The Limited--one of the original mall-based women's specialty chains--has just closed its 250 stores from coast to coast and will sell online only. Founded more than 50 years ago, the Limited at one time had hundreds of mall stores and was hugely popular, but that was before the Internet. The retailer's private equity owner said in a statement: "In an increasingly challenging environment for mall-based retail and women's apparel, we are very disappointed that the company has had to make the difficult decision to close its retail locations."
Sears also made an announcement this week: It's selling the well-known Craftsman brand to competitor Stanley Black & Decker. Sears was one of the pioneers of catalog shopping in the 19th century, and Craftsman is one of the three brand jewels in its crown (along with Kenmore and Diehard). Selling a crown jewel to raise money will likely only postpone the inevitable. Sears has been trying for years to strategize its way out of an expensive legacy retailing situation. Sears is closing yet more stores, having already agreed to rent parts of open stores to other retailers (like Primark).
Macy's announced that it's laying off 10,000 workers and closing 100 stores after a worse-than-anticipated holiday season. The company stated that the stores being closed were "unproductive or are no longer robust shopping destinations because of changes in the local retail shopping landscape."
What is the future of legacy retailing in a world where consumer behavior is evolving along with technology? More posts on that topic soon.
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