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How Amazon's growth causes retailers to close stores
Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 05/08/2016 | by Suzette Parmley,

Posted on 05/08/2016 7:03:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

vAmazon giveth, and Amazon taketh.

The giant internet retailer said on April 27 that it will create 2,000 full-time jobs by opening two more fulfillment centers in New Jersey.

One will be a 600,000-square-foot facility in Florence, Burlington County, generating 500 new jobs.

The other will be an 800,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Carteret, Middlesex County, that will generate about 1,500 jobs.

Together, the two facilities will bring Amazon's total physical footprint in the Garden State to 2.5 million square feet of space, if you count three existing centers.

The irony is that Amazon made the announcement the day after a news report that retailers were prepping to lay off 37,000 workers this year, due largely to the shuttering of brick-and-mortar stores.

The 37,000 is the most in one year since the 2008 recession - and more than double the number of layoffs in 2015.

Online shopping is the cause, led by Amazon.com.

E-commerce sales nationally - which included catalog sales - were up 14.6 percent in 2015 from the previous year, while retail sales for physical stores rose by a fraction of that - just 1.4 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Moody's senior retail analyst Charles O'Shea said: "We expect more square footage reductions going forward as online sales are growing faster than brick-and-mortar for virtually all non-food retailers."

Some observers say the retail layoffs signify the industry's realignment.

Surely, some of those losing their jobs in "real stores" will be hired to do something else, such as filling carts with online orders at an Amazon fulfillment center versus restocking shelves.

Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations, said the new Carteret facility "will offer wages 30 percent higher than traditional retail stores and include benefits, bonuses, and stock options."

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: amazon; competition; helpwanted; retail; retailers
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To: Ouderkirk

Home Defect and Louie’s are a different model so to speak because they also supply the trades. They’ll need to maintain a brick and mortar presence.


21 posted on 05/08/2016 7:33:53 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Fear is the mind killer.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Well retail store jobs were (traditionally) a low level entry job for the most part. Thanks to lack of manufacturing that’s been changed. The root of the problem isn’t Amazon...it’s lack of real jobs.


22 posted on 05/08/2016 7:33:59 AM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: dennisw

I check Ebay before I buy in stores anymore. For one thing, the stores probably won’t have what I need because they have such stale inventories. Second, I usually find Ebay is 10:1 or even 50:1 on most items. That $50 dollar watch my wife liked for “junk jewelry”, $4 delivered on Ebay. Exact same watch the store was selling for $50.

Try going to Radio Shack or Best Buy and buying a small AM/FM radio; $20, $40, even $75. Only $5 delivered on Ebay for a product the stores don’t even carry.

It isn’t even worth the gas money to go to stores anymore.


23 posted on 05/08/2016 7:36:30 AM PDT by CodeToad (Islam should be banned and treated as a criminal enterprise!)
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To: Ouderkirk
I can negotiate with Amazon. I look at an item, and a few days later it’s a few bucks less, and maybe a week or so later it’s a few more less, until it reaches a point where I am willing to buy.

I think this is a little known fact. I picked out a nice little netbook on Amazon that was a good deal. Stuck it in my cart and was going to wait a couple of days to purchase it. When I went to buy it the price had gone up 35 bucks. Deleted it from my cart. Didn't go on Amazon for a couple of days and then went back. Price had gone down. I got it.

24 posted on 05/08/2016 7:38:01 AM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: SeekAndFind

I buy nearly all my clothes now on Amazon. One heck of a lot better than traipsing from one department store to another and still not finding what you want.


25 posted on 05/08/2016 7:39:58 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: SeekAndFind

This is the inevitable evolution of our market. People were conditioned by Walmart and others to get much more for their money, disregarding the “middle man” retailer, who for generations has been berated, many times appropriately and many times unfairly, as a gouger.

People are trading price and the convenience of home delivery for personal customer service.

I can’t blame the consumer, and I am a retailer myself. I have adjusted for this competition.


26 posted on 05/08/2016 7:40:45 AM PDT by Blue Collar Christian (Ready for Teddy, Cruz that is.)
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To: texas booster

True. They prefer under 30, and won’t even consider anyone over 40. The managers generally burn out quickly—my son has outlasted at least four teams in the past three years—he is the most senior person in his position, and the top producer in the country.

The one thing he does get is tons of incentive prizes—he hasn’t paid for a gift since he started. They give out gift cards and merchandise for achievements. Unfortunately, there is really no place for him to go. He is a hard worker, but they don’t promote from within—they prefer fresh college meat for the grinder. They also offer incentives to quit without regard to merit; they must figure it’s cheaper than promoting. It’s a strange mix of management by algorithm.


27 posted on 05/08/2016 7:45:12 AM PDT by antidisestablishment (If those who defend our freedom do not know liberty, none of us will have either.)
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To: antidisestablishment

Ha. You’ve never worked on a real farming operation. I know men who would say to this, “but it’s air conditioned?”

And this description is also just like most manufacturing work, too. One great example is air conditioningmanufacturing. It runs break neck for two seasons then largely shuts down and everyone gets fired. It’s been like this for longer than I’ve been around.

What I see is that the left feels done with Walmart and now wants to tame Amazon. Voila, this article. My small farm/manf town would love to have Amazon here.


28 posted on 05/08/2016 7:45:18 AM PDT by Noamie
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To: SeekAndFind

I hope Barnes and Noble stays in business. If it folds, I will be 40 miles away from the nearest bookstore—and I live in an urban area.


29 posted on 05/08/2016 7:47:28 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: MNnice

Best Buy will match Amazon.com prices right in the store. They will even look it up for you, saving the cost of shipping and the wait for delivery.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/clp/price-match-guarantee/pcmcat290300050002.c?id=pcmcat290300050002

Remember that every time you buy at Amazon or use Facebook, you are funding the liberal left wing agenda that the owners of these companies use against you.


30 posted on 05/08/2016 7:49:06 AM PDT by curth
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s no different than when Sears dominated retail in the previous two centuries with their catalog business.

Stores should just adopt the Amazon model, and reduce the size of their big box stores.

I dont have time to go to these places, and Amazon Prime is just too good a deal to pass up.


31 posted on 05/08/2016 7:49:48 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: Blue Collar Christian

I still shop at stores that have real customer service, hard to find now though. Trying to find store employees that know what is in the store, and some knowledge of the products is getting harder. Then often employees are surly, acting as though a customer is a pain.


32 posted on 05/08/2016 7:53:44 AM PDT by Tammy8
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To: texas booster
"The new Amazon fulfillment center already has a reputation that they turn over all blue collar employees every 89 days."

My son has been working at an Amazon facility for almost a year now. As a "picker" he walks his butt off, but he's making $4.00 more per hour than minimum wage. He has health, dental and vision insurance and, after he's been there a year, he'll be eligible for tuition assistance. He probably wouldn't be getting any of the above from your "brick and mortar" stores right out of high school.

33 posted on 05/08/2016 7:56:24 AM PDT by Flag_This (You can't spell "treason" without the "O".)
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To: Noamie

Farm? Did I mention agriculture? I grew up moving furniture, worked in heavy equipment years before they had enclosed cabs, and ran a family farm. You ain’t telling me nothing about hot, sore or seasonal. Lol

Amazon has seasonal peaks, but it remains busy all year. They prefer turnover to ensure they don’t end up like the auto manufacturers.

I wouldn’t want a line job anywhere, so it’s job skin off my back. I am not begrudgingly them, just stating the facts. It’s a profitable enterprise, performing in a good market. A lack of opportunity is no cause to complain, just an incentive to get a better job somewhere else.


34 posted on 05/08/2016 7:57:25 AM PDT by antidisestablishment (If those who defend our freedom do not know liberty, none of us will have either.)
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To: antidisestablishment
They prefer turnover to ensure they don’t end up like the auto manufacturers.

Wise plan.

35 posted on 05/08/2016 8:06:26 AM PDT by null and void ("when authority began inspiring contempt, it had stopped being authority" ~ H. Beam Piper)
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To: curth
BB is not exactly a cornerstone of conservatism either.
36 posted on 05/08/2016 8:07:01 AM PDT by HonkyTonkMan
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To: Noamie
And this description is also just like most manufacturing work, too. One great example is air conditioningmanufacturing. It runs break neck for two seasons then largely shuts down and everyone gets fired. It’s been like this for longer than I’ve been around.

Good way to avoid discrimination lawsuits. Observe people for a while, note the ones who aren't very productive, or who cause trouble, shut down, fire all. At the next startup, rehire whoever was good.

37 posted on 05/08/2016 8:07:55 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: Flag_This
He would be rare at our facility, located in South Dallas, a very urban area.

The poster that noted that Amazon (and others) don't want to be saddled with sub-par workers like the old line auto manufacturers has a point. Firing a snowflake after 90 days can be problematic in manufacturing. Firing a snowflake's relative can be even harder in a union shop.

38 posted on 05/08/2016 8:28:26 AM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

Re: “I have been told that managers over age 40 need not apply at the South Dallas fulfillment center.”

Also true in Seattle.

Partly because the pay scale is low (they offer stock options on their 277 P/E stock instead!) and experienced managers will leave at the first opportunity.

And partly because if your crew is not hitting quota, the manager must get out on the floor and pull and pack just like the low wage, usually foreign born workers.


39 posted on 05/08/2016 8:35:31 AM PDT by zeestephen
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To: SeekAndFind

I bought car parts on Amazon - not available at the main dealer.

I bought coffee on Amazon - brand not available at bricks and mortar.

I bought a garden tool on Amazon - not available at the main dealer.

I bought cat food on Amazon - brand not available at bricks and mortar.(fussy cat!)

Need I say more?


40 posted on 05/08/2016 8:39:09 AM PDT by I am Richard Brandon
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