Axios: store closures don't mean retail is dead

The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) said in ia recent report that in the second quarter of the year, 185 jewelry businesses had ceased operations, constituting a 21 percent drop compared to the second quarter of 2018.

Among those 185 closures, 135 were retailers and 36 wholesalers and 14 jewelry manufacturers.  In general, the rate of companies closing is slowing down. JBT noted that at the end of June 2019, 26,252 stores were open for business, compared to 26,909 in June 2018.

Looking at the bigger picture, in the USA, store closures are heading for a record number. With retail store closure surpassing 7,400, more are expected as household names such as Sears and Victoria's Secret are closing their doors at malls across the US.

The Axios agency, however, quoted property broker CBRE saying that "the fire-and-brimstone, death-of-the-mall narratives are exaggerating what's actually happening in the retail and real estate spaces. Certainly, the mall sector is having some problems, but the full picture also includes an overall gain in demand across all retail formats, and a gradual repositioning of malls as mixed-use projects."

CBRE's latest data shows that "net absorption" - meaning the measure of the amount of new space leased to retailers in a quarter versus what was vacated - has been on a clear downturn over the past few years.

"U.S. retail real estate as a whole is healthy, especially grocery anchored centers," CBRE Global President of Retail Anthony Buono told Axios. "Many established retailers are effectively harnessing online sales to combine with their in-store sales, and many online-only brands now are opening physical stores. Average rent across the whole of U.S. retail real estate has risen for 22 consecutive quarters."