The U.S. has a long long way to fall. The retail store closings have only just begun. Facts are a bitch.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Returning from trips to the United States, many of my fellow Europeans marvel at what they saw across the Atlantic: the streets of New York, the beaches of California, the blinking lights of Las Vegas and the stunning nature all across the nation.
What also fascinates most returning visitors, are the huge shopping malls with their endless opportunities to buy whatever you might need (or want for that matter). Looking at the chart below, it becomes clear that the latter is not owed to a holiday-induced shopping frenzy, but an accurate perception. According to Credit Suisse, the United States has more retail space than any other country in the world. With more than 21,500 ft² (2,000 m²) per 1,000 people, the U.S. leads similarly developed nations by a wide margin, not to speak of emerging markets.
But how much is too much? Several U.S. retail chains from Macy’s to American Apparel have recently announced the closure of stores, indicating an unhealthy degree of oversaturation with retail space.
Anecdotally, well factually really, I walk during lunch at the best Cleveland mall, Beachwood Place (Saks/Nordstom, et al) and what I see is scary– virtually empty of shoppers. And not once but almost everytime I go. This mall USED to have some of the highest sq. ft. sales in the country. I just don’t know whether people are just shopped out, have no money, a combination, or whether internet shopping has just taken foot traffic away. But the message is clear– I would not invest in anything having to do with retail period, I would run, not walk. Out.
Doesn’t fly with me.
In terms of sq miles, US = 3,794,000 vs Norway = 125,150, which translates to US having 30 Times the sq miles; yet, retail space in US is a little over 2 Times that of Norway.
Comparative population sizes are relevant as well.
US pop. = 326 Million vs Norway = 5 Million.
US has 60 Times population.
All these chains are highly leveraged. The insanely low interest rates – hovering around 3%, fueled even more expansion. Just a ‘blip’ in their cash flow – they’re gone!
A few of them seem to be learning that now.
I wonder how many of the others will take note of it and change their ways to avoid the same fate as well and how many will just go down unwilling to change.
What’s amazing is that Amazon is now building ‘test’ stores – grocery, retail, appliances. Is Amazon going to grow, become another Sears (took 120 years to go under), and in 20 years (cycles are much shorter today) go bankrupt?
[img
[/img]
Thats fucked up. Like really fucked up. One fence shy of just what the doctor ordered.
In my town, there is a mall (one of the first) that is approaching 50 years old. It slowly expanded over the years, virtually taking up all the available parking spaces it had, and sent the cars to the roof top.
Now they are going to spend millions to make it bigger yet again. They are drilling a multi level underground parking lot with yet more retail space where the last of the street level parking used to be, expanding it over 1/3 more. And the rent you might ask??
Just shy of $250 per sq ft per month!!
Somebody has to pay that rent, and it ain’t the shopkeeper!!
The US has more of everything on a per-capita basis – except thigh gaps.
Trump has delivered on one MAGA item: USA has surpassed Mexico on the obesity scale.
Iska, I shall modify a joke of mine to update it:
A guy meets a a girl with huge feet, over a foot long. She has a killer thigh gap so he says to himself, the kids may end up with big feet but I have to have that thigh gap.
15 years later, his daughter walks into his room, looking at her huge feet, she asks, “Daddy, how could you?”
He shrugs his shoulders, “Thighgap?”
The comparative statistics are per 1000 head of population; so sq miles of country or pure population headcount are not relevant. As the man said USA has far too much of everything including body fat. It is symptomatic of a failing empire, rotting from the inside and caused by total moral failure of its leaders and Wall Street. May they all rest in peace.
Look up the Austrian Business Cycle Theory on Mises.org. It pretty much explains it all.
Only one solution – END THE FED!
Do you think that the USA has long to go then? I’m guessing say 18 months because it all seems to be following the 2006/7 trending stats.
I wrote this blog after taking a picture of a human sandwich board advertising a going out of business sale right across from where they are developing a new retail mall: https://cfpup.org/2017/03/the-irony-of-21st-century-retail-development/
In our new city they are putting in a huge new retail development 4 blocks from a mall that is nearly dead – the only two remaining “anchors” are JCPenny and Macy’s. Dozens of vacancies and the writing is on the wall. But the mall isn’t within the boundaries of the new city, and the Community Improvement District has grant money to entice the developers. Of course they are having lots of big sales this weekend for the grand opening, but I suspect the going out of business sale prices will be even better soon enough.