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

The US

2019 Major US Store Closures and Openings Year to date in 2019, US retailers have announced they will close 5,279 stores and open 2,395. This compares to 5,726 closures and 3,243 openings for the full year 2018. Our data represents closures and openings by calendar year.

What Is Happening This Week in the US

Charlotte Russe to Close All its Stores Womenswear retailer Charlotte Russe has announced it will close all its remaining stores, which include 416 eponymous stores and 10 Peek Kids stores. The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and announced plans to close 94 stores. The latest update implies that there will be at least 500 closures. Liquidation sales at the retailer’s stores commenced on March 7 and will continue until April 30. American Eagle Outfitters Plans to Open 60-75 Aerie Stores Lifestyle clothing and accessories retailer American Eagle Outfitters has announced it plans to open between 60 and 75 stores under its Aerie banner by the beginning of February next year, with California and Texas expected to be key beneficiaries. Of the new stores, 35-40 will be stand-alone stores, the remaining will be shop-in-shops. The company also plans to open 10-15  stores under the American Eagle Outfitters banner over the same period. Coresight Insight: Aerie’s trend-conscious underwear continues to be a growth opportunity for American Eagle Outfitters. The brand has resonates with “real” consumers since the launch of its #Aeriereal campaign in 2014 – encouraging consumers to be comfortable in their own skin. Aerie is steadily growing market share in the underwear market – a category ripe for disruption. Category leader Victoria’s Secret announced plans to close 53 stores in 2019.  Burlington to Open 50 Stores  Off-price retailer Burlington has announced it plans to open 50 new stores by the beginning of February next year at a cost of around $310 million.  Coresight Insight: The newly available Toys “R” Us sites are part of the company’s real estate strategies for its new store pipeline in 2019 and 2020. The company will focus strategic priorities on its underpenetrated categories: home, beauty, and gifting (which includes toys). We believe toys and baby will continue to be a focus for Burlington as these categories were strong contributors of growth for Burlington during the fourth quarter, partially due to the store closure of Toys “R” Us and Bon Ton. Sephora Set to Open 35 Stores Specialty beauty retailer Sephora has announced plans to open 35 new stores across the US this year. The retailer, which has witnessed significant brick-and-mortar growth over the last five years, currently operates over 460 stores in the Americas and 660 in-store shops inside JCPenney locations.  Coresight Insight: As Sephora expands, we expect to see increased levels of service and competition in the beauty space including continued beauty department store renovations such as Bloomingdales Beauty and Saks Fifth Avenue, and collaborations with drugstores and beauty brands – most recently with Walgreens and Birchbox.   Z Gallerie Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Shutter 17 Stores  Home-furnishing retailer Z Gallerie has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing difficulties arising from a  failure to invest enough in e-commerce, heavy investment in a costly distribution center and an expansion plan that didn’t achieve the desired targets. The company intends to wind up operations of 17 of its 76 stores and expects the Chapter 11 process to last for around four months. Stage Stores to Close 40-60 Stores and Convert 70-80 to Gordmans Banner Department store chain Stage Stores has announced it plans to shutter between 40 and 60 underperforming stores as it seeks to reduce its store footprint. The retailer also announced it wil convert between 70 and 80 other stores to the Gordman banner this year. Of the stores that will be converted, 37 will have opened by the end of March. A further 30 to 40 stores are scheduled to be converted by later this year. Build-A-Bear to Close 30 Stores Over Two Years Specialty retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop has announced it will close up to 30 stores globally over the next two years. Half of the stores set to close will be in North America. 

Non-Store-Closure News 

Tesla Backtracks on Plan to Close All its Stores Automotive brand Tesla has announced this week that it will not close all of its stores. This was communicated by CEO Elon Musk in an e-mail to the company’s employees and is a departure from its announcement last week that it plans to shut all its stores and operate only online. Around half the stores it had intended to close will now remain open. The company has 378 stores and service outlets globally. Our store-closures data do not cover the automotive sector, so we have not included these closures in our tracker. Modell’s Sporting Goods Hires Advisor, Considers Restructure Sporting goods specialist Modell’s Sporting Goods has hired Berkeley Research Group to explore restructuring options including a possible bankruptcy filing, according to the Wall Street Journal. The retailer currently operates more than 150 stores in the Northeast and is looking to revive its business amidst declining sales and strong competition from online retailer and big-box stores.  Coresight Insight: In 2016 Sports Authority went bankrupt and closed 450 stores, changing the landscape of sports retailing. Global brands such as Adidas, Nike and Under Armour upped their direct to consumer efforts both on and offline and found new wholesale partners, including Kohl’s and Amazon.  [caption id="attachment_80409" align="aligncenter" width="794"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80410" align="aligncenter" width="832"] *Total includes retailers that have announced multi-year store opening plans which have been included based on an estimate for each year, which includes Aldi’s five-year plan for store openings through 2022
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80411" align="aligncenter" width="786"] *Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced between one and five store closures and are not included in the chart above. **Foot Locker includes the Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Foot Action and SIX:O2 banners.
***Urban Outfitters includes the Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie banners
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80412" align="aligncenter" width="796"] *Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one or two store openings and are not included in the chart above
**Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Foot Action and SIX:O2 banners.
***Urban Outfitters includes the Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie banners
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] 2019 Major US Store Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_80413" align="aligncenter" width="796"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] 2018 Major US Store Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_80414" align="aligncenter" width="798"] *A’gaci emerged from bankruptcy in August 2018
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]

The UK

2019 Major UK Store Closures and Openings Year to date in the UK, major retailers have announced 310 store closures and 327 store openings. Our data represent closures and openings by calendar year. 

What Is Happening This Week in the UK

LK Bennett Enters Administration; Closes Five Stores Upmarket fashion retailer LK Bennett has collapsed into administration following its owner’s failed attempts at finding a new financial backer. The company has hired accountancy firm Ernst & Young to oversee the administration of its 39 stores and has already closed five stores so far.  [caption id="attachment_80415" align="aligncenter" width="788"] Coresight Research attributes store openings and closures to the year in which they occurred or are expected to occur. We estimate this information for some retailers including Debenhams, Homebase, Laura Ashley and New Look
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80416" align="aligncenter" width="788"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80417" align="aligncenter" width="788"] Coresight Research attributes store openings and closures to the year in which they occurred or are expected to occur, and we estimate this information for some retailers, including Argos, B&M, Homebase, M&S, Monsoon Accessorize, Sainsbury’s and Tesco
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_80418" align="aligncenter" width="788"] Coresight Research attributes store openings and closures to the year in which they occurred or are expected to occur, and we estimate this information for some retailers, including B&M, Footasylum, Greggs, Habitat, Hema, Heron Foods, House, Lidl, M&Co, M&S, Pets at Home, Sainsbury’s and Smiggle
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]

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Notes Figures represent store openings and closures that occured, 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.