That anchor store kept a weird inventory log no one mentions

I spent last Saturday picking through the old Lincoln Mall in Omaha and found a filing cabinet behind the Sears service desk that had daily inventory sheets from 2004. Thing is, the counts were way off from what the shipping invoices showed, like 40% off on small appliances. People always blame internet shopping or the 2008 crash for malls dying, but this place was cooking its own books to look busy for the corporate office. I worked retail back in the day and we had to fake numbers too, but never that sloppy. Corporate probably saw those inflated counts and kept sending stock nobody could sell, which just made the floor look worse and emptier. Has anyone else stumbled on old paperwork that showed a mall was failing before the anchors even announced they were leaving?

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the_nancy28d ago

Hey, think 40% off is normal for shrink back then...