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, U.S. retailers have announced they will close 2,187 stores and open 1,411. Our data represents closures and openings by calendar year, so include announcements made in 2018 of closures and openings expected to occur in 2019.

What Is Happening This Week in the US?

H&M Plans to Shut 160 Stores and Open 335 New Stores Swedish multinational clothing retailer H&M has announced that it plans to shut 160 stores globally this year as it looks to streamline its retail business, but has not yet divulged details on the locations it will close. The retailer also announced it will open 335 new stores globally this year, with a majority of them planned for markets outside Europe and the U.S. Shopko to Close 251 Stores General-merchandise chain Shopko which filed for bankruptcy last month announced this week that it will close a total of 251 stores this year as it seeks to restructure and emerge out of bankruptcy. The retailer, which currently operates around 360 stores, announced in January that it would close 105 stores. After the closures are enacted, the company will therefore be left with fewer than 110 stores in operation. Michaels Set to Shutter All 36 Pat Catan Stores The Michaels Companies, specialty retailer of art supplies, crafts and framing, announced last week that it will  close all 36 of its Pat Catan stores by the end of the fourth quarter fiscal 2018 (ending February 3). The company, however, will rebrand up to 12 of the closed stores and reopen them under the Michaels banner. Charlotte Russe Files for Bankruptcy, Set to Shut 94 Stores Womenswear retailer Charlotte Russe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to close 94 stores. The company stated in a court filing on February 4 that it “suffered from a dramatic decrease in sales and in-store traffic” and struggled with “the burden of maintaining a large brick-and-mortar presence.” The retailer, which currently operates over 500 stores, also stated it will provide additional information on the timing of closing sale and closing dates “in the near term.”

Non-Store-Closure News

Full Beauty Exits Bankruptcy 24 Hours After Filing Women’s plus size retailer Full Beauty has managed to exit bankruptcy after winning court approval for its restructuring plan just 24 hours after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer will slash approximately $900 million of its $1 billion debt through restructuring to cut interest payments. A group of lenders including Oaktree Capital Management, Goldman Sachs and Clearlake Capital Group have taken ownership of the retailer under the restructuring plan and each of these lenders will appoint one person to the company’s board along with previous owner Apax Partners. Things Remembered Files for Bankruptcy Things Remembered, which specializes in personalized keepsakes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in line with its plans to facilitate its own acquisition. The retailer has reached an agreement to sell a majority of its business to Enesco, a giftware, home décor and accessories company. Enesco “intends to operate the Things Remembered online, direct mail and B2B retail businesses, as well as a portfolio of current stores under the Things Remembered brand,” according to a news release that announced the deal. Details of any closures in Things Remembered’s approximately 400-store estate have not been released. [caption id="attachment_71826" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_71832" align="aligncenter" width="800"] *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_71834" align="aligncenter" width="800"] *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_71835" align="aligncenter" width="800"] *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_71837" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   2018 Major US Store Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_71839" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research
*A’gaci emerged out of bankruptcy in August 2018[/caption]  

The UK

2019 Major UK Store Closures and Openings Year to date in the U.K., major retailers have announced 278 store closures and 313 store openings. This data represents 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?

Brighthouse Set to Shutter 30 Stores Brighthouse, the largest rent-to-own retailer in the U.K., will shut 30 stores over the next two months, which will lead to the loss of around 350 jobs. The development comes amid stricter regulations imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority on rent-to-own retailers.  HMV Shuts 27 Stores Following its Acquisition Entertainment retailer HMV has shut 27 stores leading to 455 job losses after Canadian retailer Sunrise Records bought the company out of administration. The new owners will keep 100 HMV stores open and retain 1,500 jobs across the stores and head office. Among the stores that have closed is HMV’s Oxford Street flagship store, which was the retailer’s first ever store when it opened in 1921. Debenhams May Shut 20 Stores Department store retailer Debenhams is considering a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that will include closing around 20 of its stores this year, according to The Sunday Times. The retailer announced in October last year that it plans to shut between 10 and 50 stores over a period of three to five years. We have not made any adjustments to our closures total as we await confirmation and further details. Oliver Bonas will Open Eight New Stores British fashion, jewelry, homeware and gifts retailer Oliver Bonas has announced it will open eight new stores this year, which will create at least 80 new jobs and bring its total store count to 85. The retailer’s expansion plans are supported by a £15 million ($19.5 million) revolving credit facility from HSBC UK. The first new store will be opened at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal, while the retailer is yet to confirm locations for the seven other stores. [caption id="attachment_71841" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 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_71843" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_71844" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 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_71846" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 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]   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.