Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to live in a very different way. There are a lot of changes that took place within the past year or so. We doubt that everything is going to revert back to normal once everything has been said and done. Businesses have suffered from the situation too. The small companies did the worst, but things have been difficult on big conglomerates too. With the rise of e-commerce, some of them decided to pull the plug on physical stores altogether. There are also other factors that have contributed to the store closures, however. Read on to learn more about these.
It Is Time To Say Goodbye To The Stores Of The Following Big Businesses
Macy’s
As an American institution, it comes as a shock to hear that Macy’s is getting ready to shutter a number of stores in the year to come. In January, the company announced that it is planning to shut down 45 stores for good this year. CNBC explained that these cuts are part of the efforts by the company to close a total of 125 locations by 2023. This will mostly affect locations outside of top-tier malls.
Macy’s
Bed Bath & Beyond
In the previous year, Bed Bath & Beyond made an announcement that it will close 200 stores. There are plans to shutter 200 more this year. USA Today shared that 43 more locations will stay closed for an indefinite period of time by February. This affected 19 jurisdictions, nine of which are in California.
Bed Bath & Beyond
Express
In 2020, Express shared that it was intending to shutter a hundred locations by 2022. It kicked off this plan by closing 31 of them in twenty states last January 2020. The fashion retailer scheduled the closure of 35 more stores for January 2021. There are 25 more expected in the coming year.
Express
Office Depot
In the spring of 2020, Office Depot shared its restructuring program that was set to be doled out through 2021. The office supplies retailer is planning to shutter an unconfirmed number of locations. This also involves laying off more than 13,000 people. The reports say that the company wants to bring down its expenses now that it is switching from a regular store to one that offers IT services.
Office Depot
Walgreens
Can you believe that Walgreens has also been downsizing? The company is now planning to shutter more than 200 outlets across the nation. The first reported closures took place in 2019. They represent 3 percent of the overall store count of the pharmacy chain. Right now, it has 9,600 stores in the US.
Walgreens
The Children’s Place
It is upsetting to hear that The Children’s Place also has plans to shutter its locations in different parts of the world. In 2020, the company shared that it would close two hundred stores within the year and then a hundred more in 2021. Today has revealed that the children’s clothing chain has not shared which locations are going to get the ax. They are, however, going to primarily be “mall-based” ones.
The Children’s Place
J.C. Penney
Last year, J.C. Penney shared that it would close more stores in the spring of 2020. This happened after its declaration of bankruptcy and closure of over 150 stores the previous year. Last December, the department store company revealed that it would shutter 15 more locations before April 2021. “We also decided to close an additional 15 stores as part of our shop optimization plan, which started in June with our financial restructuring,” the company expounded. “These stores will launch liquidation sales later this month and close to the general public in mid to late March.”
J.C. Penney
Francesca’s
Last year, the women’s clothing retailer revealed its plans to shutter some 140 stores before February 2021. In December, Francesca’s declared bankruptcy and shared its plans to sell off its brick-and-mortar stores and other aspects of the company. USA Today reported that there are 558 current stores in operation, although its statement to the news outlet said that there are “plans to renegotiate a variety of leases through this process, which could entail closing new boutiques.”
Francesca’s
Signet Jewelers
Thanks to Signet Jewelers, we get Kay Jewelers, Piercing Pagoda, Zales, and Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry across the globe. Sadly, many locations are going to sign off within the year. In 2020, it confirmed that at least 150 outlets in North America would not be reopened. They were initially closed in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, 150 stores were set to shutter before March 2021.
Signet Jewelers
Pet Valu
We have Pet Valu on this list as well. The pet products company has not done well in light of the COVID-19 pandemic as well. In November 2020, the retailer said that it would shutter 358 locations and warehouses in the United States. Customers can’t place orders through the website of the company either. Despite this, closing sales have been launched in different parts of the globe.
Pet Valu
Justice
It is believed that Justice will close the rest of its branches within the year. After it shut more than 600 outlets in 2020, there is more to come. Last November, its parent company announced its intentions to pull the plug on the tween girl chain. The 108 locations left were intended to shutter by early 2021.
Justice
GameStop
Within the last two years, GameStop has shuttered hundreds of stores. This will continue in 2021. Recently, the video game retailer shared its intentions to shut down over a thousand outlets prior to the closure of its fiscal year. The closures are here after nearly a decade of difficulties that plagued the retail giant. It had a net loss of $458 million in 2018 that it tried to recoup with a number of debts.
GameStop
Sears
In 2018, Sears declared bankruptcy and shuttered most of its stores within the two years before that. Operated by Transformco, it is now witnessing a blow to its sales. CNN said that the retailer is now going through a “slow-motion liquidation” process and plans to resume its store closures in the following year. They have also listed a couple of sites with the help of commercial realtors.
Sears
The Disney Store
Just this March, Disney shared that about 60 locations of The Disney Store will shutter before the end of the year. The group said that it would focus on its social networking, theme park shopping ventures, and E-commerce. There are 330 outlets across the world in 2016, and 200 of those were in North America.
The Disney Store
Kmart
Transformco is also the parent company of Kmart. Just like its sister company Sears, it is also shuttering a lot of locations. The number of stores has since gone down to 48 locations. There are even more closures expected to happen in this coming year now that the commercial real estate field is recovering.
Kmart
H&M
Last year, H&M shuttered 180 stores and plans to do this to 250 more locations this year. The decision was motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a transition to e-commerce instead. Helena Helmersson is the CEO of the fast-fashion retailer. She explained, “More and more shoppers began shopping online after the pandemic, and they are making it evident that they enjoy a comfortable and empowering environment in which shops and online connect and reinforce each other.”
H&M
Victoria’s Secret
Over the course of the next two years, Victoria’s Secret is set to shutter more stores. Last year, the clothing retailer already shuttered 250 stores in North America. In May 2020, CEO Stuart Burgdoerfer took part in an earnings call and told investors more about the upcoming closures. USA Today quoted him saying, “We will anticipate a meaningful amount of incremental store closures outside the 250 that we’re pursuing this year, suggesting there will be more in 2021 and perhaps a little more in 2022.”
Victoria’s Secret
Gap
There is a plan to bring down the physical footprint of Gap in the next two years. In October 2020, there were reports that the clothing retailer will close 220 locations in North America. This is part of the plan of the retailer to dissociate from malls and instead prioritize city centers and more profitable areas.
Gap
Banana Republic
Gap Inc. is also the owner of the Banana Republic. The clothing retailer is set to close a number of stores as well. The plan goes that 130 locations will be shuttered by 2023. This is equivalent to around one third of the total number of outlets in North America between Gap and the Banana Republic.
Banana Republic
American Eagle
This company shared with everyone that around 40 to 50 locations will be shuttered by the end of 2020. In the previous fall, the executives of American Eagle said that they were thinking of pulling the plug on as many as 500 shops in the next two years once their leases expire. Mike Mathias, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the clothing retailer, said that the company is considering “leasing tenure, mall profile, proximity to other stores, and consumer experience level.”
American Eagle
Zara
At the moment, Zara wants to prioritize online transactions over physical shops due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inditex, which is the holding group of the clothing brand, revealed that it wanted to shut down as many as 1,200 stores globally in the next three years. The plan was meant to start in 2020. The company wants to pay $3 billion to improve its e-commerce and expand the customer support staff.
Zara
Men’s Wearhouse
Both Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse are under Tailored Brands. In the previous summer, the parent company chose to shutter nearly 500 stores “over time.” You see, the COVID-19 pandemic did a number on the men’s clothing retailer since people no longer needed formalwear with the rise of remote jobs. Despite this, the company has been doing better after it declared bankruptcy last August. By November, it was already getting out of the final part of the Chapter 11 proceedings.
Men’s Wearhouse
Chico’s
This famous women’s wear retailer has recently announced that the closure of nearly 250 shops within three years starting in 2019. Among other things, Chico’s wants to focus on the e-commerce sector of the company instead of its physical operations. It is clear that this has since become a trend in business.
Chico’s
Abercrombie & Fitch
As of January 2021, this well-known clothing brand closed four of its flagship locations. These closures affected the stores in Paris, Munich, Dusseldorf, and London. In reality, these were already scheduled before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Abercrombie & Fitch decided that three more significant stores will close their doors by the end of their leases: Madrid, Fukuoka, and Brussels.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Nine West
In a plan to restructure its old debts, Nine West has been selling off its parts and applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. We are sure that it is stressful to deal with its debt of $1.5 billion. The shoe retailer also let go of Easy Spirit. There are only 25 locations remaining. The parent company is now trying to prioritize more lucrative brands like Anne Klein, Kasper Grouper, and One Jeanswear Group.
Nine West
Payless
Among all the companies found on this list, Payless ShoeSource has the most store closures. Sadly, the company wanted to shutter over 2,500 stores. They held clearance sales in the hopes of getting rid of all stock and liquidating all the products. Even though there are a couple of stores that did not close until May, others were already gone by March.
Payless
Gymboree
In the middle of January, Gymboree Group Inc. declared bankruptcy. The children’s clothes retailer informed everyone that it was shuttering approximately 800 locations of both Gymboree and Crazy 8 in the United States and Canada. It went on to suspend online transactions and kicked off liquidation sales in remaining stores too. The saddest part is that it had not even been three years since Gymboree first filed for bankruptcy. In 2017, the company also halted its operations in a couple of stores.
Gymboree
Charlotte Russe
Were you as sad as we were to hear that Charlotte Russe shuttered all of its locations? The confirmation came in March 2019. It covered over 500 locations across the United States. Previously, it announced that it was closing 94 stores by April 30, 2019. What makes this feel so final is that the company went on to stop online orders, but fans got to buy their stuff from the liquidation sales at certain shops.
Charlotte Russe
Starbucks
The previous summer, Starbucks shared that it was shuttering 150 stores that did not perform as well as expected. That is surprising since the typical number of store closures per fiscal year is only a fraction of that. The company said that this would take place in big cities that had oversaturated markets. After all, it was not profitable to have separate branches of the coffee shop compete with one another.
Starbucks
Christopher & Banks
A lot of people were sad once they heard Christopher & Banks say that the plan was to shutter 30 to 40 stores before 2020 came to an end. The sales of the company have not really gone downhill. In fact, it saw a boost in terms of its online transactions. They remain hopeful that things will get better now.
Christopher & Banks
e.l.f Cosmetics
This beloved cosmetics retailer is yet another business that wants to prioritize e-commerce over its physical locations. From the look of things, this is going to become even more prevalent in the future. Before April 2019, it already shut down 22 stores. You can still avail of their products by ordering them on the official website. They are available in many drugstores in the United States too.
E.l.f Cosmetics
Destination Maternity
In this economy, Destination Maternity Corp. wants to prioritize its e-commerce sales and lessen its retail presence. This decision has affected around 42 to 67 stores. The company did this in a bid to bring down store expenses so that it can expand its online presence. USA Today reported that the clothing retailer wants to put up smaller stores “with reduced square footage to drive higher productivity.”
Destination Maternity
Foot Locker
Back in March 2019, this shoe retailer informed all of us of its plan to shutter 167 stores. Its goal was to invest more money in the stores that were not affected by the closures. This decision was made in a bit to raise profit margins. Its shareholders had been pleasantly surprised by its performance in Q4 of 2018.
Foot Locker
J. Crew
Why is it that J. Crew is featured in the news so much? In 2018, the company lost its CEO. This change led to the closure of six stores in January 2020. The closures were a part of the plan to shutter 30 stores. This plan was shared in the summer of 2019, but they did not initially share which locations had to go.
J. Crew
Vitamin Shoppe
Things are not going very well for Vitamin Shoppe either. As a matter of fact, it is in the same boat as GNC. The company now wants to focus on e-commerce and subscription services to keep its issues at bay. In 2017, it saw top-line sales of $1.2 billion and a decline of 8.5 percent. This can be attributed to the rise of its competitors and the decline of the shopping mall. Let us hope that things improve for them.
The Vitamin Shoppe Store
Bebe
People say that it started to go wrong for Bebe after creative director Neda Mashouf left. She was once married to Manny Mashouf, who founded the clothing brand in 1979. Now that shopping malls are on their way out, the company suffered from these changes. In 2018, the brand lost $4.6 million in operations. It also had to spend $65 million to shutter retail stores and prioritize e-commerce instead.
Bebe
David’s Bridal
There are many changes that have occurred in recent years. The wedding industry was not immune to these things. It is difficult for brands such as David’s Bridal since people are now going for cheap weddings and casual attire on the big day. Its sales, in particular, have suffered in the last few years. Besides that, it had a $520 million loan and $270 million in unsecured notes due last year.
David’s Bridal
Bon-Ton
Best known as a department store, Bon-Ton is now known as an online retailer. It has been around for a very long time, but it has seen a lot of ups and downs as well. The store previously filed for bankruptcy and launched liquidation sales. In 2018, the store reopened online and even a couple of stores. In the past, the company succeeded by operating in small towns with no competition. Amazon changed this.
Bon Ton
Claire’s
Accessories store Claire’s first entered the scene all the way back in 1961. It was a hit among a lot of young American girls for quite some time. However, the company ceased IPO and declared bankruptcy back in 2018. In May of the same year, it pulled the plug on more than 130 locations across the nation.
Claire’s
Southeastern Grocers
It is hard to believe that supermarkets have been suffering as well. Southeastern Grocers is the parent company of Winn-Dixie, Harveys, and Bi-Lo. It announced that it would shutter 22 stores toward the end of March 2019. This was not even a year after it bounced back from its previous Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. At the time, it shut down 94 stores. Bi-Lo lost the most since it ceased the operation of 13 stores.
Southeastern Grocers
Shopko
At first, Shopko shared its intention to shutter 70 percent of its total locations by May 2019. It later changed plans and said that all stores would be closed permanently. The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2019. It placed its hopes in a buyer that could help it recover from this mess. Sadly, this did not come to fruition. The retailer was forced to liquidate and pulled the plug on all shops by June 2019.
Shopko
Performance Bicycle
Any cycling enthusiast will already know this. Performance Bicycle, which was once the most popular bike retailer in the United States, has since ceased operations. It had 104 locations, but they were all shut down by March 2, 2019. The parent company filed for bankruptcy the fall before that. It initially hoped that it could keep half of the stores through lease negotiation, but it fell through in the end.
Performance Bicycle
Lowe’s
This is the place you go to when you are in need of gardening and home supplies. In 2019, the company closed 51 underperforming stores. Of those, 20 locations had been based in the United States. The rest were in Canada. These plans were revealed in an announcement toward the end of 2018, revealing that the store closures should be completed by February 2020. This happened after Robert Niblock quit his post as the long-term CEO and was replaced by Marvin R. Ellison who used to head J.C. Penney.
Lowe’s
Vera Bradley
Luggage retailer Vera Bradley had to rethink its operations, ultimately reaching a decision to let go of physical stores to instead pay more attention to licensing. The brand wants to sell home merch through Bed Bath and Beyond, Macy’s, and other retail chains. Its plan was to shutter up to 50 locations by 2021. This works for them as many leases expire this year. You can still visit a real store if you want since 52 of its brick-and-mortar shops remain open.
Vera Bradley
Henri Bendel
Sadly, Henri Bendel shuttered all of its locations in the United States in early 2020. In the fall of 2018, its parent company announced that Henri Bendel in its entirety was going to be shut down. Yes, this even includes its Fifth Avenue shop and the website. The bigger corporation wanted to focus on its more lucrative lines like Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret.
Henri Bendel
Family Dollar
The discount retailer announced its plan to shutter nearly 400 stores in 2020. It meant that Family Dollar fans are now looking at other places for cheap essentials and personal care products. On top of that, the company renamed 200 or so branches as well. There has also been talk of other changes in the future. Among other things, it is thinking of bringing up the price point of its offerings in certain shops.
Family Dollar
J.C. Penney
For a couple of years, J.C. Penney was one of the most popular stores in the United States. It has not been doing too hot as of late. For one thing, it had to deal with slow holiday sales, as well as a depreciation in its stock value. In 2020, these things contributed to its decision to shut down 18 department stores. Not only that, but the company made plans to close 9 furniture stores as well.
J.C. Penney
Z Gallerie
This upscale home furniture company recently filed for bankruptcy too. There are reports that say Z Gallerie is searching for a company that can buy it out and save its locations. Not that long ago, the company gave 17 stores the ax. This made up around one-fifth of all the Z Galleries in the nation.
Z Gallerie
Beauty Brands
In 2018, the company made an announcement to say that it would close 25 stores. In January that year, Beauty Brands filed for bankruptcy and downsized its corporate staff. In the paperwork, the company said that it was in hot water due to the higher operating cost. It did not fare well because it was, as it called itself, “a predominantly brick and mortar retailer.”
Beauty Brands
Things Remembered
In February 2019, this personalized gift company declared bankruptcy. It lucked out since a buyer purchased the company and saved many stores. Enesco LLC bought 176 stores from the retailer, which helped the retailer stay afloat. Despite this, it was too late for many of its other locations. The company used to have 450 stores. This number has since decreased by 250 stores.
Things Remembered
Ascena Retail
You might not have known that Ann Taylor, Loft, Dress Barn, and Lane Bryant are all subsidiaries of Ascena Retail. The parent company had been in a tight spot after sales went down over the past couple of years. In an effort to make up for the declining sales of the last few years, it shuttered hundreds of shops across the brands. It has since closed 667 stores, the first 400 of which took place in July 2019.
Ascena Retail
Lord & Taylor
While Lord & Taylor had been in operation for over a century, it made the call to shutter its flagship store. This is the one that used to be based on Fifth Avenue. It revealed plans to shutter over ten locations in 2020, but it did not announce the specific stores at the time. It has since gone fully digital.
Lord & Taylor
Kohl’s
What did Kohl do when it wanted to prevent the same problems faced by other mall retailers? Well, it closed four stores located near or inside malls. These were stores considered to be “lower-performing,” although the company promised that it sent severance packages or offered to transfer employees at those locations. From the look of things, this was more of a preventive measure and not an act of desperation. The plan was to keep the same number of stores by launching four small ones.
Kohl’s
99 Cents Only
You can’t beat 99 Cents if you are looking for affordable products. This is one of the biggest competitors of brands such as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Walmart. The company saw a net loss of $27.1 million, as well as a loss of $42.4 million in Q1 and Q2 of that year. Ares Management went on to buy it out before Canada Pension Plan did. After some time, it made its way to the hands of a private family. The new CEO Jack Sinclair has reported better same-store sales, but the future still does not look good.
99 Cents Only
Neiman Marcus
In the fiscal year of 2017, Neiman Marcus saw its top-line sales of $4.7 billion decrease by 5 percent. To solve this, people raised the idea of laying off 200 employees and focusing on a “Digital First” customer engagement plan. It was said that Hudson’s Bay wanted to purchase it, although it did not happen.
Neiman Marcus
Cole Haan
In 2018, USA Today published a list of at-risk businesses. Cole Haan made it there, although we are sure that this was not comforting at all. Things took a downturn for the company after it started to focus on athletic footwear instead of dress shoes. Apax Partners went on to buy the brand and spelled the end of its Nike comfort tech feature. Things have not gotten better for this company just yet.
Cole Haan
FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp
There are a few plus-size clothing brands under FullBeauty Brands Holding Crop. It is the owner of labels like Jessica London, Brylane Home, Woman Within, KingSize, Roaman’s, Ellos, and fullybeauty.com. In terms of its declining sales, the parent company lays the blame on Amazon. It saw a revenue drop of 30 percent in Q1 of 2017. Now that the executive lineup has been changed, there might yet be hope for it.
FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp
Eddie Bauer
This Bellevue-based outdoor company was one of the lucky ones. In 2009, Eddie Bauer managed to recover after it filed for bankruptcy. Everything is still so up in the air for it. The company was not pleased that its S&P Global credit ranking went down. Luckily, it has since merged with PacSun.
Eddie Bauer
Mattress Firm
How unfortunate is it that our favorite mattress company had to file for bankruptcy? This had something to do with an accounting error. Mattress Firm made an announcement about how it would sell 700 of its 3,500 stores. They now try to improve the state of things by restructuring and ending expensive leases.
Mattress Firm
GNC
In 1935, GNC hit the market and has since become the retailer of nutrition and diet products. It has been slimming down lately, however. It filed for bankruptcy and announced the closure of 800 to 1,200 stores. There are 7,300 GNC stores in operation right now. This includes 3,600 standalone stores in the United States, as well as 1,600 mini ones found in Rite Aid pharmacies. On the website, GNC said that it had been struggling in the past few years but continues to pay down its debt and compete with rivals.
GNC
Pier 1 Imports
It is disheartening to hear that Pier 1 Imports is no longer here. We had no choice but to bid adieu to its scented candles, papasan chairs, silk pillows, and more. The home furnishing retailer kicked off the year with an announcement that almost half of its stores would shut down. It declared bankruptcy and tried to look for a buyer. In the end, it had to close its doors for good. It is awful to hear that this happened to the company. It started out as a single location in San Mateo, California all the way back in 1962.
Pier 1 Imports
New York & Co.
At the beginning of 2020, New York & Co. announced its plan to shutter over 25 stores by February. This came after it suffered a bad holiday shopping season. The women’s fashion retailer reported that they got more action on the website instead of in the stores. We have heard this about other companies, but the truth is that this was already the case for the business prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York & Co.
Stein Mart
A lot of retailers suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Stein Mart has been around for longer than a century now. The discount department store chain first opened its doors in 1908. In mid-August, it declared bankruptcy and informed everyone that it would shutter “a significant portion, if not all, of its brick-and-mortar stores.” You are going to find more than 280 stores spread out across thirty states. In case you did not know, you can buy clothing, shoes, bedding, jewelry, and candy for cheap here.
Stein Mart
AT&T
The plan is for AT&T to shutter 250 of its retail stores. This includes Cricket Wireless and AT&T stores. According to the Communications Workers of America, around 1,300 people will suffer from these store closures. CNN reported that the company wants to offer employees of the affected locations remote jobs within the company. These store closures take place only two years since the initial announcement that it would open more than a thousand stores. At the time, AT&T had more than 5,300 stores.
AT&T
Tuesday Morning
These are also trying times for deep-discount retailers such as Tuesday Morning, although it might seem like they regularly hold going-out-of-business sales. It has since declared bankruptcy and planned to hold liquidation sales while it steeled itself to shutter 230 stores out of 700 n the summer of 2020. CEO Steve Becker, in a press release, stated, “The prolonged and unexpected closures of our stores in response to COVID-19 has had severe consequences on our business.”
Tuesday Morning
Family Video
Blockbuster only has one more store out there, but it is not the only video rental chain still in operation. You can also rent your DVDs and Blu-rays from Family Video! Sadly, a lot of its stores have since closed shop. The Times of Northwest Indiana called the business the “largest movie and game rental chain” in the country, but it has been shuttering hundreds of shops lately. There will be over 300 employees left. It said that “recent events have caused us to make some tough business decisions on its website.”
Family Video
Art Van Furniture
It might be a little difficult to accept that Art Van Furniture and Mattress has since closed all of its stores. People in the Midwest now have to adjust to a life without it. The company declared bankruptcy a couple of days after it was announced that it was shuttering all of its stores across eight states in March. The filing claimed that it has lost customers to Wayfair and Amazon. Diane Charles, the spokesperson of the company, said, “Despite our best efforts to remain open, the company’s brands and operating performance have been hit hard by a challenging retail environment.”
Art Van Furniture
Papyrus
Would it be in bad taste to get this company a card saying, “We’re sorry to see you go”? Papyrus was best known as a stationery retailer that had locations in different parts of the United States. In January, its parent company Schuman Retail Group declared bankruptcy and made an announcement about the store closures. All in all, it shut down 254 locations of Papyrus, Carlton Cards, and American Greetings. Of those, 178 were in the United States. All the others are located in Canada.
Papyrus
Forever 21
There are plenty of “fast-fashion” companies out there, but we daresay that Forever 21 is one of the biggest players in the market. It is best known for selling affordable and trendy clothes. We can see why it was such a huge hit among teenagers. The game is now changing as young people question the ethics of disposable clothing such as their offerings. In the end, the retailer had to declare bankruptcy and downsize its operations. The company has since shuttered almost 350 shops across the globe, and 200 of those were in the United States.
Forever 21