If you have a favorite store, you should probably visit it soon since some of the biggest, most popular retail chains in the U.S. are rapidly decaying, and many locations are being shuttered in this very moment. According to UBS, over 50,000 stores are on retailers’ chopping block, and that could completely change America’s economic landscape.
Never before in history have conditions have been so turbulent for companies, and even big names like Rite Aid, Amazon Fresh and Big Lots! are taking extreme measures to try to keep their business alive. However, retail experts seriously doubt the ability of some of this chains to survive the imminent retail collapse.
For example, Best Buy has been hanging by a thread over the past few years and quietly closing more stores each year. Since 2019, over 80 Best Buy locations have disappeared from sight. And earlier this year, the chain announced plans “to close a higher number of stores.” The company did not reveal the total number of closings.
Media reports suggest that at least 600 locations are in financial distress. That is over half of the retailer’s footprint in the U.S. In a BizJournals.com article, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry predicted that supply chain issues, rising labor costs, and continued economic challenges could lead to a major manufacturing slowdown that could ripple through the markets, she said. Best Buy executives said they expected business to continue to taper. Right now, they’re putting their best strategies forward in an attempt to keep the business alive, or at least, part of it.
Similarly, Dollar General is rapidly disappearing from U.S. cities. The discount retailer recently confirmed that it is closing several locations in California, Colorado, Indiana, and Ohio. And the reason may also be the catalyst that drives the entire chain into bankruptcy. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Dollar General continues to expose workers to unsafe conditions.
The U.S. Department inspected a large number of locations and cataloged many serious health safety violations Dollar General has refused to correct. Since 2017, OSHA has issued more than $15 million in fines and cited Dollar General in more than 180 inspections nationwide for numerous “willful, repeat and alarming workplace safety violations related to unsafe conditions.”
“Exposing employees and others to these hazards can be dangerous, especially in an emergency,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “Dollar General is well aware of federal requirements, but they continue to ignore their legal responsibilities to protect their employees at stores throughout the nation.”
The struggling company is now facing another millionaire lawsuit – one that can literally push it over the edge.
At this point, retailers must prove their worth to U.S. customers and show why they deserve a spot in this increasingly competitive industry. Only the best-positioned brands will be able to navigate through the crisis that is developing across the sector, and many will likely die out before the year ends.
The stakes are incredibly high, and no one knows what may happen next in the industry, so take the opportunity to go to your favorite store before a black swan event occurs, drastically changing the scenario from bad to completely disastrous. That’s why in today’s video, we compiled a series of retail stores that are at risk of going dark for good in the coming weeks and months, and some that are already liquidating all of their assets and saying farewell for their customers.
Here’s the list:
- Big Lots!
- Rite Aid
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Party City
- Dollar General
- Tuesday Morning
- CVS
- Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh
- Nordstrom
- Best Buy
- The Children’s Place
- Corner Bakery
- Mattress Firm
- Kirkland’s
- Express
Video and write-up cross-posted from Epic Economist with minor edits.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
