Coresight Research tracks news about store closures and 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, U.S. retailers have announced they will close 1,678 stores and open 1,399 stores. Our data represent closures and openings by calendar year, so these totals include announcements made in 2018 of closures and openings expected to occur in 2019. 

What Is Happening This Week in the US?

Williams-Sonoma Has Shut Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma Stores in Reston Town Center American kitchenware and housewares retailer Williams-Sonoma shut its Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma stores in Reston Town Center in Virgina on January 24, 2019, three days ahead of the scheduled closure date. The company announced in March 2018 that it may shut 80 stores over a three-year period if it is unable to reach a deal with landlords to reduce rents. Nordstrom Set to Shut its Full-line Stores in Virginia and Florida Nordstorm is set to shut two full-line stores located in Norfolk, Virginia, and Wellington, Florida, on April 5, taking the retailer’s closure count to three stores thus far in 2019. The closures will affect around 150 employees, according to the company. The savings from shutting these stores will help the company serve customers better in other Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores in addition to online, according to company President Jamie Nordstrom. Dry Goods Announces Plans to Open 19 Stores in 2019 Speciality fashion retailer Dry Goods announced plans to open 19 new stores in 2019, taking its store count to 58 locations in the U.S. The retailer opened its first store in 2010 and is set to enter seven new states in 2019, which are: Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee.  Things Remembered on Verge of Bankruptcy, May Close Over 400 Stores Things Remembered, which specializes in personalized gift-keepsakes, is preparing to file for bankruptcy and close over 400 stores. The company has filed a Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification (WARN) for 126 employees and the layoffs can begin as early as March 4. The company operates 450 stores in 43 states. We have not included this figure in our 2019 total as the company has not yet filed for bankruptcy and has not confirmed the store closures.

Non-Store-Closure News

Walgreens Boots Alliance Bags Over 60 Shopko Stores  Among the 21 companies that bid for bankrupt retailer Shopko’s pharmacy assets in an auction, Walgreens Boots Alliance became the recipient of 63 assets after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska approved the bids. CVS acquired 13 stores, which is the highest number after WBA’s. The stores that were auctioned are separate from the 105 stores that are included in our chart of 2019 closures. [caption id="attachment_68814" align="aligncenter" width="784"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_68815" align="aligncenter" width="782"] *Total includes retailers that have announced multi-year store opening plans which have been recorded based on an estimate for each year. This includes Aldi which announced a five-year plan for store openings until 2022.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_68818" align="aligncenter" width="784"] *Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced between one and five store closures and are not included in the chart above.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_68819" align="aligncenter" width="790"] *Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one or two store openings and are not included in the chart above.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] 2019 Major US Store Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_68820" align="aligncenter" width="778"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] 2018 Major US Store Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_68821" align="aligncenter" width="778"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]

The UK

2019 Major UK Store Closures and Openings Year to date in the U.K., major retailers have announced 221 store closures and 305 store openings. These data represent closures and openings by calendar year, so include announcements made in 2018 of openings or closures expected to occur in 2019.

What Is Happening This Week in the UK?

Missguided to Shut Unprofitable Flagship Store in Westfield Stratford City Women’s clothing retailer Missguided is set to close its 20,000-square-foot store in London’s Westfield Stratford City mall at the end of February. The store is closing two years prior to the expiry of its lease to end losses generated by the store and the company successfully negotiated with Westfield to exit early. Missguided is set to open its first international franchise store in the Dubai Mall on Feb. 1. Beales Set to Close London Road North, Lowestoft Location by End of April Department store chain Beales has confirmed plans to shut its Lowestoft store by the end of April. CEO Tony Brown stated the closure will not result in any job losses as staff will be relocated to a nearby Palmers department store, which Beales acquired in November 2018, and other Beales stores close to Lowestoft. At the time of acquiring Palmers stores, Brown said there were no plans to rebrand them to Beales. The Lowestoft Palmers store is currently being refurbished and is set to open around the time the Beales store closes. [caption id="attachment_68822" align="aligncenter" width="794"] 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_68823" align="aligncenter" width="784"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_68824" align="aligncenter" width="792"] *H&M store closures include the Cheap Monday banner.
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 Argos, B&M, Homebase, M&S, Monsoon Accessorize, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption] [caption id="attachment_68826" align="aligncenter" width="786"] 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 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] 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 file details of changes in their store estates. Figures for openings and closures are gross.