The face of retail is constantly changing. Remember MCI, Blockbuster, Borders, Circuit City and PanAm? With each, they were dominant in their field yet failed. Looking at the current retailing landscape, there are some companies thriving, others failing and others scaling back.
Amazon is one of the clear winners with their success coming at the expense of many businesses that employ a lot of people such as Best Buy and Barnes & Noble.
Verizon, AT&T and Apple are technology-heavy businesses experiencing strong growth at the expense of smaller cellular companies and phone manufacturers.
Among traditional retailers, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Whole Foods, 7-11, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Big Lots, Chick-fil-A and 5 Guys Burger are all growing rapidly despite a less than robust economic recovery.
Each of these successful businesses have found ways to stay ahead of consumer trends. Each deliver products and services at prices desired by the shoppers they desire.
A number of other companies are expected to fail or be acquired in 2013. Leading the pack is American Airlines. While management states that they will emerge from bankruptcy as a stronger and more nimble airline, most analysts believe that US Airways will be successful in acquiring them.
One of the most amazing failures has been Research in Motion (RIM). They are rolling out Blackberry 10 in hopes of countering the breathtaking defection of business users to Apple or Android phones. Most likely, the new smartphones are too little, too late as RIM’s market share has fallen from 44% to 10% over the last five years. Expectations are for an acquisition of the brand by Microsoft, HTC or Amazon.
Another casualty in the cell phone wars is MetroPCS. They are finding it increasingly difficult to compete against Verizon and AT&T. With T-Mobile and Sprint also in need for more subscribers, expect one of them to acquire MetroPCS this year.
Remember, ‘Ding, dong, Avon calling’? Troubled by falling sales, an investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, SEC reporting violations and numerous operational problems, it is expected that the brand will either fail or be acquired this year.
With 0.2% of the auto market, Suzuki is poised to go the way of Saab and Daewoo. Plagued by low consumer quality numbers, the company is trying to bait buyers into their showrooms with 72 month 0% financing. It is not working.
While those are a few of the companies facing the most dire of futures, there are many others scaling back significantly due to more nimble competition and changing consumer buying trends.
JC Penney anticipates closing nearly 35% of their stores due to years of under investment in their stores, poor locations and an unsuccessful move from a deep discount shop to an everyday low price retailer. Year over year sales are down 37%.
Another fading retailer is Sears/KMart. Like JC Penny, they are plagued by under investment in their business for years along with suboptimal locations and products and pricing that are not competitive with Target, Walmart and online retailers. They will close 20% of their locations in 2013.
Barnes & Noble seems to be heading the way of Borders despite the roll-out of the Nook. Up to 30% of their 689 stores may close this year. Best Buy is close on their heels with 25% of their stores slated for closure. Their problem is that many customers inspect products at Best Buy before going online or to discounters like Walmart.
The one thing we can all count on is change. Nothing stays the same. Today’s cutting edge technology may be tomorrow’s typewriter. Change creates great opportunities for some and heartburn for others. The challenge is staying ahead of the curve and remaining relevant. This applies to businesses and their employees alike.
