Brad

July 30 update: I merged the individual store threads into this one main thread. So just post new closings you hear about in this thread rather than have individual threads for each store.

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/7/21314767/walmart-plus-grocery-delivery-amazon-prime-membership-loyalty-program-walmart Walmart plans to launch a new subscription service later this month called Walmart+ that will cost $98 a year. It will include perks like same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early access to product deals.

Now looking like the first week of October (and Q4): https://www.pymnts.com/amazon-commerce/2020/amazon-prime-day-tentatively-set-for-october/

No dropouts in June. Still at 42 members

Nobody dropped out in May. Still at 42. Going to have to make the pins a little more "generic" because most reputable places want a 100-pin minimum or will charge so much for 50 that I can get 100 for almost the same price. So I'll likely have extras to give out to family/friends and didn't want them to say "prize club" or anything like that.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jc-penney-sycamore-bankruptcy-exclusi-idUSKBN23C2V9 Private equity firm looking to buy JCP. Because private equity has such a good track record in retail...

List of the first group of 154 stores that will be closing: https://companyblog.jcpnewsroom.com/storeclosings/

Halfway to Black Friday. Yay?

Today is 7 months to Christmas. Tomorrow is 6 months to Thanksgiving. Wednesday is 6 months to Black Friday.

If their distribution network can handle it, they'd be smart to just have a long 4-month string of sales starting with Prime Day and going through BF. They'd get a jump on everyone and you'd have people doing holiday shopping much earlier than normal.

WSJ reporting today that Prime Day has been pushed back again, to September (just 2 months before BF).

No shirts this year. Noodle hats it is!

I don't envy the retailers who have to make major Q4 decisions (promotion/sale planning, purchase quantities, etc) now with no possible knowledge of how things will be by November.

JCPenney's bankruptcy filing today is another big hit for the retail industry. Pier 1, J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, Modell's and others have done the same in the last few months with more likely to follow. As we approach the halfway point in the calendar, what does everyone envision for Black Friday this year? Obviously everything can and likely will change in the next 6 months, but as of now, what do you think happens when November rolls around? Is there any chance of a "normal" Black Friday?

JCPenney files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection https://ir.jcpenney.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/613/jcpenney-to-reduce-debt-and-strengthen-financial-position

Down to 42 after 4 people dropped out last month. Hopefully I can find somewhere that will do that low of a minimum for pins, otherwise I may have to call an audible and get a different prize for this year.

Great news... not https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/14/21221326/amazon-affiliate-marketing-links-commerce-commission-cuts Might have to put up a donation box on the site if these commission cuts continue...

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-day-2020-delayed-until-at-least-august-2020-4

240 days to go... Thinking that Black Friday could look very different this year. Unless by November the virus is not spreading that much anymore (and we don't get a second wave after restrictions are lifted this summer), I can't see retailers encouraging people to gather for massive Black Friday sales. Rumors are Home Depot won't be advertising their Spring Black Friday this year (although the deals might still be there, just unadvertised). Target seems to have temporarily paused their printed weekly ads and just have a smaller online version on their site. There could be many stores that don't do printed ads this year and just have online sales similar to their Cyber Monday sales where we won't know what's going to be on sale ahead of time. It's all up in the air. Black Friday may end up being a smaller online-only event. If I were the head of a retailer, I'd be planning on Q4 being online-focused and getting extra warehouse space, planning on hiring in that area and preparing for a much higher percentage of Q4 sales to come from online compared to previous years. Even if things improve and they can have traditional BF sales, there will still be a big chunk of people that will want to avoid crowds this year and do more shopping online. Many of us primarily do BF shopping online because it's easier but now it may be the only realistic option this year. Hopefully I'm wrong and things are back to normal by then but at least when it comes to this site I'm preparing for both scenarios. What does everyone think? How normal will BF be this year?

46 members - we had one drop out last month

Might as well keep it going. What else do they have to show?

Down to 47 members after 3 dropped out last month

Update 8/12: Going to merge a bunch of these bankruptcy and store closing threads into this main thread so the BF forum isn't too depressing lol. - Macy's to close 125 stores, cut 2,000 corporate jobs https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/04/macys-to-close-125-stores-sees-480-million-in-restructuring-costs-to-2000-corporate-jobs.html

Down to an even 50 members after 5 dropped out in January.

6 members in danger of dropping out if they don't post in the next couple of days...