GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: Precursors To A Global Financial Collapse - Over 100 Walmart Stores Shut Down For Good In The United States In Small Towns And Rural Areas; A "Double Blow" For Many Frustrated Residents; Will Impact THOUSANDS Of Employees; Company Shares Down 25 PERCENT Over The Past 12 Months!

February 2, 2016 - UNITED STATES - More than 100 Walmarts around the country shut their doors Thursday for good -- many in small towns and rural areas with few other shopping options.

The retailer cites a long-term strategy shift and financial performance. Company shares are down 25 percent over the past 12 months, and the nationwide closures will also impact thousands of employees, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud.

"It's maddening because Walmart chose to do this," said resident Retha Thompson, who feels betrayed by Walmart's decision to leave Whitewright, Texas just 12 months after its grand opening. "They chose to come here and then when they put the other grocery store out of business, they want to close down and leave. I'm mad."

She's talking about "Pettit's," the mom and pop grocery that was a mainstay in this small town for nearly 60 years.

"Business - it just quit coming," Larry Deeds, the store's co-owner said.

Pettit's closed about nine months after Walmart opened.

"It's almost enough to bring a tear to your eye to see all these shelves empty," said Will Pettit, who worked here since he was 16.

When Walmart moved in last year, Whitewright's Mayor Allen West said a little competition from Walmart was a good thing. But now that it's leaving, "it's going to hurt the city financially, it's going to hurt the citizens economically and not good for their mental status," the mayor said.

Walmart is closing 154 stores in 27 states, many of them in small towns. In a statement to CBS News, Walmart said:

"The decision to close some of our stores was not easy and we share in the communities' disappointment. We're always searching for opportunities to serve more customers throughout the country -- especially those in underserved communities. We're now focused on where we can help impacted communities through our plans for charitable giving and expediting the process to work with potential buyers for these locations."

"Communities are finally getting a look at not only the effects of when Walmart comes into town, but also when they leave," said Bloomberg news reporter Shannon Pettypiece. "And I think that is a double blow for a lot people."

But Deeds said Walmart doesn't deserve all the blame.

"I lost some customers that had been coming to me for 20 or more years," Deeds said.

And now that Walmart is closed, Retha Thompson will drive half an hour to the closest grocery store.

"It won't be Walmart. I'm done with Walmart," Thompson said.

Two of Thompson's daughters-in-law were Walmart employees. They were offered either a severance package or the opportunity to relocate to work at another store, as goes for thousands of other employees across the country. - CBS News.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: Precursors To A Global Financial Collapse - Giant Retailer Target To Cut Thousands Of Jobs In Restructuring!

ustomers walk into a Target store at Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware.(Photo: Eileen Blass, USAT)

March 3, 2015 - NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - Target plans to invest billions of dollars this year streamlining its business, opening new stores that are more personalized to local areas and appealing to customers who are increasingly younger and more diverse.

The retailer will also cut several thousand jobs in the next two years as part of a cost savings plan, the company said Tuesday at a meeting for financial analysts and investors

Target shares are up slightly in after hours trading to $78.09. The announcements come nearly a week after Target said same-store sales for 2014 increased 1.3% and 3.8% in the fourth quarter.

CEO Brian Cornell and other executives outlined the retailer's business priorities, which are focused on making specific product categories more stylish and trendy and encouraging shopping across digital channels and stores.

Target has been working to reposition itself as a shopping destination after several years of missteps that saw the brand lose its edge on fashionable home and apparel. Cornell was brought on last summer after former CEO Gregg Steinhafel left the company in the wake of 2013's holiday-season data breach.

Since then, Cornell has helped Target identify top priorities and drive investment in categories like style, baby and kids, and wellness, which accounted for more than a quarter of the brand's sales last year. Those will continue to be the brand's main merchandising priorities as the retailer invests up to $2.2 billion this year in an effort to grow sales, traffic and brand loyalty.

About $1 billion of that will go toward technology and supply chain management. Last year, Target expanded its buy online, pick up in store program and the number of stores that double as shipping warehouses, cutting down on shipping costs and delivering orders faster. The company also plans to save around $2 billion in the next two years by making its business operations more efficient and reorganizing employees at its headquarters in Minneapolis; that includes eliminating several thousand jobs.

"We've got to make sure we're a simpler organization," Cornell said. "We have to be more agile, more nimble."

One of the company's top strategies is focusing more on its smaller format City Target and Target Express stores, which allow Target to make stores more personalized to specific markets, Cornell said. It's opening eight new express stores this year after piloting a location in Minneapolis last year. Stores will also start experimenting with a new mix of food in the grocery aisles, bringing in more fresh food, local brands and developing a recipe portal to help customers plan healthy meals.

While Cornell emphasized that food will not be a "signature category," it still drives traffic and sales, accounting for more than 20% of business in stores.

"Overall we lack a clear positioning (on food)," said Kathee Tesija, chief merchandising and supply chain officer. She said food isn't why customers come to Target and "that has to change."

Target wants to position its brands to appeal to Millennial families and Hispanics in particular, two groups that are increasingly making up its customer base. That means bolstering its mobile apps and digital experiences in stores. Three quarters of Target customers start shopping on a mobile device, Tesija said, and last year mobile traffic grew 44%. - USA Today.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: Precursors To A Global Financial Collapse - RadioShack Files For Bankruptcy; 1,784 Stores Will Close By March 31st!

Wikimedia Commons

February 8, 2015 - UNITED STATES - On February 5, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy.

As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, the company is going to close a number of its stores, while others will survive as part of an agreement with Sprint to create a "store within a store."

In court documents posted by RadioShack, the company and its creditors detailed plans for which RadioShack stores will close and when.

In all, the company plans to close at least 1,784 stores by March 31, with the closures coming in three waves, or tranches.

The first tranche of closures includes 162 stores and is set to be complete by February 17.

The second tranche includes 986 stores set to be closed by February 28.

And the third tranche includes 636 stores slated to be closed by March 31.

There's some language in a court document here that says with notice by February 18, certain of the second tranche stores can have their closing date extended to the March 31 deadline.

But either way: 1,784 RadioShack's will be gone in less than two months. - Business Insider.

RadioShack Begins Wave of Liquidation Sales

This weekend will see the start of a final round of sales at 1,700 RadioShack stores, the first wave slated for liquidation as the consumer-electronics retailer tries to cut down its chain in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Judge Brendan Shannon authorized the beginning of store closure sales Friday, less than 24 hours after the Fort Worth, Texas, company sought bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

RadioShack argued it couldn’t afford to lose a weekend of liquidation sales, especially with consumers geared up to find bargains and creditors anxious for cash.

With a fight over its bankruptcy financing brewing, RadioShack brokered a deal that will allow it to spend its cash over the weekend, as it launches a double-barreled restructuring strategy. While 2,100 stores have been marked for liquidation, RadioShack is attempting to sell off the remaining retail outlets, saving part of the business.

Judge Shannon granted interim authority for cash use, closing sales and other emergency measures at RadioShack’s bankruptcy court debut, but warned no final court orders will be signed until unsecured creditors have had their say over the company’s strategy. Bondholders owed $330 million, trade creditors owed $124 million, and landlords owed $30 million, for openers, will form ranks over the coming week to weigh in formally on RadioShack’s future.

RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing Thursday followed years of sliding sales and uncertainty about the fate of the aging chain, which pioneered selling technology to consumers but was overtaken by new industry players.

One of those players, wireless provider Sprint Corp. , could be the key to a salvage operation for some 1,750 RadioShack stores. An alliance agreement with Sprint, which is being put into final form, will be available to any buyer of RadioShack outlets that the wireless provider finds acceptable.

Source: RadioShack Corp. Note: Five locations in Puerto Rico could not be mapped.

RadioShack is expected to return to bankruptcy court for a debate over whether it needs to sign up for $285 million worth of Chapter 11 financing, under an arrangement that lender Cerberus Capital Management says is pricey and unnecessary.

Sprint has agreed to operate stores-within-stores for hedge fund Standard General, which is the proposed opening bidder at auction where RadioShack will invite competing offers. The deal isn’t exclusive, though, and Sprint can extend the alliance opportunity to any bidder.

“More than 10” potential bidders have signed up to review the data in confidence and will weigh whether to make a bid for RadioShack outlets, a company lawyer told the judge at Friday’s court hearing.

While falling sales and supplier worries restricted RadioShack’s liquidity, the company has enough money to implement its bankruptcy strategy, Cerberus said. When it filed for bankruptcy, RadioShack had $44 million in cash. Thanks to store closing sales, that figure is expected to rise so that by the end of February, RadioShack will have more than $118 million in cash in its coffers, according to Cerberus.

The proposed bankruptcy financing carries more than $6 million in fees, and gives RadioShack only about $13 million worth of new borrowing power, Cerberus said in court papers. Most of the loan is a refinancing of existing top-ranking debt, to lenders that include Standard General, the proposed buyer.

Cerberus is owed $100 million by RadioShack. Another lender, Salus Capital Partners LLC, is owed $150 million. Salus has agreed to go along with the bankruptcy financing, but Cerberus says the loan provides “no meaningful benefit” to RadioShack.

RadioShack is expected to defend its financing arrangements when the loan comes up for review. - WSJ.