Analysts have predicted America will lose up to 50,000 stores over the next five years. As a major pharmacy chain becomes the latest US company to announce a string of store closures, read on to discover the other big names closing doors across the country right now – and often leaving states for good. 

Department store Sears was already on a path of store closures when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and was subsequently bought by Transformco, which closed 72 stores that year. And it's not surprising that stay-at-home orders caused store numbers to fall still further.

Now the well-known brand has just 17 stores left following the closure of its Greensboro, North Carolina branch earlier this year. That's quite a decline from the 489 stores it had at the beginning of 2019. 

Like Sears, Kmart – which is also owned by Transformco – has essentially disappeared. Once a well-known big box store that ranked among the largest corporations in the world, the brand declared bankruptcy in 2002, struggling to compete with the likes of Target and Walmart. 

By 2019, the chain still had stores across the country in around 360 locations. Last year only three remained, and this fall the last New Jersey Kmart will close its doors. This will leave just two locations: one in Miami and one in Long Island, New York. 

After almost 120 years of business, department store JCPenney announced in June 2020 that it was filing for bankruptcy and planned to close nearly a third of its stores. Two stores closed earlier this year as part of the restructuring. 

The pandemic was the final straw for the company, which had long been wrestling with the transition to online shopping, as well as increasing competition from retail behemoths such as Walmart and Target. Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group saved the business from liquidation in December 2020 as part of an $800 million acquisition deal.

JCPenney announced this summer it will spend more than $1 billion through 2025 to renovate its remaining stores, upgrade its shopping app, and improve online ordering systems. 

Luxury department store Nordstrom announced in May that it would be closing both of its locations in San Francisco, citing declining foot traffic and explaining that "the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years." The retailer chose not to renew its leases for the five-story department store and a Nordstrom Rack, shutting both stores by the end of August. 

In response to Nordstrom's decision to leave the San Francisco Center mall, a spokesperson for the mall operator Westfield told CNN: “A growing number of retailers and businesses are leaving the area due to the unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees."

AT&T is also leaving downtown San Francisco. The telecommunications company announced that it was closing its flagship location in June, saying that "consumer shopping habits continue to change, and we're changing with them."

A second AT&T store has shut on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, aka the 'Magnificent Mile.' Both locations went out of business by the end of August.

Parent company Gap closed two Old Navy locations in January, one on Chicago's Lake Street and another in the Uptown Solon shopping center in Ohio. Gap followed these closures by shuttering its store on Market Street, San Francisco, which had been open for around 30 years before closing its doors on July 1.

We're a long way from seeing Old Navy disappear from our streets altogether though. The brand was reportedly searching for a new San Francisco location to replace its Market Street store and there are still more than 1,200 Old Navy outlets throughout the states.

Before the pandemic, Macy’s had already committed to shutting 125 of its locations over the next three years, starting with 28 stores in 2020. The department store shuttered another 37 locations in 2021, although several of those outlets were converted into fulfillment centers to keep up with the uptick in online sales. This year, only four stores have closed as part of that three-year plan. These were located in malls in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Maryland. 

Conversely, the firm is set to open four locations for its new Market by Macy's brand, a smaller version of the store designed for strip malls.

Discount retailer Big Lots announced seven store closures at the start of the year, citing declining sales that it attributed to the impact of inflation on the budgets of its lower-income customer base. All of the closing stores are located in urban and suburban areas in California and Colorado, in line with the brand's shift to relocate to more rural areas. Big Lots wants to increase its presence in small towns where it will have fewer competitors and reduced operating costs, according to CFO Jonathan Ramsden. 

Separately, the firm is also closing four distribution centers it opened during the pandemic. 

As of this summer, Amazon has closed nine of its Amazon Go convenience stores, where scanners record customers' purchases to save them from having to go through the checkout process.

The concept debuted in Seattle in 2016. Currently the online giant has more than 20 locations across the US, and says it expects to open more, but these ambitions haven't stopped the company from closing stores in Seattle, New York, and San Francisco this year.

Lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret announced in May 2020 that it would be closing 250 sites, a quarter of its stores across the US and Canada. Parent company L Brands warned this could be the start of closures in the coming years, and it wasn’t long before another announcement disclosed plans to close 30 to 50 more stores.

Now the future of North America’s Victoria's Secret stores has been left in the balance as employees and customers wait to see which locations will close next. So far, 10 stores have closed this year.

Children's apparel retailer Carter’s revealed in October 2020 that it would be permanently closing around a quarter of its stores – some 200 locations – as it was choosing not to renew leases on its less profitable sites.

After paring down, the specialty clothing brand announced earlier this year it now plans to open 1,000 new stores by 2027. The first 50 stores are expected to open in 2023. However, Carter's will also close 10 underperforming stores as their leases end.  

German grocer Lidl opened its first US stores in 2017 with the goal to expand to 600 locations. However, the company announced in July it would be immediately closing 11 underperforming stores across six states on the east coast, including Virginia, where the grocer has its US headquarters. One location was open for less than two years before it got the axe.

Earlier this year, Lidl laid off around 200 corporate employees but says it still expects to be a success in the US.

Back in February, Dick's Sporting Goods bought the Moosejaw brand of sporting goods stores from Walmart. A mere six months later, the new owner has announced it will be shuttering 11 of the brand's 14 retail locations.

The remaining three stores will be under the leadership of Public Lands, a similar outdoors brand also owned by Dick's Sporting Goods, and are located in Michigan, Utah, and Arkansas.

Target announced in May that it would close four of its small-format stores designed for urban areas, one of which was based in the retailer's hometown of Minneapolis. These locations had seen declining foot traffic.

More recently, the big box chain announced nine more full-store locations will close by the end of October due to high rates of theft. These include stores in Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. “Organized retail crime [is] threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance," Target said in the announcement.

Over the last three years, the computer and electronics retailer has closed around 70 stores and expects to shutter between 20 to 30 more locations this year as well. The exact number hasn't been released, but the Twin Cities-based firm closed 17 stores across the country in March alone.

Best Buy reports a third of its business now takes place online, and the brand is likely to continue closing stores at a rate of 15 to 20 a year going forward. Other locations will be remodeled to have less space for the salesfloor and more for the stockroom to help fulfill online orders. 

Retail giant Walmart initially announced 15 store closures. That number soon grew to 24. The doomed stores are located across the country and Walmart reports they're all underperforming, losing millions of dollars each year.

Many of the stores are in the country’s biggest cities including Chicago and Portland. Echoing Target's concerns, CEO Doug McMillion has blamed the Oregon authorities for not doing more to stop shoplifting. “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” he said.

As part of bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year, Party City announced in February it would be closing 22 stores, later adding another 13 locations to the chopping block.

The party supply retailer had already shuttered 28 stores last year prior to filing for Chapter 11 protection, citing sluggish sales due to pandemic lockdowns as well as supply chain issues. Several retailers, including craft supply chain Michaels and discount store Five Below, have picked up Party City store leases at auction. 

Apparel retailer Gap, which also owns the clothing brands Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta, announced in October 2020 that it would be closing more than 350 Gap and Banana Republic locations by the end of 2023. The number of Gap stores across the US was already in decline and brutal sales figures as a result of COVID-19 restrictions only worsened the situation.

In March, the retailer announced between 50 to 55 more Gap and Banana Republic stores would be axed as part of this earlier plan, without providing any details on where these are located or when they would close.  

Bath & Body Works, which is owned by L Brands, announced in May 2020 that 50 of its US-based stores, as well as one in Canada, would be closing before the end of the year.

After lockdown forced most outlets to shut in the first quarter of the year, the retailer's sales were down 37% compared to the same period in 2019. This year the company expects to close another 51 locations, all located in shopping malls. 

Despite its very specific name, the Massachusetts-based retailer sold home goods and outdoor furniture year-round, along with its seasonal products. Only a year ago Christmas Tree Shops had attempted to rebrand as CTS, launching new collections and even planning to open 15 more stores. 

Unfortunately, the brand declared bankruptcy in May and has since gone out of business, closing all 73 locations across 20 states in August. 

Despite being America’s largest specialty kids’ clothing store, The Children’s Place has been reducing its number of locations since 2013, aiming to focus more on online sales. It's no surprise the pandemic helped speed up this process, with the retailer announcing in 2021 that a further 300 of its stores would close.

While 200 of these locations were shuttered during 2022, another 100 will be cut this year, predominantly mall-based locations. The firm hopes to enter 2024 with only around 500 stores, having cut at least 586 outlets since 2013, and aims to increase its online sales from 48% to 60% of total sales.

Children's clothing and baby gear retailer buybuy Baby may see all 120 stores close permanently this year. Or it may not. Its fate had been tied to that of parent company Bed, Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy in April. As part of the liquidation, both brands' stores have been shuttered, however different buyers purchased their intellectual properties at auction.

Dream On Me Industries, the new owner of buybuy Baby and itself a retailer of baby gear, has announced it intends to reopen stores as early as this fall. How many will reopen is still unknown.

Foot Locker subsidiary Champs Sports will be closing 125 of its mall locations as it shifts focus to its highest-performing stores. Selling a wide range of shoes as well as sports apparel, Champs has seen increased competition from online retailers. However, the company confirmed it's only targeting underperforming stores, and will open more locations over the next few years. 

Like most jewelers, Signet – which owns Zales, Jared and Kay Jewelers – enjoyed a boom in sales for Valentine’s Day 2020. But the pandemic quickly caused a slump when stores were made to close their doors in March that year. Unfortunately for Signet, around 150 of those stores never reopened.

With sales down, the jeweler reported in June it will close another 150 stores over the next year. Signet attributes its ongoing struggle to COVID-19 lockdowns. "There were fewer engagements...resulting from COVID’s disruption of dating three years ago," said CEO Gina Drosos, who says that, on average, customers date for three years before popping the big question. The firm expects bridal sales to improve next year and going forward. 

In June, pharmacy chain Walgreens announced it will be closing 150 stores by the end of August 2024. It's not been revealed which stores will be closed, nor how soon they'll be shuttered. But the brand did explain that reduced consumer spending and a drop in demand for COVID-19 vaccines have both had an impact on its revenues. In addition, around 500 corporate employees have been laid off. 

Walgreens operates 9,000 locations in the US alone.

In January 2021, apparel chain American Eagle Outfitters set out plans to improve its profitability, including doubling its Aerie brand revenue to $2 billion by 2023 and boosting sales at its American Eagle stores. To hit its targets, the company announced it would be closing between 200 and 250 of its outlets, most of which are mall-based. Several of these closures started this year as leases ran out, although there isn't a publicly available list of locations on the chopping block. 

The retailer confirmed it still plans to open 50 new Aerie locations this year. 

Walgreens competitor CVS announced in 2021 that it will be closing around 300 stores a year for the next three years, bringing its total number of closures to 900. The move will reduce CVS stores throughout America by about 10%. 

Since the start of 2023, the drugstore has steadily shut locations in Florida, Missouri, New York, Virginia, and Iowa. The closures will help establish a "new retail footprint strategy" according to a company spokesperson, with CVS stores increasingly focused on primary care services.  

Also in 2021, home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to shut 200 of its locations over two years, representing around 21% of its stores. These liquidations were projected to generate an annual cost saving of between $250 million and $350 million, which the company planned to invest in remodeling its remaining stores and increasing online profits.

Despite these efforts, the chain store continued to struggle and filed for bankruptcy in April. The final 360 stores closed this summer and online retailer Overstock.com purchased the brand. Customers can now shop Bed Bath & Beyond online, as it has replaced Overstock.com, but brick-and-mortar sales are no longer an option. 

Sports apparel and shoe retailer Foot Locker announced earlier this year it will close 400 stores over the next few years. While the exact location of the affected outlets hasn't been revealed, the company has specified these will be limited to mall stores.

Much like its plans for Champs Sports, Foot Locker hopes to grow the brand, opening 280 new stores while shuttering those that have been underperforming.

Before declaring bankruptcy for the first time in 2020, home decor retailer Tuesday Morning had almost 700 stores across the US. However, as part of its second bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year, the Texas-based brand announced it would close all remaining 487 stores, with the leases for 263 properties going up for auction.

The Tuesday Morning brand had faced competition from similar off-price retailers, such as Marshall's and T.J. Maxx, and was hampered by the fact it didn't sell products online.   

With more than $3.3 billion of debt, pharmacy chain Rite Aid finally filed for bankruptcy this fall and will close between 400 to 500 stores, possibly as part of Chapter 11 protection. Much of this mountain of debt is related to lawsuits that allege the retailer oversupplied opioids, illegally filling prescriptions.

Rite Aid hasn't revealed a list of specific locations that will shut, but there are reports of stores already started closing across the country. Rite Aid began life as a thrift shop in 1962, and after a staggering period of growth it once boasted more than 2,000 retail stores across 17 states.

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