Well folks, this is really too wild. MSM is now running many valuable ‘Right On’ news stories.
And here is another one.
And once again, I included many of the 'Real Folk's' comments at the end of the article, because they DO GET IT, unlike the 'Paid For Pundits,' sycophants and those various and sundry 'Talking Heads' that are seen daily on the Sheeple's FV's (Funny Visions).
Apparently, no one - And I Do SAY NO ONE - does really understand why these Seismic Shifts are occurring in the US and World’s economies.
BUT, as anyone who has read these Blogs or has read the Home Page and the New Normal Page and Econometrics Page on our website at www.polestarcomm.com does realize, there is really something different this time around!
And, it is the Super Tsunami “Kondratieff” Long-Wave’s reemergence after 80 years, and there is NO STOPPING it now!
Are you and your company ready for the SECOND wave of the Super Tsunami “Kondratieff” Long-Wave that is most definitely coming and will sweep over the US and World’s economies, AFTER the “Great Deception of 2012” does play out and all the “Sheeple” have been persuaded to put their last Dollars into common stocks; so that, they can be COMPLETELY and TOTALLY wiped out in the multiple crashes of 2013 and 2014?
If you do not believe what we say, perhaps you had best subscribe to our Market Reviews and Quarterly Updates. For, the evidence that we do offer there – at great effort – will sharpen your “Credulity Meters” about such things, I assure you!
And it has quite rightly scared the CR_P out of some of our readers, and they are getting prepared for the ordained macro-economic debacle that is directly ahead of all of us!
The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance Is Coming to an End
Bloomberg; By David Welch, Chris Burritt and Lauren Coleman-Lochner - Mar 30, 2012 10:16 AM ET
“When Best Buy Co. (BBY) said yesterday it was closing 50 big stores and opening 100 smaller ones, the world’s largest electronics retailer was adjusting to reality: The era of big-box retail dominance is coming to an end.
The new mantra is small box. ...After 50 years of putting mom and pops out of business, big-box retail is having a mid-life crisis. A slow economy has hurt same-store sales, narrowing margins at big stores. Meanwhile, consumers, armed with price-comparison technology, are visiting more stores seeking deals or exclusive merchandise rather than making one-stop, fill-the-cart excursions.
“We’re undergoing a seismic shift,” said Natalie Berg, an analyst with Planet Retail in London. “People are still cutting back. People are buying more products online so there is a real case for downsizing stores.”
Big-box retailers essentially come in two flavors: so- called category killers such as Best Buy that focus on one type of merchandise, and discounters like Wal-Mart and Target, which sell a broader range of goods.
Declining Sales
Since the recession, big-box retailers have struggled. Until its third fiscal quarter last year, Wal-Mart had posted eight consecutive quarters of declining sales at stores open more than 12 months. Best Buy posted five straight quarters of profit decline before reporting a $2.6 billion loss on March 29, while analysts forecast declining same-store sales and profit for Target this year.
...Big boxes boomed in the go-go 1990s. Fueled by an inflated stock market and loose credit, Americans expanded farther into the suburbs and filled their new homes with appliances and consumer goods, said John Lupo, a retired Wal-Mart executive who now sits on the board of AB Electrolux. The housing boom propelled the big-box retailers into the new millennium. Then came the crash and consumers pulled back.
Conspiring Forces
Other forces are conspiring against the big-box model. Baby Boomers no longer have kids at home and don’t need to stock up on food and packaged goods. Their kids are marrying later and delaying having their own children, meaning fewer are buying houses that need to be updated and furnished.
… “The biggest challenge for big boxes is increasing consumer confidence in making online purchases,” said Matt Arnold, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in Des Peres, Missouri, who rates Best Buy and Wal-Mart as buys. “Best Buy is arguably more exposed than the Wal-Marts of the world that are heavy in the food, apparel and consumables category. In the case of consumer electronics, it comes down to price.”
If Best Buy and its big-box ilk are to survive, they’ll have to evolve and do a better job of integrating their brick- and-mortar locations with their Web stores, Arnold said.
yahoo-HH36YO5DPQKA3NPDWBWSHPLWKU 1 hour ago
The UK is the most tech-savvy marketplace in the world.
There, with high land costs in a limited area island nation, big box stores make no sense. The population, which spends more time online than many other nations, with TV viewing rates dropping dramatically, is buying more and more online. Game stores recently folded in the face of pressure from online sales.
Since the USA follows Europe in most social trends, the era of going out to buy goods is coming to an end.
MIM74 2 hours ago
Once again, this is an example of economic logic gone wrong. The era of large retail stores is far from over. Large retailers continue to benefit from agglomeration economics, and therefore remain at an advantage over smaller stores. What changed is the economic environment. During the current depression the economic environment has changed in a way that is not favorable for the retail sector. We don’t need smaller Best Buy stores, we simply need fewer Best Buy stores, and the same applies to most other chains. Going small is a mistake on the part of the management that will once again entrap their shareholders in the long run.
dinoSnake 2 hours ago
It's a SHAME that Wal-Mart does not realize one of their greatest business failures, one of the reasons that they posted eight consecutive losses.
Are you listening, Wal-Mart?
I stopped shopping at Wal-Mart, generally and "generically" for most items, about 2 years ago. Why? BECAUSE SHOPPING AT WAL-MART JUST WASN'T WORTH THE HASSLE.
The Super Wal-Mart where I lived was claimed to be the busiest in that part of the national sector. They had 36 cash registers...yet, NO MATTER WHEN I WENT, THE MOST THEY HAD OPEN WAS 12.
8 o'clock in the evening of a workday? Long lines at the checkouts. 3 o'clock in the afternoon on a weekend? Long lines at the checkouts. 3 IN THE MORNING? LONG LINES AT THE CHECKOUTS!
YES, I've actually been there at 3 o'clock in the morning. 1 register open, 7 people waiting in a stalled checkout line.
No matter WHAT time you appeared at Wal-Mart, you ALWAYS had a intolerable wait to get to a checkout. After a few years of doing this, I realized that MY time was worth something...and decided to spend my money elsewhere. Did I pay a bit more for the items? Yes. Was it worth it? YES. Less frustration, more time for other things in my life and I felt I was getting a quality trade for my money because the increased price I was spending was balanced off by spending less of MY valuable time.
In comparison, shopping at Target was a pleasure. They did not have the selection of the Wal-Mart in the area due to the fact that it wasn't a "super" Target, just a standard one (very small food selection, for example). But Target understood the value of their customer's time and attentions - a helper directing shoppers to the quickest-moving checkout lines, rapid checkout processing AND if they had more than 3 people waiting, they opened up more lines. Wal-Mart? NEVER EVER EVER do you see a manager actually walking the floor to adjust response to problems and NEVER do they open up more checkout counters to meet demand, no matter how many people are backed-up in the queue.
I am in business and yes, I was a manager and yes, I'm ashamed of Wal-Mart manager's inability to properly control their customer experience to be a pleasant one. Did I REALLY have to wait 4 MONTHS for your Pharamacy department manager to restock an item that I like?? Do I REALLY have to visit you 5 TIMES before you get a decent selection of toothbrushes back in stock? Must I REALLY walk through the umkepmt pigsty that you call your "Fashion" department (admittedly, you finally did get better regarding this last year)?
davebarnes in reply to dinoSnake 1 hour ago
I make a visit my local Walmart for the first time yesterday as the garden center has good bargains on tulips.
This Walmart Super Center is 2 miles closer than the almost Super center Target.
The Walmart is "ghetto" as the reviewers on Yelp write while the Target is clean.
Not one employee at the Walmart said one word to me. On every visit to Target, multiple employees ask if they can help and then walk me to the location of the item I am seeking.
Does Walmart have lower prices? Why, yes, it does, but gives a damn about saving 1 penny on chicken broth?
As the economy recovers, Target will continue to gain and Walmart will struggle. No one, not even poor people, want to shop in a dump.
davebarnes 2 hours ago
What does Best Buy sell that I cannot get from Amazon?
Two things:
1. Overpriced Monster brand HDMI cables (wait that isn't it)
2. White goods. Which I would never even consider buying from Worst Buy.
What does Amazon have that Best Buy does not?
Amazon Prime and a MUCH LARGER selection of goods.
And, the winner is...
johnwallis42 6 hours ago
In the end it will just be Amazon. If Best Buy even exists as an operating company in 5 years I'll eat a copy of Barrons.
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