Buh Bye!

We see the figures that are put out by the government that need to be revised down each period... retail stores and malls are shuttering at an alarming rate. The "Centralized" business model is being shunned and even revolted against... but not without taking it's toll on the small businesses (and now large).

It began with more folks are cutting out the small retail shops, seeking Centralized Shopping and Business where one stp or website served all instead. Then they began cutting out the middleman altogether and buying direct online or just going without. It seems the tide

Sad images from around the world

Personal Account

I used to own several retail and residential properties, in the commercial sector, they ranged from office condo, to strip malls to stand alone buildings located inner city. I began to see the larger businesses like Lucent (in my area)... being converted to office space and government offices... that was the sign for me to rethink my strategy.

They could offer dirt cheap rents, so all the small businesses moved into these mall like structures (they believed would make their exposure greater, decrease rent and upside their profits) leaving the area strip malls to get emptier and more depressed. Well they were wrong, wrong, wrong. After the first term was up on their lease, the prices soared, with triple net increases (Tax, Insurance and Maintenance), do you know the costs of maintaining a 400,000 SF building is??? Others went to area Malls as well, but it did not turn out well as the prices surged... many, including small businesses I used to rent to, went bankrupt.

Personal Account 2

As I was a real estate investor and will be again at the right time (I even sold my beach front home to rent a harborside apartment, until the market is at it's upcoming low tide), so I keep my eye on the commercial and residential sectors.

As example I am looking to build another Martial Arts School, to stop the heavy international travel. As such I am looking in my town for retail rental space... these landlord people are crazy. I was watching a certain storefront as it was empty for over a year and made an appointment to see it.

As a new business startup it was small at about 800 square feet (starting private instructional basis). The unit was in major neglect, they had not even cleaned or kept it clean for showings. There were huge cobwebs hanging even in the entrance (that will tell us how long it was vacant and not even shown). Well after looking and pointing out the problems of the unit (for negotiation purposes), I asked about the terms... whoa!

The broker stated the per square foot price, that it was triple net lease (see above for description), they needed a personal and financial background check, they wanted my social security number with personal guarantee and a 5 year lease! Idiots...I said no there is too much out there and that I would call back in a year or two to see if they came to their senses yet.

Well it is about two years now since I saw the place, still empty as it is down the street and I walk past it frequently. SoI may be calling again to see if they modified their failed approach and requirements... but this is not the only property in town like this... I have a pick and will continue to wait until I get a deal I like on my terms not theirs (which I know is close and will get more desperate as time goes on).

PS. It is far better to have renters in at dirt cheap prices than empty... the run down on a building from non use is far faster than with use, leaving greater expense and continually degrading showing potential.

Leaving the empty spaces in the malls and larger facilities.

Mall

This larger model carries to much cost, even the bigger businesses like Macy's , Sears, Nordstroms, etc. are leaving as the consumer no longer supports them. The rental costs as well as the triple net costs are

• One of my tenants abandoned his lease in my building and started in a local mall...costs choked him and he folded.
• One of my friends opened a Kiosk at a local mall at $3,000 per month plus 6% gross! This was just for the Christmas Season, she sold all her product and made no profit, actually cost her a lot.

Funny Story/s - within the tragedy.

My wife just ordered a building block toy set for one of our grandsons online via Walmart. Three days before the Birthday Party she received a package from Walmart... a posturepedic mattress... not quite what was ordered!

My wifes friend said she had ordered a baby mobile and crib bedding online also from Walmart recently... she received an empty spray bottle!

The Big Boys first killed Mom and Pop Industries... now they have cannibalized their own stores with online shopping... now they can not even service their new model properly... for whom the bell tolls next?

Where is it all going

Well it appears quite obvious when we look at history... they say "is different this time"... PSHAW

We are in a depression, not recession, not contraction... a full blown unreported depression... act accordingly. Numbers and experiences do not lie, only the reporting of them does... so really look around at what is happening (especially in your locale).

Then look at national and international realities (not the stock markets). Here is an exercise, they say the economy is booming, they are pumping the stock market to illustrate this... yet we see stores, big multi decade (and in some instances century old) big businesses like Sears, Macy's, see list below (from www.charismanews.com):

1. Sears lost 580 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone, and they are scheduled to close at least 50 more "unprofitable stores" by the end of this year.

2. It is being reported that Sports Authority will file for bankruptcy in March. Some news reports have indicated that around 200 stores may close, but at this point it is not known how many of their 450 stores will be able to stay open.

3. For decades, Kohl's has been growing aggressively, but now it plans to shutter 18 stores in 2016.

4. Target has just finished closing 13 stores in the United States.

5. Best Buy closed 30 stores last year, and it says that more store closings are likely in the months to come.

6. Office Depot plans to close a total of 400 stores by the end of 2016.

7. Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, including 154 inside the United States.

8. K-Mart is closing down more than two dozen stores over the next several months.

9. J.C. Penney will be permanently shutting down 47 more stores after closing a total of 40 stores in 2015.

10. Macy's has decided that it needs to shutter 36 stores and lay off approximately 2,500 employees.

11. The Gap is in the process of closing 175 stores in North America.

12. Aeropostale is in the process of closing 84 stores all across America.

13. Finish Line has announced that 150 stores will be shutting down over the next few years.

Why?

Overheated costs have a corrosive effect on a retail/wholesale business, government taxation and mandates... the list goes on as money loses value and governments and banks fake numbers to prevent bank runs and sudden collapse:

• Rent
• Supplies and goods
• Utility bills
• Insurance
• Interest
• Advertising
• Accounting fees
• Legal fees
• Labor burden/costs
• Repairs/Maintenance
• Marketing and communications (even telephone costs)
• Sales and Buyer travel expenses
• Utilities

So as debt escalates, governments print to hide their fraud and stupidity, reality sets in... we will see that history is already repeating these epic fails:

Wiemar, Germany 1923

Zimbabwe 2009

Venezuela 2017

USA 2016

Then we see the velocity of money numbers contracting steadily (while the fake stock market rises exponentially... by the way this is called hyperinflation folks, they are hiding it in the stock market so you should see astronomical numbers just as we saw in these other historical cases)... just like Weimar, just like Zimbabwe, just like, Venezuela and now even the USA. Could this rise be inflation compared to wealth creation or national prosperity?

This Time It Can Be Different

Well this time luckily it can be different for those woke, each calamity has it's warning signs, then panic, then bank runs then boom. But there is a growing movement to protect oneself and family the pain, starvation and despair... people are putting money in cryptos now, not the bank or the businesses with the products we do not need or want any longer.

Bitcoin, 2017

So what is the difference

Looking at these charts it would appear as if even Bitcoin is hyperinflating... but what we see is a bank run instead to a money outside the bank and governmental control.

Since the Dow is showing a hyperinflation (from bank and government intervention), Bitcoin is showing the peoples run on the banks. It used to be Silver and Gold that people sought for protection, now there is a quicker, easier, borderless alternative.

Hope for a great new future

This is not all doom and gloom as I see great potentials starting in the future and actually already in motion. We need to simply see the realities and what is happening to be able to protect and position ourselves for this ongoing transformation.

So while conventional centralized life and business models languish and die, a new economy is being born in decentralized Mom and Pop lifestyle will come back... and faster, smarter and lean.

We just can not see it yet as it is off the radar in decentralized glory.

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Good Health – Evan Pantazi #Kyusho

Image Credit: nydailynews, bensbargains, news.vice