Closing Time: All The Stores That Will Be Closing In 2023
For many of these stores, it's an end of an era. American stores are preparing for the "retail apocalypse."
Whether they are shutting down all their stores, closing some locations, or filing for bankruptcy, customers won't be able to visit some of their favorite stores much longer. Here are some of the most iconic stores that are closing in 2023.
Macy's Stores Are Starting To Disappear
Macy's is one of the oldest department stores since its founding in 1858. However, it was announced in early 2023 that they would be closing 125 stores nationwide.
The closures will occur in 18 states, which will impact California, Washington, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
Bed Bath & Beyond Is Losing Locations And Employees
The home store, Bed Bath & Beyond, announced in September of 2022 that they would be closing 150 of their stores. On top of that, they will be laying off 20 percent of their workers.
According to USA Today, their goal is to save around $250 million in their next fiscal year.
JOANN Is On The Brink Of Bankruptcy
JOANN, also known as Jo-Ann, is one of America's largest craft stores. The store benefitted during 2020 when people were staying home.
However, they reported in September 2022 that they had a net loss of $56.9 million. This led to eight store closures and put them on the brink of bankruptcy.
Party City Is Cutting Staff
Party City is a top party supply store in the United States. After 2020, people were less likely to use their services out of fear.
It was reported in the spring of 2022 that their retail sales fell another 4.6 percent. This drop led to the decision that they would cut 19 percent of their corporate staff.
How Rite Aid Is Trying To Boost Their Cash Flow
Compared to other drugstore competitors, Rite Aid has fallen significantly behind when it comes to customers. They are also facing over three billion dollars in debt with an additional projected loss of $200 million for 2023.
In order to save money, they had to close 145 stores. They are hoping they can increase the number of prescriptions in their stores for 2023.
Tuesday Morning Isn't Doing Too Well
Economic experts have predicted that Tuesday Morning would be facing a downfall for many years. The home décor store only came out of bankruptcy in early 2021.
Their same-store sales and operating loss decreased from 2021 to 2022. In early 2023, they replaced their CEO and COO, and their stock plummeted in value.
CVS Has A Long-Term Plan For Store Closures
In the fall of 2021, CVS announced that it would be closing over 900 of its stores over the next three years. This means they are closing about 300 stores every year.
In an interview with Yahoo, the CVS representative stated that the closures would reestablish a "new retail footprint strategy aligned to evolving customer needs."
Kroger Will Continue Closing Stores In 2023
Grocery stores are one of the most common stores getting hit by the "retail apocalypse." Kroger started closing stores in 2021 and 2022 and will continue to do so in 2023.
"This store's low financial returns made it unfeasible to continue to operate while still upholding our low-price commitment to our customers," said Lori Raya, the president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic Division.
Nordstrom Is Under Pressure
Things aren't looking good for the department store Nordstrom. Economic analysts predict that the retailer will be struggling for at least the first half of 2023.
According to Insider, various department stores across the country will face closures. This financial pressure might mean that Nordstrom will be closing stores starting in the second half of 2023.
Best Buy Is Seriously Struggling
Starting around 2019, the electronics store, Best Buy, has been shutting down multiple locations every year. More closures are expected for 2023.
In late August of 2022, Best Buy announced that their sales had dropped by nearly 13 percent in the second quarter of their fiscal year. "We are clearly operating in an uneven sales environment," said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry.
Bad News For Sneakerheads: Foot Locker Is Closing
It was announced in early 2023 that the sportswear store, Foot Locker, will be closing approximately 117 stores across the world.
While the shoe store's sales are looking stable, the closures are due to new management. Their new CEO is planning company layoffs to cut jobs and reorganize the company structure.
Target Is Transitioning Into The Digital Age
Similar to many stores, Target is putting a lot more focus on its digital landscape. In 2023, they will focus more on internet sales and targeting their customers online.
While Target should be glad that their revenue is up going into 2023, they are still going to close 13 stores.
Walgreens Can't Keep Up With The Competition
With other big-name pharmacies doing well in today's market, other drugstores are suffering. Walgreens is one of them.
Walgreens plans to close about 200 of its locations in 2023 with the hope that it will profit from the stores that stay open. It was reported that they lost almost two billion dollars in 2020 alone.
GAP Is Seeing A Lot Of Cutbacks
The GAP clothing store is preparing for massive closures. They plan to get rid of at least 350 stores over the course of 2023 in order to stay ahead of their competition and reduce overhead.
Their former CEO, Art Peck, predicts that the store will close at least half of all of its locations in the upcoming years.
Urban Outfitters Isn't As Trendy As You Thought
The trendy clothing store Urban Outfitters is prepared to close some of its stores. After their stock fell in the summer of 2020, their in-store sales fell as well.
However, they are most profitable with digital sales. They saw a 76 percent rise in new digital customers during the second half of 2020.
Say Goodbye To The Children's Place
Parents and families have been going to The Children's Store since it opened in 1969. However, their profits began to fall before 2020.
Starting in the spring of 2021, The Children's Place decided to close 122 locations. This was in addition to the 178 stores closed in the previous year.
DSW Saw A Drop In Sales
After 2020, DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) had a reported 36 percent drop in sales. This led to the decision they would close some of their stores.
Starting in 2023, DSW plans to close 65 different locations over the next four years. They hope to recoup some of their losses by doing this.
Neiman Marcus Filed For Bankruptcy
According to Forbes, department store, Neiman Marcus, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May of 2020. They were able to exit the bankruptcy claim four months later.
Then, they were purchased by several investment firms that planned to keep the luxury brand alive. In 2023, their customers shifted to a younger client base.
Lowe's Sold All Of Its Canada-Based Stores
In 2023, the home improvement store Lowe's closed its Canada-based doors for the final time, selling the locations to the private equity firm Sycamore Partner. This came about due to the decision to focus solely on the company's United States-based locations.
In a statement, Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe's chairman, president, and CEO, said, "With the closing of this transaction, we are now singularly focused on the transformation of our U.S. home improvement business, where we have a great opportunity to simplify Lowe's operations and take market share."
Express Can't Keep Up
Things aren't going well for the Express retail store chain. According to The Delite, Express has been closing locations since 2020.
In that year, they closed 31 stores across 20 states. The following year they closed 25 stores. In 2022, they closed over 100 stores, and they plan to close more in 2023.
Starbucks Is Changing Its Layout
At the start of 2023, Starbucks announced the closures of over 400 stores across the United States and Canada. While they are one of the most popular coffee chains, they have a reason for the closures.
Starbucks wants to shift its focus to pick-up-only locations. They hope to still "enhance the customer experience" and "enable profitable growth for the future."
Office Depot Is Restructuring
Office Depot made a huge announcement in the spring of 2021 that they would be restructuring their company. The office supply store will be closing an "unspecified amount" of stores.
Along with the store closures happening in 2023, Office Depot will be eliminating over 13,000 jobs. This is because they are transitioning from a traditional retailer to an IT services provider.
J.C. Penney Had To File For Bankruptcy
Things aren't looking great for the department store J.C. Penney. The retailer announced that it would be closing more stores in the spring of 2023.
This came after the announcement that they had filed for bankruptcy and were forced to close over 150 stores in 2022. They are now under new owners.
Francesca's Couldn't Quite Recover After Filing For Bankruptcy
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy towards the end of 2020, Francesca's made the decision to close approximately 140 of their stores.
According to an interview with USA Today, the boutique store "plans to attempt to renegotiate a number of leases during this process, which may include closing additional boutiques."
Guess Is Losing Many Of Its American Locations
Guess has been around for over 40 years after its first opening in California. However, their business had diminished quite a bit.
The retailer announced in early 2021 that they are planning to close over 200 stores. This will still be happening throughout 2023. Most of the closures will be in the United States and China.
Victoria's Secret Is Facing Additional Closures
While Victoria's Secret became the United States' largest lingerie retailer in 2019, its sales have gradually decreased over the years.
In order for them to grow their revenue, they had to close over 300 stores. It was announced in November 2022 that Victoria's Secret acquired a new lingerie brand called Adore Me for $400 million.
Pottery Barn Is Struggling In The Current Market
According to Investing.com, it looks as though the home living store, Potter Barn, has been struggling in the market for quite some time.
The Denver Post wrote an article in 2017 stating that the company was "struggling to adapt" to a changing "retail landscape." There have been several closures since 2020, with 183 remaining locations in 2023.
Bid Farewell To The Disney Store
Disney is a brand recognized around the world. However, their stores didn't open until 1987. With about 300 locations, Disney plans to close at least 60 of them.
It's possible that more stores will close after this is done. A lot of their profits are now coming from online sales.
Banana Republic Closures Are On The Rise
Things started to go awry for Banana Republic in 2016. First, the retailer shut down all of their locations in the U.K.
Then, they had to close around 84 stores over the next few years. According to Investing.com, they average about 15 store closures per quarter. It's expected that more to close in 2023.
Where Are All The Kmarts?
Kmart is one of the most historic retail stores after opening in 1899. While they used to be located all over the country, their locations have significantly dwindled.
As of 2023, Kmart only has 20 locations left across the entire United States. This came after the company had to file for bankruptcy and the rise of e-commerce.
Hundreds Of American Eagle Stores Will Be Gone Very Soon
One of American Eagle's biggest goals for 2023 is to reach a revenue of about two billion dollars. Unfortunately, they have to close some stores.
American Eagle is set to close over 250 locations in 2023. They want to focus on growing their other brand, Aerie, so they will direct most of their resources there.
