Blockbuster Closings, Bankruptcy Threats, Finlay Liquidation, Kohl's Expansion

There are two different groups of experts who agree with that position and are predicting that a second wave of economic fallout will impact the retail industry in the not too distant future

Audit Integrity, a Los Angeles research services company, released the results of an independent corporate bankruptcy study which identified 20 major U.S. corporations that are at risk for filing bankruptcy in the next 12 months. If the Audit Integrity numbers are correct, the retail operations of hMacy's, Oshkosh, Rite Aid, Sprint Nextel, and Goodyear are in danger of following in the footsteps of Circuit City, KB Toys and Linens 'n Things.

A different assessment done by commercial real estate investment firm Madison Marquette identified a separate list of U.S. retail chains at risk for bankruptcy in the not too distant future. The retailers at biggest risk on that list include Chico's, Cost Plus World Market, Dillards, and Talbots.

Though both firms used different criteria that yielded different results, they both did reach one conclusion that is the same. More aftershocks of the Great Recession will be rumbling through the retail industry, and the magnitude of those aftershocks will probably not be minor. Though retail Chapter 11 activity has been relatively quiet in the past couple of weeks, it is likely that some well-known retail players still have a trip to bankruptcy court in their future.

Despite the unsteady footing of the industry as a whole, retail chains large and small are expanding into the holes left behind by the retalers that have retracted, retreated, and departed. This week Kohl's will open 37 new stores in a single day, most of them in retail spaces previously occupied by their now defunct competitor Mervyn's.

This time last year when Kohl's opened 46 new stores in the same day, each location had cost the company about $10 million. Reportedly it only cost about $7 million to convert the old Mervyn's locations this year. That's a lot of extra money that can be allocated to grand opening celebrations. And there will still be a little something left over in the budget to cover the costs of the Post Opening Stress Syndrome of the employees that are responsibile for pulling off 37 simultaneous openings.

Another retailer that will be popping its stores into the empty spaces of your neighborhood mall soon is Toys 'R Us. The chain will literally pop in 350 stores and then pop back out after the Christmas shopping season.

Curiously, retailers are acting as if 2009 is going to be a big toy-buying holiday season. Sears has opened toy departments in 20 of its stores, and Toys 'R Us is beefing up its toy inventory in its Babies 'R Us stores as well.

Both chains have said that they are hoping to capture some of the toy dollars that are being spent at Target and Wal-Mart by making toys more easily accessible. That sounds like a reasonable idea, but I don't really know if "accessibility" is going to be the big issue for toy buyers this holiday season.

When hundreds of shoppers drove hundreds of miles to stand in line at a new Kroger store in Kentucky this month because it was giving away free half hams as part of its grand opening, I don't think accessibility was what got those shoppers out of bed at 4 a.m. If Sears and Toys 'R Us have free meat as part of their marketing plans, then their holiday toy experiments should go well. But it's probably going to take a little bit more than just expanded presence to motivate toy purchases when 10% of the toy-buying public is still busy shopping for a source of income.

Looking beyond the holiday season, even more retailers will be expanding into vacant retail spaces in the new decade, as 284 more stores were added to the 2010 store openings list. If things go as planned, 75 of those new stores will be wind-powered, hybrid-driving, recycling, organic, retail pizza restaurants. Pizza Fusion has infused green best practices into every aspect of the pizza business at its current 11 locations. Based on their present success, they think that pizza eaters in 15 more states are ready to go green.

With LEED certified retail space, church pews as furniture, utensils made from potato starch, organic wine, and vegan brownies, Pizza Fusion is proving that it is sincerely committed to its motto of "Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time." The retail restaurant industry will undoutedly be watching Pizza Fusion closely to see if customers are ready to pay the price for full-blown green retailing. A $5 Pizza Hut special is a quick meal on a busy night. But a $17 Pizza Fusion organic creation is a commitment to both health and the environment.

If Pizza Fusion can find its niche, and build a loyal customer base, then retailers everywhere will know that social responsibility and profitability can peacefully coexist. That is a tasty proposition for everybody.