Macy's, JC Penney the traditional US stores on the edge of the financial abyss
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A stop at the great Macy's department store two blocks from Empire State Building is usually part of the tourist activities list in New York.But visitors could have to look for another shopping temple in Manhattan's heart when the pandemic passes.
Macys', also owner of the Bloomingdale's brand, struggles to survive, as many large stores forced to close their premises and send to the unemployment insurance to thousands of employees.
The impact caused by the health crisis is so violent that many experts wonder even if they will recover.
Sales of clothing and accessories stores fell to half (-50.5%) in March according to the Department of Commerce, amid confinement measures to combat the pandemic that could worsen the situation in April.
- Bankruptcy -
"There will be bankruptcies" because "do not need so many big stores, or such gigantic shops," said Robert Burke, expert specialized in Robert Burke Associates.
When you should concentrate on the boreal summer collections, Macy's is more busy to lift billions of dollars to keep afloat, according to banking sources.
The famous store chain had to send to technical unemployment (unemployment unemployment) to most of its 130.000 employees after closing all your stores.
"We lost most of our sales," Macy's explained, which also froze the new hiring and annulled orders.
With many consumers without employment - 26 million people enrolled unemployment subsidies in four weeks since mid -March in the United States - it is certain that the firm will recover.
La agencia calificadora S&P rebajó la nota crediticia de Macy's por considerar que la prolongación del distanciamiento social amenaza a esta empresa.
A bankruptcy cataract cannot be excluded if the boutiques are still closed in the months that come.
JC Penney and Nordstrom stores will be able to resist financially for about eight months, calculated Cowen's consultant.
Peor es el caso de Kohl's, que tiene cinco meses de resto financiero, mientras que otras marcas conocidas como Lord & Taylor ya explora opciones de reestructuración.
Under a huge debt, the great luxury store Neiman Marcus, also owner of Bergdorf Goodman, could be the first piece of dominoes to fall.
Recientemente pagó un vencimiento, pero según S&P "la empresa no honrará futuros vencimientos y buscará reestructurarse fuera o en los tribunales".
In the United States Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Law allows companies to be reformed, often at the expense of thousands of jobs, without the pressure of their creditors.
- Fusion?-
Symbols of the Consumer Society, these stores were the heart of huge shopping centers or "malls" that swarmed in the United States until the online trade explosion.
Su declive, desde hace una década, se vio profundizado por el éxito de Amazon y de la "fast fashion" (H&M y Zara).
In that context, they bet on e-commerce to reinvent themselves, they used spaces of their large stores for yoga courses, beauty corners, bars;But on -site sales are the center of your business.
In 2019, Barneys broke, historical men's fashion reference in New York, while Sears is currently controlled by an investment fund.
L Brands, owner of the famous Victoria's Secret lingerie brand, announced a judicial appeal against a fund that bought it in February, after the buyer announced his will to annul the agreement.
The post crisis landscape is that of a sector composed of less large local, Robert Burke estimates, with brands looking for new sales channels.
"It is the time for the big stores to think about mergers," McKinsey consultancy advised in a report of April.
© 2020 AFP
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