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U.S. NEWS Thursday 15 June 2017
Chain store closing can be blow, blessing for small business

By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG harder to make itself more
AP Business Writer visible to shoppers after
NEW YORK (AP) — When Sears vacated parts of its
big retail chains close stores in malls in Freehold,
stores, it can be a blow or New Jersey, and Danbury,
a blessing for small busi- Connecticut, CEO Eyal
nesses near the shuttered Levy says. The retailer had
merchants. a 10 percent sales slide
Many shoppers gravitate while the Sears space was
to a smaller store when vacant, and also has had
one of the big players shuts lower sales since a J.C.
down, says Aric Shlifka, the Penney store shut in Natick,
owner of Kiddles Sports in Massachusetts two years
Lake Forest, Illinois. The de- ago.
mise of the Sports Authority So it has increased its ad-
last year has contributed vertising, offering its chairs
to a 5 percent increase in to mall operators for events
business for him since then, like children’s story hours.
and he’s noticed more “We had to be more ac-
demand for athletic shoes tive. We couldn’t rely on
and bicycles in particular. mall foot traffic,” Levy says.
“I feel mass/chain store In this Friday, Jun. 9, 2017, photo, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? business owner James Williams gets ready to On the flip side, when a
closings scare people, and load a store mannequin into a truck at the business, in Burbank, Calif. Removing the contents of new tenant moves into the
make them realize how a store is just one part of the job, says Williams. His company also donates usable equipment like big, empty space, sales at
vacuum cleaners to charities and takes furniture and fixtures to businesses that will recycle ev-
many jobs and tax dol- erything that’s usable. Williams estimates that he’s handled about two store closings a year during smaller shops pick up as
lars are lost and want to the nearly 12 years he’s owned the franchise. But there’s also a downside for his business when a shoppers return to that part
support the local retailers store closes...he’s just lost a customer. of the mall. q
more,” Shlifka says. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
As more shoppers shift on-
line, stores have been suf- items; franchisees have
fering and chains have handled 150 truckloads
been cutting back. Macy’s from a closed Macy’s in
is closing some stores. Sears Pittsburgh and 120 from
Holdings Corp. reportedly a Bon-Ton in Sheboygan,
plans to close another 66 Wisconsin, Perry says.
Sears and Kmart stores, James Williams, owner of
adding to 150 closings in a 1-800-GOT-JUNK fran-
April. Many of the store chise in Burbank, Califor-
closings are in big malls, nia, says that in removing
but in smaller strip shopping the contents of a store, his
centers, hundreds have company donates usable
also been shutting down. equipment like vacuum
Some businesses can see cleaners to charities and
their own sales suffer when takes furniture and fixtures
a big nearby retailer that to businesses that will recy-
has been a shopper mag- cle what they can.
net disappears. But smaller But there’s also a down-
retail competitors can pick side for his business when a
up customers, and some- store closes — he’s just lost
times other businesses — a customer who regularly
ancillary or unrelated to needed trucks to haul un-
retail — find opportunities wanted fixtures and other
in vacant real estate. items.
The retail remains of a shut- “Some of these were cli-
tered store mean franchi- ents that we were serving
sees of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on a weekly or monthly ba-
often get contracts to sis,” Williams says. “We see
empty out the chain stores, the negative impact on
loading dump trucks with our business immediately
unwanted mannequins, after the closing.”
shelving, racks, showcas- When a department store
es and other fixtures and in a shopping mall or big
hauling it all away. box store in a strip cen-
Corporate executives ter closes, nearby retailers
at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? are can see fewer shoppers
regularly in touch with big and lower sales. Some mall
chains and often know in operators have staged
advance when stores will events and activities near
be closing, says Scott Perry, the shuttered stores to at-
an account manager with tract more shoppers.
the franchise. It can take Yogibo, which sells bean
a month in some cases to bag chairs and other ca-
remove and cart away the sual furniture, had to work