How to know your economy is really, really in trouble:
Shopping malls are in for a tough year as a sour economy closes a record number of stores, possibly bringing dramatic changes to some Indianapolis retail centers.
[. . .]
Many traditional malls have had to reinvent themselves, but it's not just older, enclosed centers that are suffering from the recent rash of store closings. Open-air lifestyle center Clay Terrace in Carmel also has been hit.
This year the mall lost Bombay, Circuit City, Kid's Corner and Memoirs, a scrapbooking store.
"People in Carmel have money to spend, but even they seem to be cutting back," said Shelia Gintley, who lives in Carmel and visits Clay Terrace weekly. "I think when you see something like this happening in Carmel, that is proof it has to be happening everywhere."
They've even stopped scrapp
Comments
I have a hard time classifying a Sucker City shutdown as an actual loss.
Ok, so how much you want to bet when we start seeing stores reopening back on the MAIN STREETS of our cities (especially in the downtown areas...like the way it ONCE WAS).
Uh oh, time to reinvent the wheel again.
Got to love it.
;)
B.G.
It is all about Carmel ...dontcha know?
From the San Bernadino Sun:
Recession or not, retailers are in trouble
Are we in a recession? Experts and politicians argue this question every day. In the meantime, large retailers keep filing for bankruptcy protection.
Mervyns LLC, Shoe Pavilion Inc., Steve & Barry's LLC, Sharper Image Inc., Linens `n Things Inc., Levitz Furniture Inc., Wickes Furniture Co. and Metromedia Restaurant Group - which owns Bennigan's and Steak & Ale and Tavern restaurants - have all recently filed Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy documents.
Rumors are flying that Circuit City could be next.
"This is the beginning of a wave," said Harlan Platt, professor of finance and corporate-turnaround expert at Northeastern University in Boston. "In every economic boom, investor enthusiasm leads to overexpansion. In recessions and slow periods, companies on the fringe begin to fail."
This is kinda like Global Cooling. :)
Metromedia Restaurant Group doesn't just own Bennigan's and Steak & Ale - they also own Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouse, and Texas Roadhouse.
I liked the original Ponderosa Steakhouses. Although they were headquartered in Dayton, they were started by a guy who managed the Sandy's in Kokomo, which was owned by the Weiss dealership in Indianapolis.
The second concept for Ponderosa was the "world's biggest best salad bar", which was also OK, but I preferred the original concept.
They kept going downhill, though. They closed their two Lancaster locations a couple of years ago, and a month or so ago, I read that the last Ponderosa in New Jersey had closed. And Ponderosa's website is down.
Lone Star Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse and Outback restaurant are pretty much clones of each other, although I don't care for Outback - it's like the cook gets paid by the pound for the salt/spices he uses. My preference was Lone Star, but they closed in Lancaster last year, too. The local Texas Roadhouse appears to be open despite the bankruptcy; perhaps they're a franchise rather than being company owned.
Lancaster has a very diverse economy, and we've done well in previous economic slowdowns and periods of high unemployment, but this time, things look like they're really starting to pinch for people. Normally, the tourism business makes summer a period of extra low unemployment, but right now, jobs are hard for most people to find.
If Circuit City and Best Buy were to disappear from the face of the earth, I would shed no tears. The attorneys general of a majority of states have sued them for deceptive sales practices. I've encouraged people to "stay away in droves." They should have been shut down under the RICO statutes.
Global Warming is faith-based science - and as Mark Twain defined it, faith is believing in what you know damned well ain't so. The number of people without work, the number of homes being foreclosed on? That's as real as it gets.