It's only April and store closures are above 2016 levels
Competing with online shopping is a death sentence for many retailers. Generations of overbuilding have meant far too much retail square footage.
So far, it's just weak hands being shaken out, like the Toys R Us bankruptcy. Expect it to get much worse in the years ahead.
How bad is it now? CoStar Group reports that announced closures so far this year are 77 million square feet, that's more than 2016 and well beyond the pace of 2017.
