The end of 2018 is on track to mark 3,800 retail stores closing according to Business Insider. These closings affect both students who currently work in these stores, as well as students who are finding it harder and harder to find jobs.
“There’s not many places hiring, and when I interviewed for a job at Target, I didn’t get it,” sophomore Rachel Darbro said.
With times changing, so are the wants of the people. According to Forbes, Baby Boomers and Generation Z are decades apart, meaning that personal preference has changed from wanting products that were mass, prestigious, and global to authentic, artisanal, and environmentally friendly.
“I think it is a natural result of technology and the internet. It is good for the economy,” Tom Bond, precalculus and calculus teacher, said.
Most of the recent companies closing the stores are only claiming chapter 11 bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy is often used when a company cannot afford to keep as large number of stores open. The company claims bankruptcy, closes the unprofitable stores, and gets out of debt, while keeping the profitable stores open.
“They’re big corporations, they just want to do what’s best for the money,” Joseph Totte, senior, said.
More than 90,000 employees will lose their jobs in a series of Sears store closings alone according to 24/7 Wall Street. While some employees had an idea that their store would be closing, others did not.
“I saw it on Business Insider that my store was on the list of 114,” Collin Walzer, senior, said. Even with the closings, Walzer still has some hope for the company.
“With one door closing another one opens,” Walzer said.
Doors have opened for stores like Toys R Us and Carsons, both which have closed recently and are making a comeback. Toys R Us opened 600 pop up locations inside Krogers Grocery stores as Geoffrey’s Toy Box in November, and Carson’s has now gone primarily online.