There was a furniture store a couple of blocks away from a place where we used to rent an apartment. We lived there for 8 years and a going out of business sign was up the entire time.
I genuinely fucking hate “local” furniture stores. That industry seems slimier than car sales honestly. Sell dog shit quality products for hundreds to thousands of dollars and then are allowed to act like they are going out of business constantly. There are always furniture stores around me having “liquidation sales” and “going out of business sales” and literally none of them have ever gone out of business. If anything, they usually raise their prices before their next sale.
There’s no way it’s not. Either that or there is some kind of tax loophole they’re able to take advantage of that lets them write all of the furniture off at a loss every year despite turning a profit.
Yeah, I bought an 800 couch last year from a place that was allegedly liquidating and it is GARBAGE quality. It’s already falling apart, the staples were noticeable the day we got it, the springs are poor quality, and the frame is cheap. I bought a couch that was easily 20 years old when I bought it and it lasted another three years before having to replace it, and now I’m going to have to replace this couch I bought BRAND NEW after a year.
Taco Bell down the road from me has had their large sign out front saying "now hiring closers" for going on 4+ years now. Of course they haven't considered treating employees well and paying them fairly, yet. Prices went up though! Also this is in a very large city with no shortage of people who need work.
A rug shop near me spent from before 1990 though to 2010 "closing down" then they suprised everyone by closing down. They moved to a cheaper shopping centre, and have been operating there ever since
The same 80% discount they had always advertised was in action during the lead up to their move, and continues today
Going out of business for as long as whatever small taxes they have on the place can be payed. People will keep empty properties as long as it really isn't weighing on their pockets. Meanwhile there are people who can't afford roofs because of rents powers of magnitude larger than what the property owners have to pay for empty unmaintained properties. People want to point off to the richest where economic inequality is involved, but the reality is that it's usually a doorstop away.
There was an automobile repair shop were I lived that was the result of several properties getting bought up and being joined into a single one. It eventually failed and moved, but the business that bought it, who initially did so for logistics but later expanded beyond it, has now ended up using it as a glorified parking space even though the garage is a relatively small portion of the business, He's not willing to sell it, and is only willing to rent it above what it's worth, and doesn't care because he has to pay shit all to keep it.
He could even divide it up into multiple properties and sell those, since he's just using it as a parking space. But with what he pays for it, he doesn't have to give a shit. Hell, it might even be profitable for him as a tax/insurance writeoff for the rest of his business if some sort of natural disaster happens to it.
He's far from the only one, and the only local properties that have been bought nearby are those that have been allowed to be sold as housing, along with the markup that's associated with it.