Retailers in the United States have closed or announced the closing of almost 2,600 brick-and-mortar stores and the avalanche is expected to continue.
FACT-O-RAMA! The closings are all from January 1 to May 3, 2024 which means we are losing 20.9 storefronts per day. At this rate, 7,628 stores will close by December 31.
The Biggest Losers
Some industries have been hit harder than others.
Cut-rate stores are on life support. The 99 Cents Only chain is in bankruptcy and is closing all 371 locations. Family Dollar is closing 600 stores and plans to kill another 370 more, as well as 30 Dollar Tree outlets, in the next few years for a total of 12-15% of their businesses.
BUILD BACK BETTER-O-RAMA! Dollar Tree once charged $1 for every item. Today, the cheapest items are $1.25, and some cost as much as $5.
Drug store chains CVS and Rite-Aid are in the crosshairs, too.
CVS is scheduled to gut a whopping 900 stores by the end of the year. Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and is closing 150 stores. Walgreens is also closing 150 stores around the nation.
Foot Locker and 7/11 are closing locations too. Bigger stores like Walmart and Macy’s are feeling the crunch and axing stores as well.
What Happened?
Various factors have contributed to the bloodbath of American businesses.
Online sales are killing off some of the retail outlets. “Population shifts” are also to blame.
But a major reason for the death of businesses is the crush of Democrat-sanctioned shoplifting.
2 shoplifters attack a Walgreens employee in her 60s for asking her to pay pic.twitter.com/1ktCFTi4W1
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 11, 2023
Some of America’s big blue Marxist toilet cities now all but invite pilfering. Many chains actually fire their staff for trying to prevent the thievery, even as they continue to shutter their storefronts.
The tsunami of “petty larceny” has gutted major retail chains. Walgreens closed dozens of stores in San Francisco alone over the past few years after suffering tremendous losses. Some Apple stores now require an appointment just to enter.
BACH-O-RAMA! A handful of Chicago chains are now blaring classical music outside their doors to chase away panhandlers and deter those lookin’ for the five-finger discount.
The unsung casualties of store closings are the seniors who rely on their local drug store for their prescriptions, as well as the employees who work at the outlets. Many of the stores closing because of rampant shoplifting are in minority neighborhoods where locals work. Every store closure means another crew is left unemployed and looking for other jobs.
It’s easy to see why the Democrat jackpuddings are no longer using phrases like “Bidenomics” and “Build Back Better.”