Special Report
Retailers Closing the Most Stores in 2019
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This week, children’s clothing chain Gymboree is expected to file for bankruptcy protection and begin shuttering its 900 U.S. locations. The company had been in the process of closing hundreds of stores for months, but the mass liquidation was not enough cover liabilities. These closings are just the latest in a stream of closure announcements by major retailers.
In what many have dubbed the “retail apocalypse,” brick-and-mortar retailers across the United States have been forced to reduce their footprint in order to maintain profitability in recent years. In the most extreme cases, several well-known brands have had no choice but to go out of business. Since the beginning of 2018, major companies, including Mattress Firm, Brookstone, Rockport, and Sears, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In a handful of cases, store closings are the result of corporate mergers and acquisitions. In some instances, companies appear to be merely culling their most unprofitable stores while adding new ones elsewhere. However, many retailers on this list are closing locations as a result of falling revenue, largely brought on by the convenience and increasing popularity of online shopping.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed publicly available financial documents and corporate announcements to identify the retailers closing the most stores in 2019. Retailers shutting the fewest locations — less than a few dozen — tend to be those companies attempting to improve profitability. Companies closing several hundred locations, on the other hand, are either being bought out or are declaring bankruptcy and liquidating assets.
Click here to see the retailers closing the most stores.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
19. Gap Inc.
> Closings: To be determined
> Total stores: 810 (North America)
> Category: Clothing
Gap Inc. is the parent company of several well-known brands, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, and, of course, Gap. Unlike its sister brands, Gap has reported declining year-over-year sales, prompting CEO Art Peck to announce the potential closure of hundreds of Gap locations, including several flagship stores.
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18. J.C. Penney
> Closings: 3
> Total stores: 872
> Category: Department stores
Few brick-and-mortar retailers are being hit as hard by the surge of e-commerce as department stores. J.C. Penney announced the impending closure of three locations already this year. More details on store closures will no doubt come with the company’s earnings report at the end of February. Some analysts predict the company will announce the shuttering of more than 100 locations.
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17. Target
> Closings: 6
> Total stores: 1,822
> Category: Department stores
Target announced in October 2018 plans to shutter six underperforming locations by February 2019. Most closures will be in the Midwest, one will be in New York, and another in Memphis, Tennessee. However, Target closures will be more than offset by a total of 20 new locations.
16. Macy’s
> Closings: 8
> Total stores: 852
> Category: Department stores
Macy’s Inc. is the company behind the iconic department store chain of the same name as well as Bluemercury beauty specialty stores. In August 2016, the company announced plans to shutter 100 underperforming locations in the coming years amid falling sales. While the retailer already closed the majority of those stores, the company anticipates it will close eight this year.
In early January, Macy’s announced disappointing holiday sales and cut its 2018 earnings outlook. As a result, shares plunged 18% in a single day.
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15. J. Crew
> Closings: 9+
> Total stores: 532 (United States)
> Category: Apparel
American retailer J. Crew announced in March 2018 it had closed 51 stores during its fiscal 2017 year, 40 of which were in the final quarter of that year. In the same release, the company also announced plans to shutter an additional 20 stores during the 2018 fiscal year. Closures are continuing into 2019, as the company has announced the closing of at least nine locations in January, from Minneapolis to Greenville, South Carolina.
After years of falling sales, former CEO Jim Brett stepped down in November 2018.
14. Lord & Taylor
> Closings: 10
> Total stores: 50
> Category: Apparel
After shuttering its iconic Fifth Avenue location in early 2019, department store chain Lord & Taylor is expected to close nine more locations this year. So far, a location outside of Chicago and one in suburban New Jersey are slated to close in January of this year. The remaining closures have yet to be announced.
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13. Lowe’s
> Closings: 20
> Total stores: 2,000+
> Category: Home improvement
Hardware and home improvement chain Lowe’s announced in early November 2018 its plan to close 20 U.S. locations by Feb. 1, 2019. According the corporate statement, the closures will allow the company to focus on more profitable stores. Most locations the company is closing are within 10 miles of another. An additional 31 locations in Canada are also on the chopping block.
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12. Henri Bendel
> Closings: 23
> Total stores: 23
> Category: Upscale retail
Upscale handbag and accessory retailer Henri Bendel will close all of its 23 locations by the end of January 2019. Closures will take place in three waves, with the first stores closing on Jan. 5, the second round of store closures on Jan. 12, and the third and final round on the 19th. The decision to end the brand after 123 years in business was part of parent company L Brands’ strategy to focus on its more profitable brands — Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
11. The Children’s Place
> Closings: 30
> Total stores: 1,014
> Category: Children’s apparel
Children’s clothing and accessories store The Children’s Place announced it would be closing 300 locations between 2013 and 2020. If 2019 fits the pattern of previous years, the company will close about 30 locations this year. Despite ongoing closures, revenue at the chain continues to climb. The company reported $1.87 billion in sales in fiscal 2018, up 4.7% from $1.79 billion in fiscal 2017.
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10. Kmart
> Closings: 37
> Total stores: 332 (United States)
> Category: Department stores
The fate of Sears Holdings Corp., parent company of Kmart, currently hangs in the balance as a U.S. bankruptcy court weighs CEO Edward Lampert’s bid to stave off liquidation — at least for a while. As of now, 37 Kmart locations are slated for closure in late March 2019.
9. Christopher & Banks
> Closings: Less than 40
> Total stores: 500+
> Category: Women’s apparel
Christopher & Banks is a women’s clothing retailer based in Plymouth, Minnesota. The company’s growth is being driven largely by e-commerce, and in the next two and a half years, between 30 and 40 Christopher & Banks locations are scheduled to close.
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8. Sears
> Closings: 43
> Total stores: 434
> Category: Department stores
Whether or not Sears Holdings Corp. avoids bankruptcy this year remains to be seen. What is certain is the closure of more locations in 2019. So far, the company has announced plans to shutter 43 Sears locations coming in January and March of this year.
7. Shopko
> Closings: 45
> Total stores: 363
> Category: Discount retail
Shopko, a discount retailer in the Midwest announced in late 2018 plans to shutter 39 locations by the end of February 2019. The retailer announced in early 2019 plans to close an additional six Wisconsin locations. News of the planned closures come amid rumors that the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy.
6. Beauty Brands
> Closings: 25
> Total stores: 58
> Category: Cosmetics retail
Initially, cosmetics retailer Beauty Brands announced plans to close nearly half of its 58 locations in 2019. However, in early January 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy and intends to sell off all remaining assets.
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5. Destination Maternity
> Closings: 42 – 67
> Total stores: 1,114 (North America)
> Category: Apparel
Destination Maternity, a designer and retailer of maternity apparel, will close as many as 67 stores in its fiscal 2019. The company plans to close unprofitable stores in saturated markets. This year’s closings are part of a longer-term strategy to shutter as many as 280 total locations by 2022.
4. Performance Bicycle
> Closings: 102
> Total stores: 102
> Category: Retail
Performance Bicycle, a bicycle and bike accessory supply chain, will be closed down as parent company Action Sports Enterprise files for bankruptcy. ASE in December 2018 announced the impending closure and liquidation of all 102 Performance Bicycle locations.
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3. Starbucks
> Closings: 150
> Total stores: 25,000 (approx.)
> Category: Retail
Starbucks is planning on closing 150 company-operated locations in its fiscal 2019 — three times the company’s historical average of 50 store closures per year. The closures will largely be in heavily saturated markets in an effort to improve profitability. The closures represent a relatively small share of the Seattle-based company’s 25,000 global locations.
2. Claire’s
> Closings: 170
> Total stores: 1,570 (North America)
> Category: Jewelry and accessories
Young adult jewelry and accessories brand Claire’s filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 in an attempt to relieve its nearly $2 billion in debt. The company, whose stores are primarily located in malls and shopping centers, has struggled. It plans to close some 170 of its 1,570 locations by 2022.
1. Gymboree
> Closings: 900
> Total stores: 900
> Category: Children’s apparel
Children’s clothing store Gymboree is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection and close all of its 900 locations in the United States and Canada and liquidate its assets. This is the second time the San Francisco company has filed for bankruptcy in as many years.
Detailed Findings
An estimated 89% of American adults regularly use the internet, up from just 52% in 2000. This ever-increasing access to instant information and services has had far-reaching and profound effects on our society and the economy — perhaps most notably in the retail sector.
In the last three years, revenue of e-commerce giant Amazon climbed 66%, from $107.0 billion in 2015 to $177.9 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, revenue of once seemingly unassailable brick-and-mortar department stores like J.C. Penney, Macy’s, and Sears Holdings, is all down over the same period.
Although many shoppers still frequent these stores, many increasingly use them to find the products they want only to buy them online, a practice known as showrooming.
In an attempt to adjust to changing consumer preferences, many companies on this list are focusing more heavily on e-commerce. Businesses that began as traditional brick-and mortar retailers, like Walmart, are investing in their e-commerce departments and putting greater emphasis on online sales. Other companies, such as Best Buy, have adjusted to the growing threat of e-commerce by offering to match Amazon’s prices in store.
Methodology
To identify the companies closing the most stores, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed major U.S. retailers planning to close stores in 2019. This list includes closures that were announced in previous years. All listed store closings are based on company announcements of closures that will take place at least partially in 2019. Store counts represent the total number of stores worldwide, unless a specific geography is noted, and are from the company annual reports and corporate websites. Store counts represent the most recent available figure and do not necessarily factor in closings. Sears and Kmart store counts are based on the figures listed in the parent company’s first-quarter earnings report.
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