This Massmart story is just the tip of the iceberg and deserves and in-depth analysis about the general collapse of the country from a goods & services point-of-view.
It's a complete collapse that has now finally reached our doorsteps, and it seems to come in waves.
I've been living in the same area for more than 10 years and the last 15 months have been nothing but shocking in it's decline, the decline of almost everything. Even the petrol stations look like they haven't had upkeep and maintenance done in decades.
I took a drive to some of the bigger malls and stores in the area this weekend, places I haven't been to in long time. What I saw had me floored. It's only the grocery stores in the area I frequent that seem to plod along, their decay seemingly hedged against the fact that they're the last places people can't really do without...
Pretty much every retail store looks like it's either in complete shutdown or soon will be. Even the ones that are still decent are almost devoid of customers, especially Massmart and other similar shops... and some of the clothing shops (not surprisingly though, R500 for a pair of cheap chinese three-quarter pants with an adidas stripe on it? Go get f**ed).
The end is nigh, indeed.
I predict that online shops will be the go-to place for most people for the time being, but those will also start to shut down as the middle and upper class flee to release themselves of the burden that is being a South African. I won't be surprised if many of the best online retail sites are already looking into whether they can move their business model overseas.
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