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Brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country appear to be meeting a sorry fate as huge retailers seek to streamline their operations.
Over the last month, several prominent retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, CVS, Foot Locker and Macy’s, have announced a swathe of store closures.
In total, nearly 850 stores are set to shut by the end of 2023, with many forced into desperate cost-cutting measures amid rampant inflation and declining bottom lines.
The Fairgrounds Square Mall in Muhlenberg Township, Pennsylvania, was demolished in 2021, after struggling to survive for years
Bed Bath & Beyond
A Bed Bath & Beyond store in Clifton, New Jersey. The home goods retailer said it plans to close another 150 stores as it continues to reorganize its finances
The retail giant once owned more than 1,500 stores across the country but, as part of a strategy change, it will aim to end the year with just 480.
At least 416 of its US stores have been identified for closure and each of its 65 stores in Canada are also set to be shuttered.
California will be impacted the most and will see 35 stores close, while Florida will lose 23. New York will lose 23 and Illinois will lose 18.
CVS
CVS will close at least 300 stores a year for the next three years
CVS CEO Karen Lynch said earlier this year that it plans to close 900 stores nationwide by the end of 2026, with at least 300 stores closing annually for the next three years.
However, it does still have roughly 9,600 stores throughout the country, according to Best Life.
Retail expert Neil Saunders of Global Data warned in 2021 that ‘too many stores are stuck in the past with bad lighting, depressing interiors, messy merchandising, and a weak assortment of products.’
Walgreens
Walgreens has more than 9,000 stores but, like CVS, is closing them across the country
In a similar vein to CVS, Walgreens will also be closing a number of its more than 9,000 stores.
In April 2022, it announced the rolling out of its first major drone delivery operation, in Dallas-Fort Worth, symbolic of its push towards online retail.
This year it closed stores in New York, Minnesota, Vermont and Alabama.
This month, two Walgreens outlets in Orlando, Florida, have already closed their doors, and in February, more stores were shuttered in Ridgewood, New York, and St Johnsbury, Vermont.
Party City
Party City has said it will close 22 stores across the country and more closures are possible
New Jersey-based party-supply retailer Party City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January and announced a month later it was going to close a total of 22 stores nationwide, with the possibility of more to come.
It operates more than 800 stores nationwide, and had already closed 28 prior to the announcement.
Tuesday Morning
A total of 365 Tuesday Morning stores will close – 30 of those will be in California and more than 20 will be in Florida
The home goods company is closing 265 stores as it struggles to survive, which will be its second wave of closures in three years.
Its massive reorganization comes as the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, meaning it is now forced to close its least profitable outlets.
These have primarily fallen in California, which will see 30 stores closed; Florida, which will lose 23; and Texas, which will lose 19.
Other states set to see large closures include Virginia with 10, Georgia with 12 and Colorado with 14.
Walmart
In its annual elimination of underperforming stores, Walmart will shut a total of eight
The largest retailer in the US said in February it would close 12 stores in nine states and Washington DC due to poor financial performance.
States to lose a Walmart are: Arkansas, Hawaii, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin.
The change conforms to a recent trend in which Walmart has carried out an annual culling of its underperforming retail stores.
Its CEO Doug McMillion said in 2022 that record-breaking retail theft was a major factor in the company’s economic performance and could lead to store closures.
‘Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,’ McMillion said at the time. ‘Prices will be higher and/or stores will close.’
Target
Target, like Walmart, said it will close four stores in three metro areas due to poor footfall
Target will close four locations in three metro areas including two near Washington DC, one in Philadelphia, and one in Minneapolis, Insider reported.
The company cited declining foot traffic as its primary reason for the closures and said most store employees would be offered positions at other locations.
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All four stores are smaller-format locations of around 20,000 square feet, which the the company began rolling out about a decade ago to reach shoppers in urban areas.
The closures are slated for May 13.
Big Lots!
Big Lots is shifting its focus away from urban centers and will close seven stores before the end of the year. Pictured is a Big Lots outlet at the Lycoming Mall in Muncy, Pennsylvania
Big Lots! is closing stores in urban centers as part of a strategy to target towns and more rural areas, the company’s CFO Jonathan Ramsden said during an earnings call in December.
Ramsden announced the imminent closure of at least seven stores, three in California and four in Colorado, before the end of 2023.
Foot Locker
Foot Locker will lose a huge number of retail stores. It has plans to close more than 400 located in malls by 2026. Pictured is a Foot Locker store in downtown Toronto
Last week Foot Locker announced that it was planning to shut more than 400 of its under-performing stores in shopping malls by 2026.
The sportswear and footwear retailer currently has 1,300 retail locations in malls in the US.
When the announcement was made, Foot Locker shares were down more than 5 percent for the day, despite an overall upward trend in the stock market.
The company said the closures will allow it to introduce new store concepts and boost its annual revenue by £1billion.
Banana Republic and Gap
Since October 2020 Gap Inc. has closed around 120 Banana Republic stores throughout the country. Pictured is a store in New York City
In that same window around 175 Gap retail stores were closed. Pictured is a Gap store in Chicago
Gap Inc., which owns Banana Republic, announced in October 2020 that it would close around 350 stores around the US by the end of 2023.
It has since confirmed that just under 300 outlets have permanently closed – around 120 of which were Banana Republic and 175 were Gap. The group can therefore be expected to close another 50 or so this year.
‘As we adapt to the current market conditions and meet the increase in online demand, we are looking thoughtfully at our real estate to support the best path forward,’ Gap Inc. wrote.
The RealReal
The RealReal said in February it would close four stores in San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta and Austin. Pictured is one of its stores in Larkspur, California
The online second-hand designer retailer had 16 brick-and-mortar stores as of last September, but in February it announced it would close four of them – in San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta and Austin – according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February.
It also said it would let go of around 230 employees, or 7 percent of its workforce.
The retail company is unique from many others facing widespread closures because it is relatively small, young, and has never recorded quarterly profits.
Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh
There are currently around 38 Amazon Fresh stores, but the retailer has announced a number will be closing. Pictured is an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Warrington, Pennsylvania
Around 28 Amazon Go stores are scattered throughout the US, some of which are also expected to close. Pictured is a store in San Francisco in March
Amazon is planning to close a number of Amazon Fresh grocery and Amazon Go convenience stores and will stop opening new branches, it announced in February.
The company once hedged on the future of in-store grocery shopping as being cashier-less but it appears to be retreating from that position. Currently there are about 38 Amazon Fresh and 28 Amazon Go stores in the US.
In December, a handful of Amazon Fresh stores were left vacant, The Information reported. The retailer is now said to be focusing on building its grocery business through Whole Foods, its subsidiary, which had 513 stores as of January 31, 2023, reported Forbes.
Macy’s
Macy’s has closed 170 stores since 2016 and is continuing to do so. Pictured is a Macy’s in Los Angeles in May 2022
Macy’s has been shutting unproductive stores since 2016 and has closed 170 outlets in that period, its CEO Jeff Gennette said during a conference in January. ‘We are in the final stretch of that,’ he added.
Gennette said the company had been shifting its focus from stores in malls to elsewhere and that, although it was opening new stores, including Bloomingdale’s concept store Bloomie’s and Market by Macy’s, its footprint was shrinking.
‘The stores that we’re opening off-mall are much smaller than the ones that are on-mall,’ he said.
JCPenney
JCPenny is in the process of closing stores in Indiana, New York and Minnesota. It has closed 200 since the pandemic. Pictured is a store in Orlando in the process of closing after the department store chain filed for bankruptcy in 2020
The 121-year-old retailer has faced massive challenges in recent years, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, closing 200 stories after the pandemic.
As of March 6, 2023, the retailer still had 669 stores in the US.
However, it is now reported to be closing additional stores in Indiana, New York and Minnesota, according to Best Life in January. Also rumored is a closure in California, according to the outlet.
