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 September 24, 2021 (corresponding to week 38 in our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker) versus the comparable period in 2020 (the 39 weeks ended September 25, 2020).

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

As of September 24, 2021, major US retailers have announced 4,933 store closures for this year. This compares to 7,901 announced closures in the comparable period of 2020, as we discuss later in this report. In September 2021, the following retailers made store closure announcements:

• Abercrombie & Fitch has closed 37 stores year to date in 2021, which represent 19% of its total store base of 190 stores. The closures account for an estimated 278,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Ace Hardware has closed 21 stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 4,647 stores. The closures account for an estimated 210,500 square feet of total retail space.
• Casey’s has closed 10 stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 2,219 stores. The closures account for an estimated 30,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Dollar General has closed 31 stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 16,979 stores. The closures account for an estimated 328,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Dollar Tree has closed 28 stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 7,741 stores. The closures account for an estimated 360,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Family Dollar has closed 44 stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 7,865 stores. The closures account for an estimated 503,000 square feet of total retail space.
• GameStop has closed 170 stores year to date in 2021, which represent 5% of its total store base of 3,192 stores. The closures account for an estimated 289,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Giant Eagle has closed one store year to date in 2021, which represents less than 1% of its total store base of 481 stores. The closure accounts for an estimated 46,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Hibbett Sports has closed 11 stores year to date in 2021, which represent 1% of its total store base of 1,067 stores. The closures account for an estimated 51,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Kmart plans to close 19 stores in 2021, which represent 54% of its total store base of 35 stores. The closures account for an estimated 1.8 million square feet of total retail space.
• Sears plans to close 46 stores in 2021, which represent 71% of its total store base of 65 stores. The closures account for an estimated 6.9 million square feet of total retail space.
• ShopRite has closed one store year to date in 2021, which represents less than 1% of its total store base of 324 stores. The closure accounts for an estimated 40,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Ulta Beauty has closed three stores year to date in 2021, which represent less than 1% of its total store base of 1,265 stores. The closures account for an estimated 31,500 square feet of total retail space.
• Williams-Sonoma has closed 18 stores year to date in 2021, which represent 2% of its total store base of 572 stores. The closures account for an estimated 192,000 square feet of total retail space.

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=1296 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 ended January 2021 or the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 2020 for most public companies. *Ascena Retail includes Justice, Catherines, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, LOFT and Lou & Grey. Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Foot Action stores. Williams-Sonoma includes Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn store banners. TJX Companies includes HomeGoods, Homesense, Marmaxx (Marshalls and T.J. Maxx) and Sierra stores. Amazon includes Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go banners. **Total store base count represented for Genesco is global. For Aerie, Disney, Gap, Michaels Stores, Old Navy and Signet Jewelers the store count 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 62.8 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_133639" align="aligncenter" width="725"] Ascena Retail Group includes Justice, Catherines, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, LOFT and Lou & Grey. Amazon includes Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go banners. Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Foot Action stores.
Note: The total includes a small number of retailers that will each close less than 30,000 square feet of retail space and so are not included in the chart.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]  

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

As of September 24, 2021, major US retailers have announced 4,981 store openings. This compares to 3,139 announced openings in the comparable period of 2020, which we discuss later in this report. In September, the following retailers announced store openings for 2021:

• Abercrombie & Fitch opened four stores in 2021, representing a 2% expansion of its existing store fleet of 190 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 30,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Ace Hardware opened 145 stores in 2021, representing a 3% expansion of its existing store fleet of 4,647 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 1.5 million square feet of total retail space.
• Alimentation Couche-Tard opened 137 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of less than 1% of its existing store fleet of 7,283 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 356,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Amazon opened 16 stores in 2021, representing an 18% expansion of its existing store fleet of 89 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 560,00 square feet of total retail space.
• American Eagle Outfitters opened 12 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of less than 1% of its existing store fleet of 931 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 79,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Allbirds opened one store in 2021, representing a 6% expansion of its existing store fleet of 17 stores. The new opening will account for an estimated 3,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Big Lots plans to open 50 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 4% of its existing store fleet of 1,408 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 1.6 million square feet of total retail space.
• Dolce & Gabbana opened one store in 2021, representing an expansion of 1% of its existing store fleet of 81 stores. The new opening will account for an estimated 3,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Earth Fare opened three stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 14% of its existing store fleet of 22 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 75,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Free People Group opened 15 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 11% of its existing store fleet of 136 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 43,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Hermès opened two stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 5% of its existing store fleet of 37 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 10,500 square feet of total retail space.
• Hollister opened eight stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 2% of its existing store fleet of 347 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 54,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Homeland opened one store in 2021, representing an expansion of 3% of its existing store fleet of 37 stores. The new opening will account for an estimated 30,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Hibbett Sports opened 20 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 2% of its existing store fleet of 1,067 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 93,500 square feet of total retail space.
• Johnny Was opened one store in 2021, representing an expansion of 2% of its existing store fleet of 56 stores. The new opening will account for an estimated 3,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Miniso plans to open 10 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 28% of its existing store fleet of 36 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 40,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Mulberry opened one store in 2021, representing an expansion of 17% of its existing store fleet of six stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 3,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Nadeau opened two stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 7% of its existing store fleet of 30 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 20,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Parachute plans toopen three stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 25% of its existing store fleet of 12 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 9,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Primark opened four stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 40% of its existing store fleet of 10 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 144,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Psycho Bunny plans toopen 21 stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 233% of its existing store fleet of nine stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 28,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Tory Burch opened one store in 2021, representing an expansion of 1% of its existing store fleet of 109 stores. The new opening will account for an estimated 6,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Vera Bradley opened six stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 4% of its existing store fleet of 144 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 11,000 square feet of total retail space.
• Williams-Sonoma opened eight stores in 2021, representing an expansion of 1% of its existing store fleet of 572 stores. The new openings will account for an estimated 85,500 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=1297 table_view=regular]

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Store count information for retailers in the above list are based on reported counts from the third quarter of the fiscal year, ended January 2021 or the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, ended December 2020 for most public companies. *Foot Locker includes the Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Foot Action stores. Aerie includes Aerie and OFFLINE stores. TJX Companies includes HomeGoods, Homesense, Marmaxx (Marshalls and T.J. Maxx) and Sierra stores. Amazon includes Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go banners. Williams-Sonoma includes Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn store banners. **Total store base count for Genesco and Payless is global, while the store base count for 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 67.4 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_133640" 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. Foot Locker includes the Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Foot Action stores. The square footage for Target is calculated on the assumption that the majority of stores that the company expects to open in 2021 are small format stores.
Note: Total includes a small number of retailers that will each open less than 78,000 square feet of new retail space and so are not included in the chart.
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, openings announcement totals are ahead in 2021, while closures announcements are behind. Year-to-date announced store closures in September 2021 are led by apparel retailers, which account for 2,065 closures, representing 42% of total closures. The year-to-date equivalent closures for September 2020 were led by apparel retailers, which accounted for 2,921 closures, representing 36% of total closures. Year-to-date announced store openings in September 2021 are led by discount store retailers, which account for 1,935 openings, representing 39% of total openings. The year-to-date equivalent openings for September 2020 were also led by discount store retailers, which accounted for 1,662 openings, representing 53% 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=298] [wpdatachart id=299]

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September 2021 spans weeks 35 to 38, while the comparable period in 2020 spans weeks 33 to 39: 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

ABC Carpet & Home and Sequential Brands filed for bankruptcy in September 2021. In the tables below, we offer a comparative view of year-to-date bankruptcy filings as of September 31, 2021, versus September 31, 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 September 31, 2021 [wpdatatable id=1300 table_view=regular]

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*The Collected Group emerged from bankruptcy in June 2021 **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 September 31, 2020 [wpdatatable id=1301 table_view=regular]

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*J.Crew Group includes J.Crew and Madewell banners. Ascena Retail Group includes Justice, Catherines, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, and Lou & Grey banners; Le Tote includes Lord & Taylor banner; Tailored Brands includes Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G banners. **True Religion Apparel filed for bankruptcy for the second time after entering and exiting bankruptcy in 2017. ***Fairway Market filed for bankruptcy for the second time after entering and exiting bankruptcy in 2016. N/A – Not Available Source: Company reports/Coresight Research ABC Carpet & Home Files for Bankruptcy Home-furnishings retailer ABC Carpet & Home filed for bankruptcy on September 10, 2021. The company plans to hold a bankruptcy auction on October 22, 2021, and currently has a stalking-horse bid from private equity firm 888 Capital. The retailer operates two stores located in Brooklyn and Manhattan as of September 17, 2021. Sequential Brands Files for Bankruptcy Apparel retail group Sequential Brands filed for bankruptcy on August 31, 2021. The bankruptcy follows a tough financial year where the company’s revenue fell by 12% to $89.8 million and posted an operating loss of $45 million. The company plans to sell its brands and most of its assets through auction while in the bankruptcy process. It sold its Ellen Tracy and Caribbean Joe brands in a $20 million deal in August 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. Figures represent retail closures (i.e., B2C), so closures by solely B2B companies are excluded. Total square footage being opened or closed is typically estimated from retailers’ average gross store sizes.