Page 23 - 15NOV2019E

e-commerce

tered 13 in February 2018, and a dozen All the closing stores are located near to their stores. The brick and mortar loca-
a year earlier. The British fast-fashion a shopping mall. Nordstrom is closing tions are out of fashion and giving way to
chain Topshop got a star-studded wel- stores in Florida, Virginia, and Rhode digital efforts.
come when it invaded America in 2009, Island.
with celebrities including rapper Jay-Z Shuttering stores or declaring bank- Indian scenario
and supermodel Kate Moss celebrating ruptcy in recent months amidst sagging From just $3.5 billion in 2014, the e-com-
the opening of the first U.S. store in New sales is a pointer to the fact rise of e- merce retail is expected to reach $100 bil-
York. Now, after just 10 years, Topshop commerce outlets has made it harder for lion in 2020 in India! In the year 2009, the
has already made an exit. It wound down traditional retailers to attract customers Indian e-commerce industry achieved
all 11 of its Topshop and Topman stores
in the U.S., in cities that also include
Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami,
and San Diego.
The Gap said that it would close 230
namesake stores over the next two years
as it reported that the brand’s same-store
sales fell 7% during the holiday quarter.
The company also said it would spin off
its Old Navy brand. Performance Bicy-
cle’s parent company, Advanced Sports
Enterprises, filed for bankruptcy protec-
tion in November and later announced
that it would close all 102 of its stores.
Charlotte Russe kicked off closing
sales at 94 stores in February, after the
company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection. Sears Holdings, which owns
Sears and Kmart stores, emerged from
bankruptcy in February after filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in
October.
Destination Maternity plans to close
between 42 and 67 stores this year. Vic-
toria’s Secret said it would close 53 stores
this year, citing a “decline in perfor - “The e-commerce platform is not expected
mance”. Christopher and Banks are clos- to become a platform either for predatory
ing 30-40 stores and JCPenney about 27 pricing or to use muscle power of large
stores. It said it would close 27 stores in capital at low volumes available which
2019, including 18 full-line department allows companies to source cheap, get
stores and 9 home and furniture stores. economies of scale in sourcing and maybe
The department-store chain said same- offer discounts which in some sense throw
store sales fell 4% during the fourth quar- out small retail out of business. We are very
ter. Henri Bendel closed all its stores in clear about it.
January after 123 years in business. “There has been absolutely no change in
Beauty Brands, a regional chain of India’s stance as far as e-commerce
salon and spa superstores said it planned is concerned and in fact, India
to close 25 stores this year. Lowe’s is clos- provides a very stable and predictable
ing 20 stores across 13 states this year. regulatory framework.
Macy’s is closing stores in Wyoming, “India is very clear, considering our domestic political compulsions
Washington, California, New York, Indi- and having about 120-130 million people dependent on small retail
ana, Massachusetts, Virginia, and West which is about 50-60 million small retail shops through the length and
Virginia. J.Crew is closing stores in Geor- breadth of the country providing employment, which means effectively
gia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, addressing the lives of nearly half the population of the country. This
California, and Canada. small retail is a very sensitive subject.”
Kohl’s is closing four stores this year. Piyush Goyal, Ecommerce and Industry Minister

Tehelka / 15 november 2019 23 www.Tehelka.com