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[–] Paladin_Diver 0 points 9 points (+9|-0) ago 

The sad and untold part of this story is that the cashflow statement isn't the problem, the balance sheet is.

What that means (for those who aren't accountants) is that the leveraged corporate balance sheet is the reason for the store closings, not necessarily the location's ability to generate positive cashflow.

The corporate owners of these retailers loaded up on debt to juice the profits during good times. Those profits then were paid out as dividends, stock grants, etc.... The profits left the company, but the debt remained. Now any bump in the road causes these indebted companies to be in a position of forced liquidations.

Was that deep enough, or should I continue?

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[–] G45Colt 0 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Loud and clear. In a nutshell - the boardroom and top officers of the company enriching themselves at the expense of the company. Ever notice how many CEOs are board members of other companies, and vise versa? In many cases, one small DS family.

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[–] Paladin_Diver 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

Absolutely. It is basically the DS playbook personified. And it doesn't happen in Adam Smith's worldview. It can only happen when the corruption is so deep that those who are supposed to prevent this crap are indeed the actual perpetrators.

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[–] POdPatriot 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

Thank you for this.

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[–] Paladin_Diver 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Thank you. I was hoping I'd been clear enough in that simplified attempt at an explanation.