Mourning the Loss of Department Stores: Covid-19 Quickened Its Already Rapid Decline
With the continued news of the far spreading, early implications of Covid-19, it’s just a really tough time. Retail is getting hit, hard. Though I often hear, “It’s just clothes,” I am heartbroken that the hurt economy is crushing down on beloved department stores exponentially.
My love affair for department stores is no secret. I wandered the streets of New York taking picture after picture of the greats. Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodmans, Dillards, JC Penny, Kohls, Macy’s, Newman Marcus, and of course, as per my mother’s request - she didn’t have to twist my arm much - I rode the mirror walled escalators up and down over and over until I got the most special video reveal of the main floor cosmetic counters of the glorious Saks Fifth Avenue. It was titillating. I can almost smell the cornucopia of perfume assaulting my nose. What I would give to be overwhelmed by department store perfumes convalescing right now.
When in Chicago a few years ago, I went up the Sears Tower to relive memories from my childhood, hopped from south side to north side, and cruised all of the Magnificent Mile all while weaving in and out of the giants. Even when I’m in Sin City, the sirens call of the major departments stores in the Fashion Show Mall are answered by yours truly. London, Paris, Seattle; I’ve shopped them all.
What’s to love, fashion friends? The glass, brass, and gold glimmering beneath counters full of high-end goodies for starters and that’s not all. The merchandising, the staff outfits with matching name tags, the multiple storeys, the huge windows, the marble floors, the in-store cafes; it’s simply retail bliss. You can get lost without even trying and then when you do, the thoughtful wayfinding signs help get you back on your way.
I certainly have admired department stores - especially American ones - from a far, and ventured inside when I’m visiting. After pondering the current state, to be honest, I mostly window shopped. With the news that these greats are filing for bankruptcy and closure announcements dropping weekly, I’m getting bummed out. I’m perhaps overly romantic and frankly misty eyed when I think of the empty, dust covered stores with bare mannequins on emptier-by-the-day, formerly bustling city streets.
Trying to understand this new reality from another point of view, I asked myself, “It’s one thing to love and miss a store you believe in, but can I be personally sad about businesses I don’t financially support directly?”
I often yodel from my soap box that they only way we get better products and processes from brands is by supporting the ones we love, and giving the cold shoulder to ones that are not up to par. Consumer demands and feedback help shape the types of products there are available to buy. Simply put, if you don’t shop, click, look at, or spend you hard earned money, eventually that brand will cease to exist. It’s business after all, and you can only operate at a loss for so long.
Turns out, this is true for every business including these great department stores. It’s lovely to admire, but to keep the doors open you need to put your money where your mouth is. A recent article in The New York Times puts the current state very clearly:
Across chains, prices for new merchandise sold via e-commerce have already been slashed by 40 percent in some cases. Order cancellations for the pre-fall season — which would normally have started delivering next month — have been increasing. Some brands said shipments have even been turned away upon delivery to warehouses, and extensions of payment terms are cascading through vendors, who are then forced to negotiate with their own manufacturers, marketing agencies, fulfillment centers and landlords…
“I’ve had a showroom for over 30 years, and we have always used the word ‘partnership,’ when talking about our relationship with the department stores,” said Betsee Isenberg of the showroom 10Eleven, which represents numerous brands such as Vince and ATM. “Through 9/11, through 2008, we worked hand in hand with our retailers. This is the first time the onus has been on the brands — many of which are losing millions and millions of dollars because of the canceled orders. It is just not fair that it is survival of the fittest.” In a new report, McKinsey refers to the situation as “wholesale Darwinism.”
Sure, many changes are required for the modern shopper. I get that things can and will continue to evolve. But it’s a bit sad too. More than one truth can exist at once. Department stores are delicious but the model may be dated past plausible revival. CNBC reports:
Of the victims of the retail upheaval, department stores have been among the hardest hit. Annual sales at U.S. department stores fell 20% from 2017 to 2018, and sales are on pace to drop even further this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
To a degree, the pressure these stores are all facing is the same: as the retail industry has transformed over the past few decades, department stores’ greatest strength, size and scale, have become their greatest weakness. Department stores are the retailers with the biggest footprints, which limits the ability to react…
Today’s shoppers like their shopping personalized: shoes for the working urban woman, pants for the stay-at-home mom. Department stores, though, are mass oriented — they stock colors and fashion most likely to appeal to a broad set. Their vast footprints across the United States mean it’s difficult to tailor products regionally.
It’s all further evidence that our world - be it retail or natural resources - will never be the same. A shift is afoot. It’s our job to keep our cool (most of the time) and find our way in the new normal. Whenever that new normal starts. Until then, if you can please stay home, keep physical distance, and flatten the curve.
Care to join me for a virtual toast to the now late, great department store legends? Pour one out? Cheers to old friends.
