There's that and there's the notion that in a lot of countries, struggling department store chains have ended up in the hands of hedge fund investors, who promp

There's that and there's the notion that in a lot of countries, struggling department store chains have ended up in the hands of hedge fund investors, who promptly started squeezing them for money. It's a parasitic form of company ownership where the share holders enrich themselves and then eventually ditch what little remains of the companies they get involved with. One of the financial constructions you see a lot when that happens is the hedge-fund selling off the buildings, funneling the gains to shareholders, and leasing back the building. This raises cost which they then compensate for through "restructuring" rounds (i.e. layoffs). Once all value is squeezed out, they sell for a small price or bankruptcy is triggered. Everybody looses, except the hedge fund investors. Once companies get to the stage hedge fund investors get involved, the writing is on the wall. I think of them more as a symptom then a cause. Weakness through eroded business and failure to adapt come first.