Coresight Research tracks news about store closures and openings, bankruptcies and management changes. Our Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker focuses on department stores and specialty retail, including, but not limited to, softlines, hardlines, consumer electronics, grocery and furniture.

2018 Major US Store Openings and Closures

YTD 2018, the number of US store closure announcements stands at 4,579 and the number of store openings is 2,435.

What Is Happening this Week in the US?

Lululemon Plans to Open 40 Stores Canadian athletic apparel retailer Lululemon announced on August 30 that it plans to open 40 new stores in North America by end of the year. The company opened five new stores in its second quarter and 23 seasonal stores and plans to open more such stores in its fourth quarter. American Eagle Plans to Open 50 to 80 New Stores American Eagle Outfitters recently announced that it plans to open 50 to 80 new Aerie stores in the next three years. Jennifer Foyle, Global Brand President of Aerie said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that “stores remain an important tool in building the Aerie brand.” The company also plans to open in new markets; however, it has not announced the locations yet. We have not added these store openings to the chart as the company has stated that these openings will start from next year. Allbirds to Open Eight New Stores in the US San Francisco-based shoe brand Allbirds plans to open eight new stores in the US by next year and is considering locations in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. The company opened its first flagship store in New York earlier this week, on September 4. The 4,800 square feet store will replace its temporary store in SoHo which is closing this week.

Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. These include: Ascena, Gap, Lord & Taylor, The Children’s Place and Vera Bradley. Victoria’s Secret store numbers are for North America. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one store opening and are not charted. Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. These include: Aldi, Casper Sleep, Costco, Gap, Lidl and Mackage. Store-opening numbers for Fabletics have not been calendarized as the retailer did not provide a time frame. Victoria’s Secret and Lululemon store numbers are for North America. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

Year-to-Date 2018 Major US Store Bankruptcies

Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

2017 Major US Store Openings and Closures

Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

2017 Major US Store Bankruptcies

Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

2018 Major UK Store Openings and Closures

Year to date in the UK, there have been 1,226 store closure announcements and 711 store opening announcements.

What Is Happening this Week in the UK?

Aldo to Open 50 New Concessions British footwear retailer Kurt Geiger and Canadian retailer Aldo announced a five-year partnership agreement for Kurt Geiger to handle the running of Aldo’s concessions in the UK and Ireland. Neil Clifford, chief executive of Kurt Geiger, stated that the company is pursuing an ambitious strategy to expand Aldo in the UK and that it aims to open 50 concessions, including in department stores, over the next three years. We do not count concessions in our totals for store openings or closures. Coca-Cola to Acquire Costa Coffee for $5.1 Billion Coca-Cola has agreed to buy the UK’s largest coffee-shop chain, Costa Coffee, for $5.1 Billion. Whitbread’s Costa has nearly 4,000 stores across 32 countries and this acquisition will give Coca-Cola a strong presence in the food-service sector. Whitbread stated that it plans to expand its other major brand, Premier Inn Hotels. The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.

Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. These include: Argos, B&M, M&S, Monsoon Accessorize, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. These include: Aldi, B&M, Foot Asylum, Greggs, Hema, Heron Foods, House, Lidl, M&Co, M&S, Pets at Home and Smiggle. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

2017 Major UK Store Openings and Closures

*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one store closure and are not charted. Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research

*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one store opening and are not charted. Coresight Research has calendarized store openings/closures to attribute them to the year in which they fell or are expected to fall. This involves an estimation for some retailers. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research