The US

2019 Major US Store Closures and Openings Year to date in 2019, US retailers have announced they will close 6,971 stores and open 2,978. Coresight Research estimates US store closures could reach 12,000 by the end of 2019. By week 15 of 2019, year-to-date announced closures had already exceeded the total for all of 2018. We recorded 5,864 closures and 3,251 openings for the full year 2018. Our data represent closures and openings by calendar year.

What Is Happening This Week in the US

Kohl’s to Shut Its Discount Stores Kohl’s has announced plans to shutter all its Off/Aisle discount stores. Kohl’s debuted its first off-price store in 2015 in New Jersey and went on to open three additional locations in Wisconsin. The closures are scheduled for August 3. The off-price format was designed to sell returned items at deep discounts, but improved inventory management at regular Kohl’s stores has meant the company has insufficient merchandise to supply the Off/Aisle stores. Coresight Research Insight: These closures represent a good news story, reflecting that Kohl’s has improved its inventory management such that it has too little excess stock to supply a dedicated off-price format. As we discussed earlier this year, inventory challenges are a $300 billion problem for US retail. Nordstrom to Close Northgate Mall Store Nordstrom has announced plans to shutter its Northgate location in Seattle. The Northgate store employs around 170 workers who will be offered new roles after the store shuts permanently on August 9, according to the company. The company stated, “Looking at our business needs in the Seattle market and the future plans for Northgate Mall as it prepares for a significant transformation, we have made the decision to close our Northgate Mall store.” Green Growth Brands Announces Expansion Plans Cannabis and CBD brand Green Growth Brands has announced a partnership with asset management company Brookfield Properties to open around 70 locations in Brookfield Properties’ shopping centres across the US before the end of this year. These locations will be in addition to the seven existing Green Growth Brand stores in Brookfield Properties’ portfolio and will take the company’s store count to around 280 by the end of 2019. The company also struck a deal with Simon Property Group earlier this year to open 108 stores in Simon malls. Charlotte Russe Opens Five Stores Womenswear retailer Charlotte Russe opened five new stores on June 5. The new locations are in the Southland Center in Michigan, the Cumberland Mall in Georgia, the Willowbrook Mall in New Jersey, Park City Center in Pennsylvania and the Monmouth Mall in New Jersey. Canadian clothing manufacturer YM purchased the embattled retailer in March after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. These are the first five of a 100 store openings that the company announced in April. [caption id="attachment_90556" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 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 Abercrombie & Fitch, Ascena Retail, Chico’s, Hibbett Sports, Signet Jewelers, Tuesday Morning and Walgreens.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]   [caption id="attachment_90557" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 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 Aldi, Five Below, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Costco *Indochino openings refer to North America openings total, excluding one opening announced for the Greater Toronto Area.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]     2019 Major US Uncharted Openings and Closures The table below shows announced openings and closures that we have not included in our totals, as the companies did not provide detail on timing or location. [caption id="attachment_90558" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_90559" align="aligncenter" width="700"] *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_90560" align="aligncenter" width="700"] *Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one or two store openings and are not included in the chart above
**Urban Outfitters includes the Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie banners
***Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Foot Action and SIX:O2 banners
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]   2019 Major US Retail Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_90561" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   2018 Major US Retail Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_90562" align="aligncenter" width="700"] *A’gaci emerged from bankruptcy in August 2018
**Mattress Firm emerged from Bankruptcy in November 2018
***Sears Holdings emerged from bankruptcy in January 2019
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 325 store closures and 398 store openings. Our data represent closures and openings by calendar year.

What Is Happening This Week in the UK

Lidl Announces Plans to Open 40 New London-Area Stores Grocery retailer Lidl has announced a £500 million ($640 million) investment plan that includes opening its first Central London store on Tottenham Court Road, along with an additional 39 stores in London and surrounding areas that will open by 2024. The new locations include Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge, Watfrod and Central London. The Fitzrovia store on Tottenham Court Road will span 14,000 square feet. The openings are expected to create 1,500 jobs across Greater London. Our 2019 store-openings figure for Lidl factors in the company’s previous announcements of store openings.

Non-Store-Closure News

Debenhams Announces Plans to Downsize at Least 30 Stores Debenhams has announced plans to downsize at least 30 stores. Debenhams Chairman Terry Duddy emphasized that the ideal store size will be about 100,000 square feet, which is half the size of some Debenhams stores. The retailer may convert some spaces to other uses, such as cinemas. [caption id="attachment_90563" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 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 Homebase, Laura Ashley and New Look
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research [/caption]   [caption id="attachment_90564" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   2019 Major UK Uncharted Openings and Closures [caption id="attachment_90565" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_90566" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 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_90567" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 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 occurred, 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.