- Retailers have confirmed at least 6,300 US store closings for 2020.
- Stein Mart, Men’s Wearhouse, Lord & Taylor, Microsoft, GNC, JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, and Sears are among the retailers that are planning to close stores this year.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Retailers are expected to close more than 6,300 stores this year, following record-high rates of closings last year.
More than 9,300 store closings were announced in the US in 2019, smashing the previous record of roughly 8,000 store closures in 2017, according to an analysis by Business Insider.
The number of store closings this year could be even higher than previous records, according to estimates from the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. The firm estimated last year – prior to the coronavirus pandemic – that as many as 12,000 major chain stores could close in 2020.
The pandemic is now putting even more stores in danger of closing, as retailers grapple with dramatic drops in sales in traffic.
Retail companies have so far confirmed at least 6,300 stores slated for closure in 2020, according to a Business Insider analysis.
Here's a list of the stores expected to close this year.
Tailored Brands: 500 stores
Tailored Brands, which owns Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, said in July that it plans to close up to 500 stores and cut 20% of its corporate workforce.
In a news release on the closures, the company said it has "reevaluated the forecasted profitability and strategic value of every store in its fleet relative to current and anticipated trends in consumer demand and has identified up to 500 stores for closure over time."
Pier 1 Imports: 450 stores
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.
RTW Retailwinds: up to 378 stores
New York & Co. parent company RTW Retailwinds filed for bankruptcy in July and said it planned to close most, "if not all," of its stores. The company operated 378 stores at the time of the bankruptcy.
GameStop: 320 stores
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. "
Signet Jewelers: 300 stores
Signet Jewelers runs more than 3,000 stores under the following banners: Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples, and Piercing Pagoda.
The company said in June that it plans to immediately close 150 US stores and 80 UK stores, and that it will close at least another 150 stores before the end of the year.
Business Insider estimates about 300 US store closings based on this announcement, and will update this figure when the company provides further information.
Stein Mart: 279 stores
The off-price chain Stein Mart filed for bankruptcy in August, and liquidators later announced that all 279 of the company's stores would close.
Papyrus: 254 stores
The stationary chain Papyrus filed for bankruptcy in January and said it plans to close its 254 stores in the US and Canada.
GNC: 248 stores
The vitamins and supplements retailer GNC filed for bankruptcy in June and said it expects to close between 800 and 1,200 stores while it looks for a buyer for its business.
GNC said it plans to close 248 stores imminently as part of the restructuring process.
Victoria's Secret: 238 stores
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: 230 stores
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.
Tuesday Morning: 230 stores
The off-price retailer Tuesday Morning filed for bankruptcy in May and said it planned to close 230 of its roughly 700 stores.
Walgreens: 200 stores
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 Children's Place: 200 stores
The Children's Place said in June that it plans to close 200 stores in 2020 and another 100 stores in fiscal 2021. As of May, the company had 920 stores in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Chico's: 200 stores
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.
Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass: 199 stores
G-III Apparel Group, which owns DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and other brands, said in June that it planned to close all 110 of its Wilsons Leather stores and all 89 of its G.H. Bass stores immediately or as soon as stores reopen based on coronavirus restrictions.
Destination Maternity: 183 stores
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: 178 stores
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.
PVH Corp: 162 stores
PVH Corp, which owns the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands, said in July it planned to cut 450 jobs in North America and close all 162 stores of its Heritage Brand stores. Heritage Brand stores carry brands such as Van Heusen and IZOD.
JCPenney: 155 stores
JCPenney filed for bankruptcy in May and said it plans to eventually close about 30% of its 846 stores. In June, the retailer revealed a list of 136 stores that would be included in the first round of closings, and later added an additional 13 stores.
Prior to the new rounds of closings, JCPenney had closed six stores in 2020 in Montana, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Modell's: 153 stores
The sports retailer Modell's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and said it plans to close all of its 153 stores.
A.C. Moore: 145 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: 125 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: 125 stores
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.
Bose: 119 stores
The audio equipment retailer Bose said in January that it planned to close 119 stores globally, including all its stores in the US.
Guess: 100 stores
The fashion brand Guess said in June that it plans to close about 100 stores over the following 18 months in the US and China.
Guess CEO Carlos Alberini announced the closures during an earnings call, saying, "the recent store performance and expected demand under our new normal model made very clear that our store portfolios around the world could be optimized to increase profitability."
The closings represent about 9% of the company's store network.
Microsoft: 83 stores
Microsoft said in June that it plans to permanently close all its retail stores, and turn its flagship locations - including stores in London, New York, Sydney, and Redmond, Washington - into "Microsoft Experience Centers."
Microsoft has 83 retail locations, according to its website.
Olympia Sports: 76 stores
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.
Sur La Table: 56 stores
The high-end kitchenware retailer Sur La Table filed for bankruptcy in July and said it planned to close 56 stores. The company plans to sell 70 of its locations to the private equity firm Fortress Investment
Sears: 51 stores
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.
Brooks Brothers: 51 stores
Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy in July. At the time of filing, the company had decided to close 51 of its 250 North American stores, CNBC reported.
Earth Fare: 50 stores
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: 50 stores
Bath & Body Works parent company L Brands said in May that it plans to close 50 stores in the US in 2020.
Kmart: 45 stores
Kmart parent company Transform Holdco plans to close 45 Kmart stores by February.
Bed, Bath & Beyond: 44 stores
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.
Lucky's Market: 32 stores
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: 31 stores
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: 20 stores
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: 19 stores
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.
Lord & Taylor: 19 stores
Lord & Taylor launched liquidation sales at 19 of its 38 stores in August as it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Liquidation sales at the remaining stores could soon be underway, as well, according to court documents.
Chief Restructuring Officer Ed Kremer said in a court declaration that Lord & Taylor is hoping to sell some of its most profitable stores through an auction process.
If a buyer is found for one or more stores, the company will stop liquidation sales at those locations.
The Frye Company: 16 stores
The Frye Company said in August that it had decided to close all its 16 stores and continue selling its footwear online.
In a note to customers, the company said, "The future is digital, and we are going all in."
Hallmark: 16 stores
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."
Rent the Runway:
Rent the Runway said in August that it planned to close all five of its stores in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Walmart: 3 stores
Walmart plans to close one store in Michigan and two in North Carolina by April. The company confirmed the closings to local news outlets.
The closing stores include a supercenter in Ypsilanti, Michigan, as well as stores in Wadesboro and Lumberton, North Carolina.
