The US

2019 Major US Store Closures and Openings Year to date in 2019, US retailers have announced they will close 8,633 stores and open 3,589. Coresight Research estimates that 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

Amazon Opens 4-Star Store in Boston Amazon opened a new 4-Star concept store on October 2, 2019 in Natick Mall, Boston. Like other 4-Star stores, the new store offers a curated list of products that Amazon customers have rated four stars or more. The store also features a “Trending Around Seattle” table dedicated to products that enjoy high sales online in the local market. Furthermore, the store is arranged in product sections such as “Most-Wished-For,” “If You Like, Then You’ll Love” and “Highly Rated”, similar to Amazon’s online listings. Prime members receive Prime discount on all products, and nonmembers can take advantage of Prime prices only on Amazon devices. Bed Bath & Beyond Plans More Store Closures Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close 20 more stores, in addition to the 40 announced in April this year. The 60 stores slated for closure will cease operations by the end of the current fiscal year ending March 2, 2020. They comprise about 40 Bed Bath & Beyond locations and 20 stores under the retailer’s other banners, including Christmas Tree Shops, World Market and buybuy Baby. The company also plans to open approximately 15 new stores in fiscal 2019. Our charted estimates for closures and openings are based on the proportion of existing stores in the US. Coresight Research insight: Store fleet rationalization/optimization is integral to Bed Bath & Beyond’s turnaround strategy and resetting its cost structure. The company is in the early stages of its transformation; other priorities include stabilizing and driving top-line growth. The retailer named former Target executive Mark Tritton as its new CEO earlier this week. Mark Tritton will take over the reins from interim CEO Mary Winston on November 4. Dick’s Sporting Goods To Open Seven Stores Sporting goods retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods is set to open five Dick’s stores and two Golf Galaxy stores this month. These openings are a part of the company’s previously announced plans to open seven Dick’s stores and two Golf Galaxy stores in 2019. H&M Opens Two Net New Stores Swedish clothing retailer H&M confirmed in its nine-month report that it opened two net new stores year to date in the US. As of August 31, 2019, H&M operates 580 stores in the US and 4,972 stores globally. Von Maur Furthers Retail Expansion Department store chain Von Maur is expanding its retail footprint by opening a store at Woodland Mall on October 12, 2019. This store will be the retailer’s third location in Michigan. Von Maur also plans to open a store in Madison, Wisconsin, in fall 2021.

Non-Store-Closure News

Go Global Retail To Acquire Walmart-owned ModCloth Brand investment platform Go Global Retail has announced plans to acquire Walmart-owned ModCloth, an online women’s apparel and accessories retailer. Go Global Retail plans to continue operating ModCloth under its current setup and invest in its digital capabilities, including predictive analysis and artificial intelligence. The deal is expected to close later this year. Target and Disney Open 25 Disney Shop-in-Shops Target and The Walt Disney Corporation have opened Disney shop-in-shops in 25 Target stores, under an agreement announced in August. The shop-in-shops have an average size of 750 square feet and offer a wide variety of Disney products, including more than 100 products that were previously available only at Disney retail stores. The Disney shop-in-shop concept will expand to 40 additional Target locations by October 2020. VSP Global Acquires Visionworks Vision benefits company VSP Global has acquired eyewear retailer Visionworks. Visionworks operates more than 700 stores across 40 states and is the sixth largest optical chain in the US. Visionworks will continue to operate independently while VSP Global reviews business integration opportunities in the coming months. [caption id="attachment_97895" 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, Pier 1 Imports, Signet Jewelers, Tuesday Morning and Walgreens. Our closure estimates for Bed Bath & Beyond, GameStop, Gap, GNC, GIII and Foot Locker are based on proportion of existing stores in the US. Ascena Retail includes Dressbarn. 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. Lululemon includes Lululemon and Ivivva banners. Sears includes Sears and Kmart banners.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced fewer than nine store openings and are not included in the chart.
Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_97896" 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 Bed Bath & Beyond, Foot Locker, Gap, Levi’s and Lululemon is based on proportion of existing stores in the US. Estimate of store openings for H&M is based on net new 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. Sears includes Sears and Kmart banners.
*Total includes a small number of retailers that each announced fewer 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 not included in our totals, as the companies did not provide detail on timing or location. [caption id="attachment_97897" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_97898" 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_97899" 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_97900" 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_97901" 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 472 store closures and 647 store openings. Our data represents closures and openings by calendar year. What Is Happening This Week in the UK Lidl To Open 10 Stores in Greater Manchester Supermarket chain Lidl plans to open 10 new stores in Greater Manchester over the next three years in Bolton, Eccles, Glossop, Oldham, Piccadilly Gardens and Winton, among other locations. The first of these stores is set to open at Piccadilly Gardens on October 17, 2019. As a part of its regeneration program, the retailer is also upgrading its Golborne store by relocating it to a bigger site on Bridge Street. Tesco Opens 12 Stores and Closes 29 Stores Tesco reported it opened 12 stores and closed 29 in the first half of its current fiscal year, ended August 24, 2019. The retailer also plans to open three urban fulfilment centers by summer 2020. As of August 24, 2019, the retailer operated 3,618 stores in the UK.

Non-Store-Closure News

Sports Direct Refutes House of Fraser Closure Rumors Sports goods retailer Sports Direct has refuted suggestions made by The Telegraph that the company is planning to close most of its House of Fraser (HoF) stores after the Christmas shopping season. The newspaper had reported that seven sites are empty and that Sports Direct has either stopped paying rent or will end leases for the majority of its remaining stores, citing papers from administrators Ernst & Young (EY). Sports Direct denied the claims and stated that the papers from EY are a progress report for the administration of HFL Realisations Limited (previously House of Fraser Limited, which went into administration in 2018). Sports Direct also announced that it has entered into new leases for the majority of its House of Fraser stores and is working with the landlords for the remaining stores. [caption id="attachment_97902" 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_97903" 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_97904" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/Coresight Research[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_97905" 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_97906" 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.