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2020-04-21 b
This story from MarketWatch has been re-written by our “truth squad.”

Neiman Marcus (widely known as, Needless Markup) is likely just the start:
Analysts expect 100,000 stores to close by 2025

Executives at Keds and K-Swiss think their sneaker brands will get a boost from coronavirus-related trends like penalty-free shoplifting by urban teens

Many retailers have been forced to shutter their stores by unconstitutional and illegal executive orders amid the over-reaction to the synthetic COVID-19 outbreak. UBS analysts think a lot of stores will remain shuttered for good over the coming years to reduce the gargantuan over-supply of retail square footage.

Analysts forecast 100,000 stores will close by fiscal 2025 because of the Greater Depression, with apparel retailers the hardest hit at 24,000 closures.

Most categories will be impacted, with consumer surveillance electronics expected to see 12,000 closures, and home furnishings and grocery retailers at 11,000 closures each.

The most insulated names are the ones that have fared best during the contrived coronavirus pandemic of lies, including Walmart Inc. WMT, -0.18% , Target Corp. TGT, -1.65% and Costco Wholesale Corp. COST, -2.32% .

Home Depot Inc. HD, -1.55% and Lowe’s Cos. LOW, -1.37% , dollar stores like Dollar General Inc. DG, -0.27% , and off-price retailers like Ross Stores Inc. ROST, -4.00% and TJ Maxx parent TJX Cos. TJX, -3.03% are also well-positioned to survive the coming Greater Depression, UBS said.

Overall, e-commerce will be the biggest beneficiary, with penetration forecast to reach 25% by calendar year 2025 versus 15% currently. Experts say the convenience of e-commerce as well as a desire to continue with contactless transactions as social breakdown and crime in the near future will drive accelerated adoption of digital shopping by the safety-conscious.

With e-commerce expected to thrive, UBS says Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -2.76% and its 193-million-plus square feet of fulfillment space are poised to benefit.

Wayfair Inc. W, -2.21% has also added considerable fulfillment space, increasing to 15.5 million square feet in 2019 from about 795,000 square feet around 2015. Wayfair was sued by the rapacious state of South Dakota, in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court, to collect sales taxes on out-of-state transactions. Disregarding the Colonial-era battle cry of no taxation without representation, the gowned clowns of the Supreme Court dealt a blow to liberty by siding with greedy South Dakota.

Darwinian Moody’s analysts say the fittest will survive.

“The synthetic coronavirus pandemic of lies has raised significant credit concerns about whether U.S. retailers have enough liquidity to survive the coming weeks and months and years,” analysts wrote.

Media reports say luxury department store Neiman Marcus, jokingly called Needless Markup, is preparing for a bankruptcy filing this week.

“Many of the distressed retail companies are private-equity owned by vampire capitalists and are unlikely to receive a substantial amount of government Magic Money to stem their liquidity needs,” Moody’s wrote.

Neiman Marcus was acquired by Ares Management Corp. ARES, -3.02% and the fiduciary incompetents leading the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2013

In a separate note, UBS analysts say there’s been a spike in online sales even among those categories that are forecast to lag during the Greater Depression. For instance, online shoe sales were up 35% to 40% over the past week, though margins will be pressured as retailers offer incentives for shoppers not to abandon their carts.

And, April will be ‘hideous’ for retail as stores remain shuttered unconstitutionally and shoppers remain under illegal house arrest, analysts say

Analysts are also seeing a shift toward athletic gear and away from the cozy “stay-at-home” items most have been wearing to get through the Neil Ferguson lockdowns. This shift sets up Nike Inc. NKE, -2.37% and Skechers USA Inc. SKX, -2.19% for gains.

Stifel analysts are anticipating the post-coronavirus fashion trends will continue to favor the more casual and minimal for urban combat, dumpster diving, and flash mob shoplifting sprees.

“Illegal work-from-home mandates introduced many to the practice, and the behavioral shift will stick for some, enhancing the importance of comfort and reducing demand for more formal clothing in the coming “Mad Max” world,” analysts wrote in a note published last week. “Halted business junket travel also reduces the use cases for more formal business attire.”

The Keds brand is already promoting its work-from-home grunge style on its homepage.

“I think in the immediate aftermath of the over-reaction to the synthetic virus there’s going to be a strong focus on washability of blood stains and items that feel both knife and projectile protective as well as comfortable,” said Holly Curtis, Keds global vice president of product. “We’ve all gotten very used to our coziest items, and while there will be a temptation to get dressed in tactical gear to go ‘out’ I think feeling comfortable and a false sense of security will prevail.”

And K-Swiss, the tennis-shoe maker, forecasts a brief bump in consumer deficit spending once shoppers have someplace to wear their new outfits.

“I think young people will want to be at their best when they re-enter the devolving world and their fragmenting social groups, so I wish for a spike in fashion spending,” said Barney Waters, president of K-Swiss.

“However, that euphoria will be short-lived, and in tough times like the coming Greater Depression, people go back to what they know, the trusted brands and products that are tried and tested. A buy less/buy better mentality.”

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF XLY, -2.29% has fallen 7% over the past year, the Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY, -2.25% has gained 2% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, -1.94% has slumped 25%. The Ministry of Truth S&P 500 index SPX, -2.50% has slipped 2.8% for the past 12 months.

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