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Analysts have predicted that America will lose up to 50,000 stores over the next five years. As a beloved pharmacy becomes the latest US company to announce a string of new store closures, read on to discover the other big names closing doors across the country right now – and often leaving states for good.
Kroger reported strong sales throughout 2020, including a 14.6% rise in sales in the second quarter. Despite this, the company closed 10 stores in 2021. The first were a Food 4 Less and a Ralphs in Long Beach, California, and two QFC stores in Seattle. Many put these closures down to new district laws on hazard pay (also known as "hero pay"), requiring stores to pay grocery more to compensate for working on the front line during the pandemic.
When Kroger closed two Ralphs and one Food 4 Less in LA, the company claimed it was because they were "underperforming" rather than due to hazard pay. Not everyone was convinced, however, and two council members started a motion to investigate exactly why they closed in April last year. Two stores in Illinois and three in Arkansas were also shuttered due to poor performance.
Department store chain Century 21 revealed in September 2020 that it would be shutting all 13 of its stores on the East Coast. The company reported that it was filing for bankruptcy after its insurance provider declined to pay a $175 million claim to cover interruption to business due to COVID-19. It wasn't just Century 21 that missed out on insurance cash, as very few business policies accounted for disruption in the event of a pandemic.
Last February, Century 21 announced plans to relaunch its brand later in 2021 because of demand from shoppers, but the company heralded its comeback by opening its first store in South Korea rather than in the US, according to Fox Business.
Luxury department chain Nordstrom had only just secured $600 million in real estate investments to help it through the COVID-19 pandemic when it announced in May 2020 that it would be axing 16 of its least profitable stores.
All of the company’s 116 stores had to close when lockdown measures came into place, and those that reopened were subject to restructuring action as Nordstrom implemented plans to slim down its operating costs by $150 million. And despite making 12% more revenue in the second quarter of 2022 than it did in the same period last year, the chain has recently lowered its revenue projections for this year from 6%-8% to 5%-7%.
The French beauty retailer announced in January 2021 that, as part of a restructuring plan, it would be closing 23 of its 166 US stores. Its in-store sales were down 56.5% between April and December 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier, chiefly due to the pandemic.
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. The company now reportedly plans to lay off around 130 staff members in an effort to cut costs.
The electronics retailer has been quietly closing stores over the past few years, shutting 20 premises in both 2019 and 2020. In early 2021, it announced plans "to close a higher number this year."
Although the total number of its store closures isn't readily available, it's likely that at least 60 Best Buy stores have closed so far. In November 2021, however, the company revealed that it was opening new "experiential" outlet stores in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since April, Amazon has been closing its 66 non-food and non-convenience stores across the US. This will include all of the company's bookstores, as well as its 4-Star and Pop-up stores. It will apparently focus on launching its Style clothing stores, as well as boosting its line of grocery stores.
Microsoft enjoyed a huge boost in profits thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as millions of people became dependent on its software for their home working and virtual school setups. That hasn’t stopped the tech behemoth from trimming down its in-person retail offerings though, and the company announced in June 2020 that all of its stores, including 70 across the US, would be closing on a permanent basis. All sales moved online, while Microsoft Experience Centers, where customers can test products, remain in former stores in London, New York, Sydney, and the company’s Redmond campus in Washington.
Department store Sears was already on a path of store closures when COVID-19 hit. Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy in 2018, after which it was bought by Transformco, so it's unsurprising that store numbers continue to fall in the current economic climate. In 2020, 72 Sears stores closed their doors for the last time, followed by a further 16 locations early last year.
After continued closures, Sears has reportedly been left with just 23 US department stores as of 30 August, three of which will soon be shutting up shop too. That's quite the steep decline from the 489 stores it had at the beginning of 2019.
Disney has been on a mission to close most of its North American stores for some time. A total of 119 stores have closed over the past couple of years, leaving only 23 across the US. However, more than 100 new small Disney Stores opened in Target stores around the country in 2021, part of a growing trend of smaller concession-style stores popping up in big retail outlets.
Even the oldest clothing store in the United States has been rattled by the COVID-19 outbreak. Brooks Brothers was saved by brand management firm Authentic Brands and American shopping mall owner Simon Property, who acquired the brand in a $325 million deal in August 2021.
The new owners won’t be saving all the Brooks Brothers stores though. The clothing retailer had already decided to shut 51 stores in July 2020, and the new owners have since said that only 125 of the remaining 200 US-based stores will remain open.
Chocolate sales soared while people were stuck at home, but the lack of footfall in Godiva’s in-person stores has caused the chocolatier to announce the closure of all 128 of its retail and café locations across North America.
The Belgian chocolate manufacturer’s wares will still be available to US-based customers online and via its partner grocery stores, and Godiva’s brick-and-mortar stores across Europe, the Middle East, and Greater China will stay in operation.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Macy’s had already committed to shutting 125 of its locations over the coming three years in an announcement made in February 2020. Along with the closures, the department store giant said that 2,000 jobs would be cut as it looked to boost profits. In 2020, 28 Macy’s stores and one Bloomingdale’s location closed their doors for the final time.
A list of 37 locations set to close in 2021 was then published by the retailer last January, which would affect stores in 19 states. Some of those outlets have been turned into fulfillment centers to keep up with the uptick in online sales, which grew by 53% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020 and then at a slower rate of 27% in the third quarter. At the start of this year, Macy's announced that it will be closing a further six stores throughout Alabama, California, Colorado, Missouri, and Texas.
In April this year, pharmacy chain Rite Aid announced that it would be closing 145 stores by the end of 2022 – 82 more than it had originally planned. The brand is aiming to shed "unprofitable" locations to "significantly reduce costs" after recording a net loss of almost $390 million in a company earnings report that was released in February 2022.
Like most jewelers, Signet enjoyed a boom in sales for Valentine’s Day 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic quickly caused a slump when stores were made to close their doors in March that year.
In June 2020, Signet announced that at least 150 of its North American stores would remain shut, as well as 80 outlets in the UK, as it looked to ditch mall stores and shift its focus to the bustling e-commerce market.
After almost 120 years of business, department store JCPenney announced in June 2020 that it would be filing for bankruptcy, with plans to shut 149 of its stores over the summer period alone and 242 in total, which is 29% of its overall number of stores.
The pandemic was the final straw for the company, which had long been wrestling against the transition to online shopping and competition from retail behemoths such as Walmart and Target. Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group saved the business from liquidation in an $800 million acquisition deal last December. By the end of 2021, it had closed approximately 175 stores.
Carter’s revealed in October 2020 that it would be permanently closing around a quarter of its stores – some 200 locations – as it chose not to renew leases on its less profitable sites.
The children’s apparel retailer is looking to improve the digital side of its business, such as buying online and curbside pick-up, but also hasn’t given up on the in-person shopping experience. As reported by TotalRetail, Carter’s CEO Michael Casey pointed out that the chaos caused by coronavirus has forged a buyer’s market, saying that the company would be keeping an eye out for opportune investments for future stores.
Pharmacy chain Walgreens had around 8,800 locations in operation last month but is on an ongoing mission to shut stores across the country.
Back in 2019, the company announced it would be closing 200 locations – and it's just been revealed that four Walgreens in the central New York area (North Syracuse, Canastota, Auburn, and Pulaski) will shut up shop this month. Another location in Dunkirk, New York will open for business for the final time on 14 November, while four more locations in Louisville, Kentucky are set to close too.
Florida, Colorado, and Massachusetts will also lose one Walgreens store each before the end of November, reports say.
Gap, which also owns alternative clothing brand Banana Republic, announced in August 2020 that it would be closing more than 225 stores that year, with further closures unveiled in 2021. 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.
The company did see a 95% boost in online sales in 2020, which served to offset some of the damage caused by empty stores. In February last year, Gap announced that it would be spending $140 million on building a warehouse in Texas – capable of processing one million packages each day – to keep up with the extra demand.
Last January, 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 is closing between 200 and 250 of its outlets, most of which are mall-based, while growing its Aerie brand from 350 stores to between 500 and 600 by 2023.
It’s not just clothing, homeware, and pharmaceutical retailers that have felt the sting of the economic turndown. AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company in terms of revenue, also announced that it would be closing 250 stores and shedding 3,400 jobs in the process.
The store closures were already in the pipeline pre-pandemic, but the events of 2020 accelerated the action. AT&T emphasized that most store employees would be offered alternative work within the company; others would receive severance incentives of up to almost $100,000 and six months of healthcare coverage.
At the start of 2021, women’s clothing and accessories brand Francesca’s saw in the new year with a wave of 140 store closures. Just a month later, another 97 of its 700 locations were set to follow the same fate when the company filed for bankruptcy, and court documents have since suggested that around 275 stores will close in total.
Discount department store Stein Mart has suffered in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and in August 2021 it announced that it would be closing all 279 of its stores across 30 US states.
After 112 years in business, the company hosted closing down sales across the country and started marketing leases for its stores, distribution centers and offices in mid-September last year.
Lingerie and clothing 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. By the end of 2020 it had shut 248 stores. Parent company L Brands warned that this could just 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 in the US and Canada.
Now the future of 1,050 North America-based Victoria's Secret stores has been left in the balance as employees and customers wait to see which locations will close next.
Despite being America’s largest specialty childrenswear store, The Children’s Place announced in November 2020 that 300 of its stores would be closed by September 2021. Profitability has taken a big hit over the last two years, with sales decreasing by 19% in the three-month period ending in October 2020 as the company missed out on its usual back-to-school boom.
It's not all bad news for the store, though: it did see its digital customer base double as a result of the pandemic.
In July last year, home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to shut 200 of its locations over two years, representing around 21% of its stores. Liquidating the stores was 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 driving up online profits.
Early this year, Bed Bath & Beyond identified 37 stores that it would be closing as part of its restructuring plan. The premises, which are located across 19 states, closed their doors for the last time in February. On 31 August the chain announced yet more closures: Reuters reported that another 150 stores are set to close as part of the latest business overhaul. The home goods company reported a net loss of $358 million in the first quarter of 2022 and planned to lay off 20% of its staff, including CEO Mark Tritton, in a bid to save its struggling brand.
Tritton was replaced by CEO Sue Gove, but it wasn't the start of brighter times for the company: in September this year it was announced that CFO Gustavo Arnal had fallen to his death from a New York building, the latest tragedy to rock this once-booming business.
Unfortunately, like Sears, which is also owned by Transformco, Kmart is seeing its stores quietly disappear, even though the discount store stayed open throughout periods of lockdown thanks to its "essential" status. The discount retailer didn’t benefit from the pandemic boom enjoyed by other stores such as Walmart, and reports circulated of eerily empty shelves as stores prepared to close.
Kmart was a popular retailer in all 50 states with around 360 stores in 2019, but three years later just three remain.
Women's clothing retail group Christopher & Banks filed for bankruptcy in January 2021 and then began liquidating all of its 449 stores, including 315 under the "Missy, Petite and Women's" brand. The pandemic was the final blow for the embattled group. It successfully sold its online assets.
With working at home commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s unsurprising that Americans are now buying fewer suits, which has left Tailored Brands – the company behind Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank – struggling.
In July 2021, the company announced that it would be closing up to 500 stores and cutting its corporate workforce by 20% in money-saving restructuring efforts. Tailored Brands then filed for bankruptcy last August, but had exited again by the end of November after creating a plan to shed $686 million in debt and to turn its ownership over to its lenders and creditors.
The troubled games retailer became a stock market and media sensation early in 2021, as ordinary investors started buying up stock in an orchestrated move to hit hedge funds that were betting on the chain's continued demise.
While GameStop enjoyed extraordinary growth in its stock price, it still faces a very uncertain future and will have closed over 550 US stores in the last two years as it switches focus to online.
Department store company Stage Stores focused on off-price apparel in its various outlets across rural America, which included Goody’s, Bealls, and Palais Royal. But the entire chain was put up for sale in May 2020 as the retailer was forced to file for bankruptcy, and all 738 of its stores went into liquidation.
The Stage Stores brands and property were then acquired by Bealls Inc, a company separate to the Bealls brand operated by Stage Stores, in a $7 million bankruptcy deal in October 2021.
Last year, drugstore chain CVS announced 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%. According to Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData: "Too many [CVS] stores are stuck in the past with bad lighting, depressing interiors, messy merchandising and a weak assortment of products." It's thought the closures will enable the chain to invest in its remaining stores while boosting its "rapidly expanding digital presence."
Since the start of 2022, CVS has been steadily shutting locations in places including Falls Church, Virginia; Fresno, California, and Johnson City, Tennessee. The closures will help establish a "new retail footprint strategy aligned to evolving customer needs," according to a company spokesperson.
In February 2020, Pier 1 Imports filed for bankruptcy and announced the closure of 450 of its stores. The company had hoped to emerge from bankruptcy as a viable business, but those plans were derailed when COVID-19 struck and decimated the retail market. Just three months later, the company announced that it would be shutting all remaining outlets too, bringing its total number of store closures to 942.
In 2018, health and wellness store GNC Holdings announced that it would close up to 900 of its stores in the next three years as leases in the US and Canada expired, and so its stores were already disappearing from malls when the pandemic hit. In June 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy and announced that up to 1,200 stores would be closing before the end of the year as COVID-19 obliterated its refinancing attempts.
Chinese company Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding acquired GNC for $770 million two years ago, but the move is unlikely to reverse closures since the company hopes to focus on GNC’s online presence, rather than reviving brick-and-mortar stores.
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