The economy of America affects not only business owners, but every single person living within the country. When someone needs to purchase an item, they visit the local grocery store or mall. When stores close, however, the people living in that area need to find another place to purchase their goods. Recently, many large companies have been closing down their stores all over the country. Sears Holdings Corporation is participating in this nationwide closure of stores, which is attracting considerable attention from American citizens. The closing of these stores will affect many people, in perhaps both positive and negative ways. Business owners, building owners, employees, and average citizens will all be impacted by the closing of these …show more content…
Sears Holdings Corporation claims that after reviewing their store portfolio, they have decided to shut down various stores throughout the United States. The company has been trying to cut costs, in order to continue making profits. These changes are being made based on leases and poor performances of certain stores. A company spokesman named Howard Riefs assures America that the amount of stores closing only makes up a small percentage of the overall number of stores. Sears Holdings Corporation has not disclosed how many stores will be shut down, nor the location of any of these stores. The company owns both Sears and Kmart; at the end of October they owned 952 Kmarts and 735 Sears. Although these closings will involve both stores, they will mostly be affecting the Kmarts. There is no specific date set for the closures yet. Clearly, the plans for these closings are not …show more content…
The local economies could be heavily impacted by the loss of a Sears or Kmart if the town is very small. The employees who lose their jobs will end up spending less, which will affect the economy. The CEO and other wealthy individuals associated with Sears Holdings may be more hesitant to invest their money, which may make the economy more stagnant. The consumers may end up saving or losing money, depending on the other stores in the area. If the other stores are cheaper, the consumers will be forced to spend less on a cheaply made, lower quality product. If the nearby stores are more expensive, the consumers will end up spending less money elsewhere because they have to spend more on the products they used to get cheaper at Sears or Kmart. These stores closing could also have a serious effect on the shops nearby. If Sears disappears from a mall, the other stores may take this as a sign that the mall is failing and also remove their businesses. If everyone flocked to a shopping center to visit Sears and then it disappeared, the other surrounding businesses could lose money and have to shut down as well. Clearly, the closing of one store can have an enormous effect on local economies and on the everyday lives of American