Adios
Despite their huge selection of trendy jumpsuits, Bebe is officially unable to stay in business. The California based retailer announced their plan to close all of their stores by the end of May.
Despite their efforts to explore alternatives after suffering sales, Bebe realized they could not compete with major online sellers.
A Steady Decline
Prior to their announcement, Bebe had already begun decreasing their number of stores. After previously closing down 28 stores, executives attempted to ensure that they still had a fighting chance.
The company’s best efforts were to “explore strategic alternatives,” which offered a vague solution.
But numbers don’t lie. In the first half of the fiscal year, Bebe lost $13 million as sales fell 13.5%. They now plan to shut down operations in the remaining 134 stores by the end of next month.
So the Story Goes
It does not come as a major surprise in this day in age. Many department stores have been facing serious trouble as Amazon continues to expand their services. Even Macy’s is closing 15% of their stores across the nation.
The fact is that people would rather shop online then peruse the shops inside a mall.
It is all about convenience. Amazon offers clothes, home goods, food, pretty much anything you can find in a mall and they are only continuing to grow. They have even attempted to open their own brick-and-mortar grocery store, Amazon Go, as an experiment.
People are losing their affinity towards malls.
When it comes down to strolling around or shopping from the comfort of your own home, which one would you choose?
Online Rules All
Luckily for Bebe, they do still have the option to continue selling merchandise on their website. However, they have not mentioned this in the press. Unfortunately closing down their remaining stores means that at least 700 people will lose their jobs in California.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The loss of brick and mortar jobs is the biggest downside to the growth of online retailers.” quote=”That is the biggest downside to the growth of online retailers.”]
Although many may not be sad to see brick and mortar stores close up shop, many do not think of the employees behind the businesses.
