Store Tracker Extra: More Data Each Month

In our US Store Tracker Extra monthly series, we offer insight into retailers’ store closure and opening announcements on a monthly basis—supplementing our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker report. We include retailer-level details on closures and openings as a percentage of total store base as well as square-footage impact. This report also offers a comparison between year-to-date announced closures and openings as of April 30, 2021 (corresponding to week 17 in our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker) versus the comparable period in 2020 (the 18 weeks ended May 1, 2020).

2021 Major US Store Closures: Proportion of Store Base and Square Footage

As of April 30, 2021, major US retailers have announced 3,395 store closures for this year. This compares to 2,191 announced closures in the comparable period of 2020, as we discuss later in this report. In April 2021, the following retailers made store closure announcements:

• Anthropologie plans to close an estimated six stores in 2021, which represent around 4% of its total store base. The closures will account for an estimated 69,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close an estimated 246 stores in 2021, which represent around 16% of its total store base of 1,500 stores. The store closures will account for an estimated 8.4 million square feet of total retail space.
• Best Buy has closed two stores in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base. The closures will account for an estimated 78,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Foot Locker plans to close an estimated 15 stores across its brands in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 2,119. The closures will account for an estimated 74,300 square feet of total retail space.
• Free People plans to close an estimated five stores in 2021, which represent around 4% of its total store base. The closures will account for an estimated 14,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Guess? has closed one store in 2021, which represents less than 1% of its total store base. The store closure will account for an estimated 5,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Petsense has closed seven stores in 2021, which represent around 4% of its total store base. The closures will account for an estimated 38,500 square feet of total retail space.
• Sleep Number has closed six stores in 2021, which represent around 1% of its total store base. The store closures will account for an estimated 17,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Shoe Carnival plans to close nine stores in 2021, which represent around 2% of its total store base. The closures will account for around 97,000 square feet of total retail, space, we estimate.
• Target will close two stores in 2021, which represent around 1% of its total store base. The retailer’s closures will account for approximately 255,000 square feet of total retail space, we estimate.
• Urban Outfitters will close an estimated six stores in 2021, which represent around 3% of its total store base. The retailer’s closures will account for approximately 71,000 square feet of total retail space, we estimate.

In Figure 1, we offer a breakdown of estimated closures announced by various retailers, along with a representation of the proportion of their total store base that will be impacted.

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Figure 1. Year-to-Date Announced US Store Closures Estimates for 2021, by Retailer, in Comparison to Total Store Base (Listed by Most to Least Closures) [wpdatatable id=902 table_view=regular]

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Store count information for retailers in the above list are based on the third quarter of the fiscal year ending January 2021 or the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending December 2020 for most public companies. *Ascena Retail includes Justice, Catherines, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, LOFT and Lou & Grey.    **Total store base count represented for Genesco is for global and for Disney, Michaels Stores, Old Navy, Gap, and Signet Jewelers is for North America, as a US specific breakdown could not be obtained. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research Overall, the announced year-to date closures equate to over 44.3 million square feet in closed retail space, we estimate. In Figure 2, we show the estimated square-footage impact of various retailers’ year-to-date store closure announcements for 2021.

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Figure 2. Year-to-Date Announced 2021 US Store Closures Estimates in Gross Square Feet, by Retailer (Thous.) [caption id="attachment_126830" align="aligncenter" width="725"] Ascena Retail Group includes Justice, Catherines, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, LOFT and Lou & Grey
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]  

2021 Major US Store Openings: Proportion of Store Base and Square Footage 

As of April 30, 2021, major US retailers have announced 3,597 store openings. This compares to 2,472 announced openings in the comparable period of 2020, which we discuss later in this report. In April, the following retailers announced store openings for 2021:

• Anthropologie plans to open an estimated 17 stores in 2021, representing an 8% expansion of its existing fleet of 201 stores. The new openings will account for around an estimated 194,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Bed Bath & Beyond plans to open an estimated eight stores in 2021, representing around 1% of its existing store fleet of 1,500 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 272,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Foot Locker plans to open an estimated four stores in 2021, representing a less than 1% expansion of its existing fleet of 2,119 stores in the US. The new openings will account for an estimated 20,000 square feet of retail space.
• Free People plans to open an estimated 11 stores in 2021, representing an 8% expansion on the existing fleet of 136 stores. The new openings will account for around an estimated 31,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Lululemon plans to open an estimated 22 stores in 2021, representing a 7% increase to its current store count of 314 stores in the US. The new openings will account for an estimated 69,000 square feet of total retail space.
• RH plans to open four stores in 2021, representing a 3% expansion of its existing fleet of 120. The new openings will account for an estimated 132,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Shoe Carnival has opened one store in 2021, representing a less than 1% expansion of its existing fleet of 383 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 11,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Skechers has opened six stores in 2021, representing around 1% expansion of its existing fleet of 523 stores in the US. The new openings will account for an estimated 18,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Target plans to open an estimated 38 stores in 2021, representing a 2% expansion on the existing fleet of 1,897 stores. We assume the new openings will primarily be small-format stores and will account for an estimated 1.5 million square feet of total retail space.
• Urban Outfitters plans to open an estimated 15 stores in 2021, representing an 8% expansion on the existing fleet of 177 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 193,000 square feet of total retail space.

In Figure 3, we offer a breakdown of estimated openings announced by various retailers, along with a representation of the size of the expansion in proportion to their existing store base.

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Figure 3. Year-to-Date Announced US Store Openings Estimates for 2021, by Retailer, in Comparison to Total Store Base (Listed by Most to Least Openings) [wpdatatable id=903 table_view=regular]

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Store count information for retailers in the above list are based on latest reported count (the third quarter of the fiscal year ending January 2021 or the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending December 2020 for most public companies). *TJX Companies includes HomeGoods, Homesense, Marmaxx and Sierra stores. Amazon includes Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go banners. Aerie includes Aerie and OFFLINE stores. **Total store base count represented for Genesco and Payless is global, while Athleta, Old Navy and Signet Jewelers and Michaels Stores is for North America, as a US-specific breakdown could not be obtained. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research Overall, the announced year-to-date openings equate to over 49.7 million square feet in new retail space, we estimate. In Figure 4, we show the square-footage impact of various retailers’ year-to-date store opening announcements for 2021.

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Figure 4. Year-to-Date Announced 2021 US Store Openings Estimates in Gross Square Feet, by Retailer (Thous.) [caption id="attachment_126831" align="aligncenter" width="725"] TJX Companies includes HomeGoods, Homesense, Marmaxx and Sierra stores. Amazon includes Amazon Fresh and Amazon GO banners. Aerie includes Aerie stores and OFFLINE stores. The square footage for Target is calculated assuming the majority of stores the company expects to open in 2021 are small format stores.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]  

2021 Versus 2020: A Year-to-Date Comparison

The charts below depict the week-by-week totals of announced US store closures and openings year to date in 2021, as well as the comparative figures for 2020. Compared to this time last year, both store closure and opening announcement totals are ahead year to date in 2021. We estimate that total store closures will reach nearly 10,000 and that store openings will total around 4,000 this year. Year-to-date announced store closures in April 2021 are led by apparel retailers, which account for 1,393 closures, representing 41% of total closures. The year-to-date equivalent closures for April 2020 were led by apparel retailers, which had announced 722 closures and accounted for 29% of total announced closures. Year-to-date announced store openings in April 2021 are led by discount store retailers, which account for 1,885 openings, representing 52% of total openings. The year-to-date equivalent closures for April 2020 were also led by discount store retailers, which had announced 1,270 openings and accounted for 51% of total announced openings.

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Figure 5. US Announced Store Closures and Openings: Week-by-Week Comparison, 2021 (Top) vs 2020 (Bottom) [wpdatachart id=204]   [wpdatachart id=205]

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April 2021 spans weeks 13 to 17, while the comparable period in 2020 spans weeks 14 to 18: Our tracker counts map four weeks in January 2021, versus five weeks in January 2020. Coresight Research periodically updates the count for openings and closures when there are new updates or revisions to previous announcements from companies, and this could involve retrospective revisions of totals for some weeks. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

US Retail Bankruptcies: 2021 Versus 2020

The Collected Group and L&L Wings filed for bankruptcy in April 2021, taking the total of US bankruptcy filings so far this year to eight. In the tables below, we offer a comparative view of year-to-date bankruptcy filings as of April 30, 2021 versus April 30, 2020. Our Retail Bankruptcies Databank offers a more detailed list of US and UK retail companies, restaurants and gyms that have filed for bankruptcy since March 2020.

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Figure 6. 2021 Major US Retail Bankruptcies as April 30, 2021 [wpdatatable id=909 table_view=regular]

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*Belk exited bankruptcy one day after filing N/A—Not Available Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

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Figure 7. 2020 Major US Retail Bankruptcies as of April 30, 2020 [wpdatatable id=910 table_view=regular]

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*Fairway Market filed for bankruptcy for the second time after entering and exiting bankruptcy in 2016. True Religion Apparel filed for bankruptcy for the second time after entering and exiting bankruptcy in 2017. N/A – Not Available Source: Company reports/Coresight Research The Collected Group  The Collected Group, parent company of Joie, Equipment and Current/Elliott fashion brands filed for bankruptcy in April 2021. The company closed all of its 33 stores to focus primarily on e-commerce. The company filed with a pre-packaged plan that would turn over equity to certain secured lenders. The store closures represent an estimated 66,000 square feet of total retail space. L&L Wings Beachwear retailer L&L Wings filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on April 24, 2021. The company filed for bankruptcy to appeal a judgment entered against it for $16 million. The company operates 26 stores and will likely be forced to liquidate its assets if the judgment against it is enforced and executed. Other Major US Retail Opening Announcements in April 2021 

• Footwear retailer Birkenstock has opened its third store in the US in Brooklyn, New York in April 2021. 
• Convenience store chain Sheetz has opened a store and plans to open 50 new stores over five years starting 2022.
• Grocery retailer Roche Bros has opened its 22nd store in Watertown, Massachusetts in April 2021.
• Apparel retailer Johnnie-O has opened its third store in Texas in April 2021.
• Home and Office retailer Floor & Décor has opened a new store in Connecticut in April 2021.

Notes Figures represent store openings and closures that occurred, or are expected to occur, in the respective calendar years. For some retailers, store opening and closure numbers are estimated, including from part-year data, global figures or announced closure/opening programs that span multiple years. Estimates are updated as companies announce details. Figures for openings and closures are gross. Total square footage being opened or closed is typically estimated from retailers’ average gross store sizes.