The US

2019 Major US Store Closures and Openings Year to date in 2019, US retailers have announced they will close 8,051 stores and open 3,401. 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 5,844 closures and 3,258 openings for the full year 2018. Our data represents closures and openings by calendar year.

What Is Happening This Week in the US

BJ’s Wholesale Club to Expand Retail Footprint Warehouse club chain BJ’s has announced it will open its first two locations in Michigan in fall 2019, in Taylor and Madison Heights. The company has also announced plans to open two new stores in 2020, one each in Chesterfield, Michigan, and Pensacola, Florida. As of May 4, 2019, the company operated 217 warehouse clubs in 16 states. Coresight Research insight: BJ’s foray into Michigan signals its intent to expand its reach beyond the Northeast and keep pace with its larger rivals Costco and Sam’s Club in overall market share.   Foot Locker Confirms 37 Store Closures Sportswear and footwear retailer Foot Locker announced it closed 37 stores in the US, including 23 SIX:02 stores in its second quarter ended August 3, 2019. The retailer announced earlier this year it expects to open 65 stores and close 170 stores in its current fiscal year ending February 2, 2020. The figures in our chart are estimates based on the existing proportion of Foot Locker stores and stores under other banners it owns in the US. Coresight Research Insight: Foot Locker’s store optimization strategy to prune its store base to support expansion of the Power Store concept, which incorporates experiential and localization elements to better resonate in local communities and with the youth culture. Gap to Open 25 Athleta Stores Clothing and accessories retailer Gap announced it will accelerate Athleta’s store expansion by opening 25 Athleta stores in fiscal 2019 ending February 2, 2020. The company previously announced plans to open 140 and close 190 company-operated stores in fiscal 2019, primarily focusing on Old Navy and Athleta banners. The figures in our chart are estimates based on the existing proportion of Gap and other stores it owns in the US. Coresight Research insight: Athleta is a Gap Inc star in its brand portfolio, offering opportunities spanning inclusive sizing, Athleta Girls and store expansion. Athleta is benefitting from the surge in wellness-related products and is early in its growth stage with only 171 stores as of the beginning of 3Q19, compared to Lululemon’s 455 stores. King Kullen Plans to Shut Two Stores Supermarket chain King Kullen plans to shut two supermarkets by later this year. One supermarket, located in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, was slated to shut on August 22, 2019. The other, located in North Babylon, also in New York, will close on September 26, 2019. The retailer has already closed one supermarket in Mount Sinai, New York, on June 20, 2019. Wayfair Opens Brick-and-Mortar Store Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair opened its first full-service physical store at the Natick Mall in Massachusetts on August 20, 2019. The store features a Wayfair Home Bar which lets shoppers digitally design a room and view it in virtual reality. In February, the company opened an outlet location in Florence, Kentucky, to sell returned goods and closeouts. Coresight Research insight: Wayfair’s new store adds to the growing trend of pureplay online retailers finding merit in opening physical stores to broaden their reach to new customers and offer buyers the opportunity to test products before purchasing.  Plus, physical stores are a point of discovery for emerging brands: New stores generate an average 45% lift in web traffic, according to an International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) survey. Read more about how digital natives are going brick and mortar in our report Fashion Online to Offline.

Non-Store-Closure News

Forever 21 May File for Bankruptcy Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy, according to an unconfirmed report by Bloomberg. The company has sought the help of advisers to help restructure debt but there has reportedly been no breakthrough with possible lenders. Ascena Denies Problems With Lenders; Non-Committal About Rumored Bankruptcy Plans Women’s clothing retailer Ascena earlier this week said that it is current on all its obligations and refuted suggestions that it has not been engaging with its lenders, according to a company spokesperson. The spokesperson, however, did not confirm or deny whether the company is preparing for bankruptcy. [caption id="attachment_95420" 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 for some retailers, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Athleta, Ascena Retail, Chico’s, Gap, Hibbett Sports, Old Navy Signet Jewelers, Tuesday Morning and Walgreens. Our closure estimates for Gap, GNC, GIII and Foot Locker are based on proportion of existing stores in the US. Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champ Sports, Footaction and SIX:02 banners. Gap includes Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and Intermix banners.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced less than ten store openings and are not included in the chart.
**Ascena Retail excluding Dressbarn; these estimates were revised in week 24 from 400 to 120 based on closures announced in the company’s latest results announcement. Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_95421" 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. Our estimate of store openings for Foot Locker, Gap, Levi’s and Lululemon is based on proportion of existing stores in the US. Store total for Amazon includes Amazon Go (5), Amazon Books (2) and Amazon 4-Star (2) stores. Foot Locker includes Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champ Sports, Footaction and SIX:02 banners. Gap includes Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and Intermix banners.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced less than five store openings and are not included in the chart.
**Indochino openings refer to North America total openings, 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_95422" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_95423" 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_95424" 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_95425" align="aligncenter" width="700"] *A’gaci filed for bankruptcy for the second time after entering and exiting bankruptcy in 2018
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   2018 Major US Retail Bankruptcies [caption id="attachment_95426" 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 431 store closures and 632 store openings. Our data represents closures and openings by calendar year.

What Is Happening This Week in the UK

Laura Ashley to Open Flagship Store in London Fashion and furnishings retailer Laura Ashley announced it will open a flagship store at the Westfield London shopping center in November this year. According to the retailer, this flagship store will have a “fresh look” which will be distinctive in terms of style, merchandise and products offered, and will cater to a younger market. Morrisons to Shutter Four Stores Supermarket chain Morrisons plans to shut four supermarkets, in Crawley, Shirley in Solihull, Ince near Wigan and Swindon. At the same time, the company plans to invest in four new supermarkets in other locations this year. [caption id="attachment_95427" 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 B&M, Homebase, Laura Ashley, New Look and Office.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one or two store closures and are not included in the chart.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_95428" 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 Iceland and Heron Foods. Our estimate of store openings for Card Factory is based on proportion of net existing stores in the UK.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced one or two store openings and are not included in the chart.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   2019 Major UK Uncharted Openings and Closures [caption id="attachment_95429" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_95430" 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_95431" 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, Iceland, 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.