June 6, 2025
BIG 216 - The return of retail?
It's a time that people under 20 couldn't have known... A time when commerce was seen as an investor's martingale, a sector with buoyant fundamentals that could confidently deploy large-scale volumes. Then one exogenous shock after another began to reveal a giant with feet of clay. First came the Internet revolution, which completely redefined consumer habits and plunged physical retailing into a profound identity crisis. Then there was the health crisis, which forced retailers to close their doors for long periods, and the ensuing surge in inflation and rising interest rates, which called into question their valuations.
