Independent retailers must know about the retail apocalypse
The retail industry and media as a whole seems to be buzzing about “The Retail Apocalypse” and how it’s impacting the big box stores and large retail chains.
But little has been written about how it has affected – and will continue to affect – the smaller, independent retailers.
Back in 1996 who would have ever guessed that an online company named Amazon who, at the time, only sold books, would grow over the next 20 years to not only become an “online” giant.
But a brick and mortar giant that is pushing Wal-Mart around like some playground bully at recess?
The answer is not that many people.
But that is exactly what has happened, and as a result it’s turned into what many are calling the retail apocalypse.
The retail bloodbath, the retail crisis, and the retail bubble (clearly making reference to the real estate bubble America faced during the mid 2000’s).
An unheralded amount of large retailers are closing their doors and conducting massive store closing sales.
All this talk about the big box stores, retail chains, and publicly funded retailers that are a part of this “bloodbath” are drowning out any ideas about how all this is impacting the smaller, independent retailers.
Having grown up around retail because my parents decided to invest their life savings to start a retail store of their own, I had a particular interest in this impact.