The Daily Valet. - 10/17/22, Monday

✔️ Going, Going, Gone?

October 17, 2022

Monday, October 17th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

If malls truly disappear, I think I’ll miss the Auntie Anne’s most of all.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

America’s Malls Are Shrinking

Soon there may be just 150 left standing

Have you been inside a mall lately? It’s just sad. For people my age—tragically deemed “Geriatric millennials,”—few things will make you feel as old as wandering through the mall of your youth, sounding like the old lady from Titanic, “I can still smell The Body Shop … the Sam Goody used to be right over there.”

Not surprisingly, Americans simply aren’t shopping at malls any more. Online retail has been growing by leaps and bound since the onset of the pandemic and remains strong. As fewer people shop at malls, it makes less sense for brands to maintain a presence. As premier shops and anchor stores pull out, malls eventually wither and shut-down.

The total number of U.S. malls has declined from an estimated 2,500 in the 1980s to about 700 today, reports the Wall Street Journal. Many were turned into open-air retail, an expensive and difficult undertaking that often takes decades. Some were demolished. Others remain standing, but aren’t operating and stand as vacant “ghost towns.”

Nick Egelanian, president of retail advisory firm SiteWorks, which tracks U.S. mall performance, told the Journal that he expects the number of malls to continue to decline over the next decade to a mere 150 nationwide. The survivors will be top-tier properties, with updated infrastructure and the best fashion and luxury retailers as well as dining and entertainment.

That seems to track. It’s more about a full experience, right? Because online has a seemingly endless inventory. But a good shopping experience involves service, environment and a social aspect. And that’s always been true. After all, the mall was one of the original “third places” for young people. But that’s essentially been replaced by social media.

Other industry watchers predict similar trouble on the horizon. Earlier this year, analysts at UBS projected that 40,000-50,000 American retail stores would shut down by 2027. They said traditional shopping malls were particularly high risk because shoppers now prefer to make quick trips to close-by stores. But you know what you don’t get with those quick trips? A leisurely moment to yourself, downing a delicious Cinnabon.

↦ FYI: Since it opened in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1992, the Mall of America has held the title of largest shopping mall on the planet.

Russian Draftees Already in Combat

And Russia is still grabbing men off the street to fight in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday, less than a month after his Sept. 21 announcement of a partial mobilization, that 16,000 new conscripts are already engaged in “combat tasks.”

Their deployment came considerably sooner than expected by military experts, who estimated it would take months of training for the draftees to be ready, and according to USA Today, it supports the notion that they'll be used as “cannon fodder.”

To aid his effort to mobilize 300,000 conscripts for the war in Ukraine, Putin has turned to press gangs of military and police personnel to descend on civilian spaces and forcibly enlist men into the war, the Washington Post reports. They have begun to make the rounds in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, seizing Russians from apartment buildings, metro stops, cafes and business offices.

With their military sending these new draftees to the front lines with just a day or two of training, is it any wonder that Russians are attempting to dodge the draft? Car traffic brought border crossings to a standstill, flights sold out immediately and now groups are attempting to sail to South Korea—only for most of them to be refused entry at the border.

↦ Meanwhile: Elon Musk tweets that SpaceX will ‘keep funding Ukraine govt for free’ amid Starlink internet controversy.

Many Venezuelan Migrants Stuck in the Middle

The U.S. will take in some Venezuelans, expel others to Mexico

Mexico's government on Saturday moved to discourage the formation of caravans by Venezuelan migrants, saying any who do will not be eligible to enter the United States under a new humanitarian program recently announced.

The Biden administration agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants at U.S. airports—similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia's invasion. Meanwhile, Mexico has agreed to take back Venezuelans who are caught entering the U.S. illegally over land.

Some criticized the president last week for invoking a Trump-era rule known as Title 42—which Biden's own Justice Department is fighting in court—to deny Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-torn country the chance to request asylum at the border.

Many migrants who are already en route tell CNN that the White House's decision leaves them in limbo, after having already given up everything to begin the trek north. They also point out that the new airport entry program favors the wealthy and well-connected. Furthermore, many will not qualify for the legal pathway set up to help them because they lack financial sponsors here in the States.

A Modern Plastic Breakthrough?

Scientists discover heat and bacteria can recycle plastics into useful chemicals

We know that there's too much plastic in the world. And sadly, only about 5% of it is currently recycled. But a recent breakthrough could mean that more plastic starts getting recycled into useful chemicals.

A team at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado has developed a two-step process that uses chemistry and then biology to break down a mix of the most common plastics that make it into recycling plants. This is good news because until now, processes that convert plastic waste into useful chemicals tend to focus only on a single plastic, so it is difficult to design facilities that can cope with a mixture of plastic waste—which would be needed for a truly circular economy.

So far, the decomposition process targets high-density polyethylene, commonly found in food packaging, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a widely used plastic in drinking bottles. They turned them into into a family of biodegradable compounds, which are frequently used in biomedical applications such as sutures or repairing tendons.

Of course, this process has only been demonstrated in the lab so far and will need to be shown to make economic sense in the real world, but it's promising for a world that desperately needs to address a plastic problem (but has no plans to stop using plastic anytime soon).

↦ FYI: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers an area twice as big as Texas. It’s estimated that it contains 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing almost 90,000 tons.

In Other News

↦ Tennessee Asks for Donations for New Goalposts After Fans Tear Down Old Ones After Alabama Win

↦ I Wish We Could Stop Talking About Kanye West. Here’s Why We Can’t.

↦ Is Every Website That Plays Videos Breaking an ’80s Privacy Law?

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

What *not* to wear this Halloween

Burger King’s Ghost Pepper Whopper

SNL on “wellness”

Boost Your Credit Score

It’s an important number, so make sure yours is up where it needs to be

The average FICO score in the U.S. hit a record high of 714 in the third quarter of 2021, a 4 point increase from 2020. That's an increase of nearly 20 points since the start of the decade.

What's more, 59% of Americans have a credit score of 700 or higher, which is the biggest percentage reported at that level ever. If you haven't checked your credit score lately, do so immediately. Because the better your score is, the better your offers and interest rates are on everything from credit cards to car and home loans. Plus, it's free.

You can request one from the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) each year through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Annual Credit Report program. Once you know where you rank, you can make the call whether or not your score needs a boost. But we'd all prefer the highest possible credit score, right?

And while raising your score takes time and a consistent history of payments, there are a few proven ways to lift it higher and faster. We consulted some financial pros for a simple game plan.

↦ Read: How to reliably raise your credit score.

What We’re Eyeing

“He brings you back to his place, and he's got streetwear sheets.” That might be a red flag, unless they're these sheets—the first-ever collaboration from Kith and bedding brand Parachute. The collection spans six pieces (in both king and queen sizes, sets starting at $529), and marks the first time Parachute has worked with logo imagery (in this case, the tonal Kith monogram). Available in shades of white, tan and sunset-ish dusty mauve, the sets include a fitted sheet, a monogram-printed top sheet and a duvet cover, along with a pair of monogram-printed pillowcases and two shams. Available at 11 am ET on 10/17.

↦ Want more? 5 stylish items to buy this week