Revelations 13:16-18 “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”

Important Takeaways:

• 50k stores could close in five years due to a slowdown in consumer spending, ecommerce demand
• More than 50,000 retail locations could permanently shut their doors over the next five years, according to UBS analysts. Those closures would cut the current U.S. store count of about 940,000 by around 5% by the end of 2027, according to the analysts.
• A slowdown in consumer spending and tighter credit, coupled with a rise in e-commerce penetration, is expected to sharply accelerate store closures, with mom-and-pop shops most at risk given their lack of capital, according to a research note from a team led by UBS Equity Research Analyst Michael Lasser.
• UBS warned that a protracted recession could damper sales growth and cause upward of 70,000 to 90,000 store closures.
• The number of shuttered stores is “already up significantly” in 2023 compared to last year, due to heavy hitters like Bed Bath & Beyond, Foot Locker and bankrupt Tuesday Morning trimming their footprints.
• CEO Doug Wood of Oxford Industries unit Tommy Bahama told FOX Business he isn’t surprised by the UBS report, saying this is a “natural part of the retail cycle.”
• “You get your best apples when you prune the tree,” he said. “That’s how I look at it … you’re going to prune any underperforming stores that are not meeting consumer or market demands, does help the overall market.”

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