I find it sad that so many iconic stores are going out of business. Stores that have been around for over a century and helped shape our economic landscape and culture. Is this a trend? Are people only consuming the “latest and newest,” and casting aside the “foundation and pillars,” even though the “latest and newest” couldn’t exist without “the foundation and pillars?”
The rise of e-commerce websites offering more cost-effective goods with faster than ever delivery times is playing a huge role in the downfall of so many traditional stores. We envisioned this years ago, which is why we worked so hard to create SHOP.COM to give people from all over the world a platform to sell exclusive products from the comfort of their own home.
Why Are so Many Iconic Brick and Mortar Stores Going out of Business?
Time will tell if more iconic stores are soon to go out of business, but in the meantime, let’s learn a bit more about why Sears and Henri Bendel are going out of business in 2018.
Sears
Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 after 125 years in business. As one of the original retail powerhouses, they started as a mail-order catalog company in the late 1880s and offered everything from toys to opium (yes, you read that correctly). They even once had the tallest building in the world and a suite of companies that included everything from a radio station to Allstate insurance. Things have changed a bit since then. A bankruptcy judge has approved $300 million in financing to keep Sears in business through this holiday season, and a chance to remain in business. Sears also plans to close around 142 of its remaining 700 stores by the end of 2018 and will auction off its best-performing stores in early 2019 to buyers that will keep them operational.
Henri Bendel
The famous white and brown striped shopping bags and hat boxes, which go back to 1895, will soon be no more. L Brands, the parent company of Bendel’s, which also owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, is shutting the 23 Henri Bendel stores to focus efforts on some of its other companies with greater growth potential. The luxury brick-and-mortar space is facing some tough challenges in an increasingly digital world, and luxury department stores in the US have seen their sales slide to a mere $5 billion in the last five years.
Fill in the blank: If _____ went out of business, I don’t know what I would do. Tweet me @lorenridinger, and I’ll retweet my favorite replies.
