renounce all of its 170 retail outlets to become a pure e-commerce player. Sears in the first six months of 2017 has already closed 150. J.C. Penney and Macy’s have a very similar cost reduction plan: close 14% and 15% respectively of their stores, although some analysts suspect that the latter may need to look up the figures. It is the “Retail Apocalypse”, as renamed by the US media, is the crisis of brick-and-mortar business as illustrated by a Business Insider survey. According to White House data cited by Business Insider, between January and May, 19,000 jobs were lost in the industry, while in the coming months there is a wait of 3,500 stores. According to Credit Suisse, this will lead to the closure of some malls between 220 and 270 shopping malls for a total of 25% of the country in the next five years. Business Insider also provides an explanation of the phenomenon. US retailers do not suffer as much online growth as Amazon’s competition, which monopolises the web, offers non-replicable services (like Prime) and dilutes the brand identity in its catalogue. It also raises the inability, in particular for the middle segment, to intercept the Millennials’ disaffection for a certain type of shopping, summing up in search of a new stylistic identity as evidenced by the success of brands like Cos and Other Stories.
“Retail Apocalypse” in the US. Closures, layoffs, and a shopping idea that no longer exists
