Wall Street Analysts Predict The Slow Demise Of Walmart And Target (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/30/big-box-store-dying_n_5630572.html)

This is good, right?

They are losing share to competition? Of course it's a good thing. That's the way the market is supposed to work.

Maybe the ma and pa stores will make a comeback.

doubt it ;although it's possible they will fill a niche . The article has it right in that the big box store has a problem competing with on line sales. But not to worry ;Big Government to the rescue of the big box store.
Senate votes to establish federal online sales tax - San Jose Mercury News (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23182868/online-purchases-face-sales-tax-senate-vote)

That's been batted around for at least a decade now, it's nothing new. In fact your article is from May 2013.

It always boils down to some political thief trying to take what's left of your paycheck.

That's been batted around for at least a decade now, it's nothing new. In fact your article is from May 2013.

and ? I find it interesting that the Dems ,who demonize Walmart would pass legislation that covers their back .

Walmart makes enough money from cheap labor and corporate welfare to not feel sorry for them.

and yet the Dem Senate went out of their way to vote Walmart more government cheese.

Walmart and Target both sell online. The last time I went to a Walmart I vowed I'd never go back, but I have since bought from them online.
Sure, more B&M stores will go away. Nothing new there.
Amazon will continue to sell and ship practically at cost, and continue to grow. Bezos doesn't stop anticipating new ways to please customers, like warehouses closer to you with software that knows what you tend to buy, so you can get it in one day.

Until some other social/business change happens.

Good post joy, I agree.

I've been to both Target and Walmart. I really don't like Target. Walmart I may go to once a month. As to the people whinning about the pay... I haven't seen a single one with ankle chains keeping them from leaving yet.

You know I can't believe we are so shallow as to discuss this irrelevance when there are issues in Irag, Gaza, Ukraine of far greater import. Have we reached the level of indifference and have just shut off. How about the big holes in Siberia, are they of greater significance as is suggested? Is it all too much to take in? Information overload?

Gaza is getting everything they have coming to them... Iraq? That's what happen when you announce when you are leaving long in advance and leaving before the jobs done, Ukraine... Putin and Russia need to keep their noses out of what's going on... Does that sum it up?

Actually smoothy that's exactly what I'm talking about, we have reached the level of indifference, we have seen the headline formed an opinion and turned to less important pursuits.

For example, we heard of what was going on in Iraq, some very bad stuff and within a week it had faded from the news cycle as we watched Hamas get theirs, and quitely applauded that someone was taking on some muslim militants somewhere, but whatever happens in Gaza it has no impact on Iraq, Syria and ISIS. The world has become a little upset with what civilians are enduring in Gaza without taking any notice of what civilians are enduring in Iraq and you cannot blame that situation on US withdrawal a few years ago, you have to blame the Iraqi shiites and their pecular world view. Smoothy, Iraq was never going to get it together as an inclusive society, the US destabalised the country, the region for that matter, but in reality that is an excuse for the intolerances and inequalities that had existed in that part of the world for a long time, probably since WWI, when other powers destabilised the region

Of course all of this pails into insignificance against the prospect that some home grown marketteer might have got the business model a little wrong in the post GFC apocalypse

the world goes "ape " when the Israelis defend themselves ;but is completely mute about the hundreds of deaths daily in Syria ; or the ethnic cleasing of Christians in Mosul.
But if you are not concerned about the domestic market then maybe your priorities need an evaluation.

Clete,

No, I don't care what happens in Gaza nor do I care about petty politics in a US state. Why should I?

This board is called Current Events, not world politics, so feel free to post anything you like.

Personally I'm more interested in acting locally to help change instead of jawing about stuff ad nauseum on one of millions internet discussion boards.

But if you are not concerned about the domestic market then maybe your priorities need an evaluation.

Am I concerned about the domestic market in the US, no, it is showing excellent recovery, so any short falls in retail will be short lived. Am I concerned about the domestic market where I live, yes, far too many empty shops in the Malls and streets, it is very hard for the small business here, but huge box stores have no difficulty expanding

Karma, that's not jawing but carping, but why can't a few internet acqaintances discuss matters of interest, if you don't want to participate then by all means take action by going and spending your money. In other words put your money where your mouth is!

, no, it is showing excellent recovery
only in the liberal Pretorian press

Tom I've seen the statistics, you had an excellent bounce last quarter and growth over the year is spectacular for a developed nation, overall your year by year growth statistics are not bad I would like to see our economy growing that quickly. I don't doubt that just like all over the world there are depressed areas and those usually remain for a long time, they are not indicative of the overall economy, but local structural issues. The solution is, of course, migration and reduction of populations as well as investment by those "job creators" who like to create jobs in China such as Walmart

smoke and mirrors .Economists manipulate the numbers . All the proof you need is unemployment rates that don't take into account those who have stopped looking for work ;and inflation rates that don't take into account consumer goods .

Clete... I live in one of the areas that are doing far better than most economically... and nobody here would think anything has improved in the last year. In fact everything has actually gotten a progressively worse. Want the best indicators of how the economy is doing, talk to a restaurant owner, people tend to eat out less when things aren't going well for them and the worse they get the less often they eat out.

And as was pointed out... they manipulate numbers, mumble some useless figures then, look out the window and shout, "OH LOOK, SQUIRREL."

I live in one of the areas that are doing far better than most economically
Yup ;the DC area with all the gvt jobs to be had.

Walmarts and Target don't seem to be going broke. That's all the proof I need.

Walmarts and Target don't seem to be going broke. That's all the proof I need.
That's because they provide products people want at prices people are willing to pay.

And being Walmart and Target are kings in the discount field... their numbers will go up when the more affluent people start shopping there when they can no longer afford the upscale stores they used to shop at.

Clete... I live in one of the areas that are doing far better than most economically... and nobody here would think anything has improved in the last year. In fact everything has actually gotten a progressively worse. Want the best indicators of how the economy is doing, talk to a restaurant owner, people tend to eat out less when things aren't going well for them and the worse they get the less often they eat out.

And as was pointed out... they manipulate numbers, mumble some useless figures then, look out the window and shout, "OH LOOK, SQUIRREL."




It is probable in your area nothing much has changed smoothy either way, but you can't have over 4% growth in a quarter without someone being advantaged and the overall growth figures for your economy over the last two years have seen it ticking along at reasonable, not spectacular level. Someone thought you would get a high bounce coming out of the GFC and it didn't happen, and so you have adopted a hangdog attitude about the economy. I remember when it used to like that here, way back in the 90's, when we went through structural adjustment. Look, I know your participation rate isn't as high as you would like it, but in reality it isn't that good anywhere. I hear rhetorical stories of towns with low unemployment but they are rare outside the mining industry

BBC News - US economy grows by 4% as Fed cuts stimulus (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-28567689)

we don't yell "Look SQUIRREL" here, and I expect your numbers can be taken at face value, even if they are used improperly in your media.

The best thing that can happen for all of us is if the Fed stops quantative easing as it is distrorting values

I've seen 10 restaurants fail and close their doors within 3 blocks of my office in the last year alone several of those have been there for many years... that usually took almost 10 years for that many to close up over the last 20 years I've worked there.

And As I said...thats in an area thats not as hard hit as most. I have not doubt its far, far worse in most of the country. I think the BBC is basing that number on fuzzy logic and suspect sources. I haven't heard that number ANYWHERE here.

Restaurants come and go, food preference changes and after all we all look for new experiences, but I get it, people don't have as much money as they used to and high earners have had an extra tax burden, but employment in your economy is slowly growing, whether it is actually keeping pace is another issue.

You haven't heard that number because your media is biased, when have you heard media publish good news? I was just listening to one of your own academics on PBS saying that things are going along OK, there are positives and would have been nice if it happened years earlier and I agree you should be focusing on the positives, not the aspirations. What you are saying is you aren't achieving your aspirations, well welcome to the club, things are though all over

we can measure the recovery against recoveries of the past . This is one of the worst because of the government interventions that predictably failed to achieve their desired results. But that's ok . We know that libs judge on intentions and not results.

I think everyone does that Tom, it is all aspirational and depends on who can talk up the best scenario but you know as well as I do the slow recovery is down to those job creators

This recovery is the worst simply because the people who stole the money are keeping it, and are still stealing even more money.

And is that not ever so unless it is taken from them

who "stole " the money ?

Wall Street banks in collusion with the ratings agency. Started with the repeal of Glass Steagall, and a lot of greedy, underhanded behavior followed. Add to that the moving of jobs, and money overseas, you have millions of former middle class families ROBBED, who lost everything.

The New World Order which is just a cover for oligarchy.

The new world order is Bush era propaganda

It's not propaganda when you eliminate the traditional middle class industrial jobs with low wage part time service ones. That's a reality. It requires adjustments and a very rocky transition. There is no nation that can thrive and survive without a vibrant growing middle class Clete, not even yours, since all nations have a consumer driven economy, no matter the labels they put on them.

The near collapse of the middle class is the direct result of Obamanomics. After all, how many times has he told business they didn't creat that wealth, they didn't creat those jobs. So tis Obamas fault, if he wants to clain responsibility for creating those jobs and wealth, then he OWNS the responsibility when they go away too.

The timeline of your logic is flawed. The American industrial base has been running overseas for more than 30 years. Corporations have been on welfare longer, and it's gotten worse. Whole towns have been destroyed and that's before Obama. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY before.

You can't be that young.

So you like Obama are going to try to blame this all on Bush? After al what happened under Clinton Was Bush's fault. Everything that happened under Bush was Bush's fault, everything that happened under Obama is still Bush's fault.

I said nothing about Bush, or Obama. No wonder you go so far off topic. You can't read. I was actually there to see first hand where manufacturing was heading. I was working hard when you were figuring out what hard work is. That was long before Obama.

But you already know that! :D

Last I heard, Obamas been the president the last 6 years... if anything have gotten worse the last 6 years its his fault.

If someone hasn't found a job the last 6 years...they need to stop applying to be CEO of a company until they have had some experience past washing dishes in a restaurant.

Besides..haven't you been listening to the White House Propaganda...there isn't a recession and the economy is doing great.

I have thrived greatly the last 12 years. So has my family. Sorry you haven't. You only have yourself to blame. Work harder, stop blaming others.

Talk to anyone in business anywhere... I don't know ANY that's saying things have gotten beter in the last 6 years. And I do know quite a few that USED to consider themselves Democrats... but Obama has cured them of that affliction.

They are probably lazy idiots that expect to be give money without working for it. Stop talking to those kinds of people and being mislead. If they were hard workers they wouldn't have time to blame anyone else for what they don't have.

They would be too busy working and not b1tching about how bad things are. That's how you thrive and survive no matter who the freakin' president is. Write that down for future reference. Remember who told you so.

Yeah... like most Democrats tend to be... can't buy condoms... expect them for free... expect food stamps... expect to live tax free, expect free health care.

Incidentally... Self employed business people don't qualify for unemployment... if they get run out of business by some anti-business regulation Obama pushes... they don't get to collect a dime. Muich less spend 2+ years collecting while they pop beers and watch soap operas instead of looking for work.

The unemployed, self employed are also completely ignored by the administration and the so-called unemployment numbers propaganda they wave around after being doctored so much they become worthless.

smoothy 200000 people last month had a job they didn't have the month before, not a huge number but an improvement

We have almost three times that many people coming of age every month. Which means 2/3 of them that recently became adults can't find jobs much less the older people that lost theirs, so things are not even close to the break even point. Plus most of those jobs are part time of low wage jobs, or worse, seasonal jobs.

I think we have to resign ourselves to the fact that full time or long term employment and certainly lifelong employment maybe a thing of the past