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 4,972 and the number of store openings is 2,811.

What Is Happening this Week in the US?

No major retailers have reported openings or closures this week.

Non-Store-Closure News

Caleres Acquires the Comfort Shoe Company Vionic Group for $360 Million Clayton-based footwear company Caleres last week announced its acquisition of the comfort shoe company Vionic Group for $360 million. The company said that this move allows it to expand its brand portfolio and gives it additional access to the thriving comfort footwear segment. After this acquisition, Caleres owns 18 shoe brands including Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes and Ryka.

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, AT&T, 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

YTD in the UK, there have been 1,314 store closure announcements and 777 store opening announcements.

What Is Happening this Week in the UK?

Debenhams Plans to Close up to 50 Stores British retailer Debenhams confirmed media speculations about its store closures and announced plans to close up to 50 stores over the next three to five years. The retailer had earlier announced plans to close up to 10 stores and had closed two—at Eltham and Farnborough—in January 2018. The company stated that the stores earmarked for closure are currently profitable but will not be so in the long term. The company is reviewing its portfolio based on current market trends and has also identified up to 100 stores where it sees positive returns on future investment. These stores account for around 80% of Debenhams’ gross merchandise value and a higher proportion of profits. CEO Sergio Bucher commented, “It has been a tough year for retail in 2018 and our performance reflects that. We are taking decisive steps to strengthen Debenhams in a market that remains volatile and challenging.” He added that the company is making “tough decisions on stores where financial performance is likely to deteriorate over time.” Debenhams has closed two stores so far this year. We have not added the additional store closures to our 2018 chart as the company has not indicated that any of its further store closures are scheduled in this calendar year. Co-Op to Open Food Stores at Acquired Waitrose Stores The Co-op is planning to open three new food stores this week at former Waitrose store locations. The new stores come after the company completed a deal with Waitrose in June this year to buy four of its stores. The three stores are opening in Birmingham and Manchester, and another store is poised to open in London next month. The new store openings are part of the Co-op’s previously announced plan to open 100 stores in 2018.

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