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This long list of stores closing in 2020 includes the ever-growing number of retailers that have filed for bankruptcy, closed locations, or both. Since 2017, brick-and-mortar store closures have surpassed 20,000.
Why do physical stores keep closing? It’s partly due to the ongoing e-commerce boom, (the hardest-hit stores were declining in sales before COVID-19) but mostly due to the pandemic that has kept shoppers, like you and me, at home.
While retail brick-and-mortar stores close up shop at a record pace, thousands of hard-working employees lose their jobs and loyal shoppers, like us, either find an alternative or turn to online shopping. It’s heartbreaking.
Here’s a list of the most recent store closings and bankruptcies, which I’ll update with changes as they occur:
1. Pier 1 Imports closed all 950 stores.
On May 19, Pier 1 Imports announced that instead of closing half their stores forever, they were calling it quits and that all 950 stores would be closing.
RELATED: Pier 1 Has Started Liquidating Their 950 Stores
2. Stage Stores, which owns Gordmans, Bealls, and Goody’s, has closed all 700 locations.
After filing bankruptcy in May, Stage Stores announced the closure of all 700+ of their locations. Liquidation sales wrapped up in September.
3. GameStop expects 400-450 store closures this year.
In 2019, GameStop closed 200 stores as a result of not being able to compete with digital games and online stores.
An initial announcement of 320 store closures was edited in September, now promising between 400-450 stores shutting down for good between 2020-2021.
4. Papyrus closing 254 stores.
After Papyrus filed bankruptcy in January, they announced that a total of 254 stores, 178 of those in the U.S., would close in 2020.
5. H&M is closing 250 stores worldwide next year.
Low-cost fashion retailer H&M is closing about 5% of the retailer’s 5,000 stores internationally; they announced 250 store closures coming soon.
As of October 2020, about 200 stores remain closed because of the pandemic.
6. Victoria’s Secret plans to shutter about 250 locations.
I thought Victoria’s Secret was gonna make it after Black Friday 2019, but Sycamore Partners, which was supposed to buy 55% of Victoria’s Secret in January of this year and rescue them from the brink, backed out of the deal.
L Brands, the company that owns VS, announced this week they will close about 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada this year.
7. Tuesday Morning store closings will be around 230.
Tuesday Morning filed bankruptcy in May and intends to close 230 of their almost 700 stores.
8. Gap will close up to 230 stores.
In February 2019, Gap announced up to 230 stores would close before February 2021. Who knows? Things could turn around yet.
9. Walgreens Pharmacy closing 200 stores.
The closing of 200 Walgreens locations was announced last August as part of a cost-cutting program.
RELATED: What’s Next for These Stores Going Bankrupt
10. Carter’s has identified about 200 stores they’ll close.
Carter’s announced in October that they’d be closing 1 out of 4 of their stores, with most of the closures taking place by the end of 2021.
These closures will take place at older, lower-performing locations whose leases in malls and shopping centers are about to expire.
11. Chico’s to shutter about 200 locations.
The 200 locations include Chico’s, White House Black Market, and Soma stores.
12. JCPenney closing 154 stores.
It’s been a long, slow death for JCPenney. After filing bankruptcy in May, they plan to shut down 154 more stores this year.
13. Art Van Furniture closing about 190 locations.
via facebook
Although all 190 Art-Van Furniture company-owned stores began closing in March, franchisee-owned stores aren’t included in the closures.
14. Destination Maternity plans 183 store closings.
After filing bankruptcy in October last year, Destination Maternity, parent company of Motherhood Maternity, announced 183 stores would be closed in 2020.
15. Forever 21 closing down an unspecified number of stores.
Forever 21 filed bankruptcy last September and announced 178 locations would shut down in order to stay alive. The company got a new owner in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
With malls taking such a hard hit, the latest buyers have decided to quietly start shuttering stores. At this point, we don’t know how many will survive, but it doesn’t look good.
16. Modell’s Sporting Goods shut down all 153 locations.
After filing bankruptcy in February of this year, Modell’s reported all 153 stores would close.
RELATED: Self-Serve & Buffet Restaurants May Be Closing for Good
17. A.C. Moore store closings are supposed to top 145.
Although all 145 A.C. Moore stores will close, around 40 may come back as Michaels Craft stores, because Micheals bought some of the A.C. Moore locations.
18. Macy’s closing 125 mall stores.
Macy’s expects to close one-fifth of their department stores within three years with the first of 125 starting in 2020.
19. Bose closing a total of 119 stores.
Of the 119 Bose stores, 50 are located in the United States, which will be gone by the year’s end.
20. Office Depot plans to shut 90 locations by 2021.
via Money
In addition to the 55 locations Office Depot shuttered last year, another 90 will close by 2021.
While Office Depot’s sales have been outperforming expectations during the pandemic, they are paying workers more and spending more money to remain CDC compliant. That is eating into profits, which in turn affects stock prices.
21. Olympia Sports closing 76 stores.
via facebook
About half of Olympia Sports’ stores, 76 of them, will shut down by the end of the year.
22. Express closings total 66 this year.
In addition to the 31 Express stores that shut down earlier this year, another 35 will close by the end of January 2021.
RELATED: Gold’s Gym Files for Bankruptcy, Closing 30+ Locations
23. Bed Bath & Beyond closing 63 locations in 2020.
Not BB & B! They expanded their initial forecast of 44 store closures to 63 for 2020, plus 20 more closures from their other chain stores including Cost Plus World Market, and buybuy BABY.
Bed Bath & Beyond is planning to close another 200 stores over the next two years.
24. Sur La Table is closing 73 out of 120 locations.
High-end kitchenware store Sur La Table started closing sales Aug. 28. They’d originally marked 56 stores for permanent closure, but added 17 more in September.
25. Sears to shut another 51 locations.
Sears, an American institution, has struggled over these last few years and filed bankruptcy last December. Now they expect to close another 51 locations in 2020.
26. Bath & Body Works plans for 50 store closings.
Sad news that a total of 50 Bath and Body Works store closings are planned for 2020.
27. Kmart shuttered 50 stores earlier this year.
Even though there are a few Kmart locations left after they filed bankruptcy almost two decades ago and merged with Sears, they closed another 50 stores earlier this year.
28. Earth Fare closing all 50 stores.
via facebook
Earth Fare announced in February they would close all 50 grocery stores.
29. American Eagle will close 40-50 stores now, up to 500 within 2 years.
The apparel retailer has seen massive online sales growth while physical locations have struggled, and so American Eagle is looking to reduce their brick-and-mortar presence.
Up to 50 will close by Dec. 31, and American Eagle has identified up to 500 locations they could shutter within 2 years.
30. Zara may close about 44 stores in the U.S. (but 1,000+ globally).
Inditex, the company that owns fast-fashion retailer Zara, has announced that they’ll be closing 500-600 stores for the next two years. The closures will represent about 55% of the company’s 2,220 stores worldwide. At that rate, we could see about 44 Zara locations shuttered in the U.S.
31. Lord & Taylor closed all 38 stores.
After years of financial troubles, the pandemic forced one of the oldest department stores in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy, and in August, the company announced that all 38 of their stores would close for good.
32. Chuck E. Cheese is saying goodbye to 34 locations.
Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy in June 2020 after the restaurant and kids birthday hot spot’s 600+ U.S. locations have seen minimal business since the pandemic.
Despite Chuck E. Cheese trying to trick Grubhub users into buying their pizza, sales remain low, and 34 locations will be permanently closed.
33. Christopher & Banks to close 30 to 40 stores.
Expect 30 to 40 Christopher & Banks stores to close by the end of 2020.
RELATED: Tuesday Morning Closing & Liquidating 1/3 of Stores
34. Lucky’s Market closed all 32 locations at the beginning of 2020.
Lucky’s Market closed all 32 stores at the beginning of 2020.
35. New York & Company shuttered 27 locations early this year.
Earlier this year, New York & Co shuttered 27 shops including four outlet stores.
36. CVS Pharmacy intends to close 22 stores.
On top of the 46 stores in 2019, CVS intends to close another 22 “underperforming” stores this year.
37. Neiman Marcus closing most of their 22 Last Call stores.
Via Neiman Marcus
After Neiman Marcus announced in March that they would close the majority of their 22 Last Call stores, they filed bankruptcy in May.
38. Nordstrom closing 16 stores in 2020.
Nordstrom expects to shutter 16 department stores this year.
RELATED: Retailers That Might Not Reopen After the Coronavirus
39. Hallmark to shutter 16 Gold Crown locations.
At least 16 Hallmark Gold Crown stores will shut down in 2020.
40. Century 21 closed all 13 locations.
No, not the real estate company — the New York discount store chain. After not receiving money from insurance, the chain announced that they’d filed for bankruptcy and would close for good.
41. J.Crew bankruptcy closed 8 stores.
J.Crew filed bankruptcy on May 4, 2020, and they closed 8 stores in August 2020. Moving forward, that number is expected to grow, as the retailer may have no choice but to liquidate a number of their stores.
42. Walmart shut 2 locations in March.
One Walmart Michigan store and two in North Carolina closed in March, but this company definitely is not in any financial trouble.
43. Bloomingdale’s plans to close 1 location.
Out of the Bloomingdale’s 35 locations, one store in Miami made the 2020 cut list.
Don’t Scroll Up! Here are the articles I mentioned:
Pier 1 Has Started Liquidating Their 950 Stores
What’s Next for These Stores Going Bankrupt
Self-Serve & Buffet Restaurants May Be Closing for Good
Gold’s Gym Files for Bankruptcy, Closing 30+ Locations
Tuesday Morning Closing & Liquidating 1/3 of 3 of Stores
Retailers That Might Not Reopen After the Coronavirus
UP NEXT: Disney World Reopening Date & Plans Announced for This Summer
