Struggling retailers hope for a Christmas miracle – By Courtenay Brown (Axios) / Oct 18 2020
Retailers on the brink are counting on what’s possibly the most uncertain holiday season ever for a last shot at survival.
Why it matters: Giants like Amazon and Walmart (plus those that have benefited from work-from-home needs) are thriving. For others, the all-important shopping season is unfolding against the bleakest backdrop for the industry in years.
The backstory: The pandemic — and the economic cratering that accompanied it —intensified a long, slow industry decline that’s been underway for the past decade.
- The sector is on pace to top the worst year for retail bankruptcies on record: 2010, when the industry saw a post-financial crisis shakeout.
- Some (like Century21) recently filed for bankruptcy and plan to shutter stores — they couldn’t hold out for what’s typically the most lucrative part of the year.
- Retailers have shuttered more stores this year than ever before, according to data from BDO, cited by the Wall Street Journal.
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