More than 3,300 stores are
closing in 2020 as the retail
apocalypse drags on.
Pier 1 said in January that it plans to close 450 stores, representing about half of its total store count, as it struggles to stay afloat after years of falling sales.
The closings could affect thousands of workers. Pier 1 had about 950 stores and roughly 4,000 employees at the time of the announcement.
The company also said it planned to cut its corporate head count and shut down some distribution centers.
GameStop said in March that it closed 333 stores in fiscal 2019 and opened 12 new stores.
In 2020, the company said it expects store closures "to be equal to or more than the 320 net closures we saw in fiscal 2019 on a global basis. "
The stationary chain Papyrus filed for bankruptcy in January and said it plans to close its 254 stores in the US and Canada.
Victoria's Secret's parent company, L Brands, said in May that it plans to close 251 stores in the US and Canada in 2020. Most of the closures — 238 total —will be in the US.
Gap is closing hundreds of Gap-branded stores as it opens stores under other brands including Old Navy and Athleta. The company said in February 2019 that it planned to close about 230 Gap stores over the next two years.
More recently, Gap said about 130 locations will close in fiscal 2019 and a majority of those closings will happen in the fourth quarter, which extends into January 2020.
The remaining closings are expected to happen in the coming year.
Walgreens announced in August that it planned to close 200 US locations under a multiyear cost-cutting program. The company has not revealed any further details about the timing or location of the closings.
The new round of closings is in addition to a previously announced cut of 750 US stores, which Walgreens has said it expects to complete by the end of this year.
The women's clothing retailer Chico's said last year that it planned to close about 250 stores, including 100 Chico's stores, 90 White House Black Market stores, and 60 Soma stores over three years. The company had closed 49 stores as of November 2, leaving about 200 more expected closures over the next two years.
Destination Maternity filed for bankruptcy protection in October and said it planned to shutter 183 stores in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company owns stores under its namesake brand, as well as under the Motherhood Maternity brand.
Forever 21 said it expected to close 350 stores globally, including up to 178 locations in the US, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. Company filings reveal many of these closures will happen in early 2020.
The sports retailer Modell's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and said it plans to close all of its 153 stores.
The craft-store chain A.C. Moore is shutting down all 145 of its stores in 2020. A.C. Moore's parent company, Nicole Crafts, announced the closings in November and said about 40 locations would be converted into Michaels stores.
Macy's plans to close 125 stores over the next three years and cut thousands of corporate jobs as part of a cost-savings plan, the company said in February.
Art Van Furniture filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and said that it planned to close all of its company-owned stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Missouri, along with eight Wolf Furniture stores in Maryland and Virginia.
In its bankruptcy filing, the company said it operates 169 stores and plans a going-concern sale for 44 of those locations. The remaining stores will be closed.
The audio equipment retailer Bose said in January that it planned to close 119 stores globally, including all its stores in the US.
Olympia Sports said in October that it planned to close 76 stores after it was purchased by the sports retailer JackRabbit. The stores will close in 2020.
Sears said in November that it planned to close 96 stores in February, including 51 Sears stores and 45 Kmart stores. Sears parent company Transform Holdco will operate just 182 stores after the closings.
The grocery chain Earth Fare said in February that it would close all its stores.
"Earth Fare has been proud to serve the natural and organic grocery market, and the decision to begin the process of closing our stores was not entered into lightly," the company said in a statement. "We'd like to thank our team members for their commitment and dedication to serving our customers, and our vendors and suppliers for their partnership."
The company said it made the decision to start liquidating its stores due to "continued challenges in the retail industry that impeded the company's progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt."
Bath & Body Works parent company L Brands said in May that it plans to close 50 stores in the US in 2020.
Kmart parent company Transform Holdco plans to close 45 Kmart stores by February.
Bed, Bath & Beyond plans to close about 44 stores in 2020.
The company said in January that it planned to close 40 stores in its current fiscal year, which ends in April, and another 20 stores in fiscal 2020. By January, the company had executed about 16 of those planned closings.
Bed, Bath & Beyond operates a number of stores including World Market, buybuy BABY, Christmas Tree Shops, and One Kings Lane.
See the list of closing stores here.
The regional grocery chain Lucky's Market is closing most of its stores and laying off thousands of employees in February, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
Lucky's plans to close 32 stores by February 12 and lay off about 2,500 employees, according to the Sun Sentinel's report. Lucky's Market did not respond to requests for comment.
Express said in January that it plans to close 100 stores, representing about one quarter of its total locations, by 2022.
That number includes nine stores that closed last year and 21 that will close by the end of January.
Another 35 stores will close by the end of January 2021, the company said.
Neiman Marcus said in March that it planned to close most of its 22 off-price Last Call stores.
"Select Last Call stores will remain open to serve as a selling channel for Neiman Marcus residual inventory," the company said.
Nordstrom said in May that it planned to close 16 full-line department stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Texas, and Puerto Rico.
The closures represent about 14% of Nordstrom's full-line fleet. The company later said it would close three Jeffrey boutiques.
At least 16 Hallmark-branded stores in the US are closing in 2020, according to local media reports and posts to Facebook by store owners.
Rich Schauer, who is closing his Hallmark store in Forest Park, Illinois, said social media is crushing the greeting card business.
"It's just not a viable business any longer," he told the Forest Park Review. "People used to buy and send cards all the time. It's all online now. Everyone celebrates their birthdays on social media."
JCPenney said in January that it would close six stores by April 24. The closures affect stores in Montana, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
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