- At least 20 major retailers have said they’re closing US stores in 2023, amounting to 2,847 locations.
- Rite Aid is the latest chain planning to close stores, joining a list that includes Amazon and Walmart.
- Bed Bath & Beyond closed 896 locations amid bankruptcy — the most of any retailer on the list.
It’s not exactly the retail apocalypse of prior years, but it’s a shake-up nonetheless.
An Insider tally of announcements by 20 major retailers in 2023 finds as many as 2,847 stores have closed or are set to close across the US.
The rationales are varied: Some companies are navigating bankruptcy proceedings, while others say they’re aiming to cut costs. Several are adjusting store formats to meet changing shopping trends.
Rite Aid is the latest to join the list, with 154 drugstores set to close as the struggling pharmacy negotiates a bankruptcy deal.
Topping the list of retailers shedding locations is Bed Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy and closed 896 stores across three brands this year, followed by Foot Locker, which is shuttering 545 stores across two brands by 2026 as part of a shift away from shopping malls.
See the full list:
Ben Tobin
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores for good on June 30. The brand is set to live on in digital form after Overstock.com purchased Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property assets for $21.5 million.
The wind-down affected the 360 flagship stores and 120 Buybuy Baby locations the company previously planned to keep open, plus 416 US Bed Bath & Beyond, Harmon, and Buybuy Baby stores that were already set to close, bringing the total count to 896 locations closing this year.
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Foot Locker said in March that it would close as many as 420 stores by 2026 in shopping malls as part of a plan meant to “reset” the company, as well as 125 Champs Sports locations. It also said it aimed to open more than 300 “new concept” stores in the same period, including locations outside malls.
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The Dallas-based home goods company said on April 29 that it was shutting down all of its stores. The news came after the company said in February that it planned to close more than half of its stores amid bankruptcy proceedings.
CVS is in the second year of a three-year plan to close a total of 900 stores by the end of 2024 as changing populations and buying patterns led the company to reconsider how many stores it needs in certain areas.
In a statement in November 2021, the company said the strategy aimed to complement an expanding digital presence.
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The pharmacy chain Rite Aid has released a list of 154 locations it’s closing as it navigates bankruptcy proceedings. The closing stores are spread throughout the US but concentrated in California as well as Northeastern states, including New York and Pennsylvania.
A spokesperson told Insider the company considered a variety of factors when deciding to close a store, “including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance.”
The company has about 2,100 drugstores, and people familiar with discussions previously told The Wall Street Journal that the number of closures could reach as high as 500.
Walgreens plans to close 150 stores in the US and 300 in the United Kingdom, the company disclosed in its third-quarter earnings call.
The chain operates roughly 9,000 US stores and did not specify which locations would close.
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The Massachusetts-based seasonal specialty retailer filed for bankruptcy in May and is going out of business, citing slowing demand, inflation, and rising interest rates.
The chain had already closed 10 stores and said it was winding down the remaining 72 locations across 20 states.
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Although the olfactory factory is, in fact, expanding its retail footprint this year with 90 new stand-alone stores and 25 remodels, it told investors the move would involve the closure of about 50 of its mall-based stores. Bath & Body Works’ net gain comes as a loss for US malls that are seeing an exodus of legacy tenants.
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Four Banana Republic stores have already closed this year, two years after its parent company, Gap, said it would close about 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores by the end of 2023. The company reported in fourth-quarter earnings that it had 912 locations at the end of 2022 and would end 2023 with about 866.
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After announcing 22 store closures in February, the retailer added another nine to the closure list in April.
The big box retailer is shuttering 22 stores across multiple states, citing poor performance, as well as both of its remaining pickup-only concepts. The closures follow a trend of Walmart closing a handful of stores across various states each year.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The electronics giant said it planned to close 20 to 30 of its large-format stores as it opens eight smaller concepts and 10 outlet locations, without specifying where these openings or closures would occur. The company typically closes 15 to 20 large stores per year as leases are reviewed.
Ann Matica/Insider
Target announced in September that it was closing nine stores in the New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle areas because of theft and organized retail crime. Eligible team members will have an opportunity to transfer to other locations, Target said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the company announced plans to close four other locations in three metro areas: two near DC, one in Philadelphia, and one in its hometown of Minneapolis. The company cited declining foot traffic as its primary reason for those closures and said most store employees would be offered positions at other locations. It also said it would open about 20 new stores this year.
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Dick’s Sporting Goods will close 11 Moosejaw locations just months after buying the company from Walmart, multiple outlets reported in September.
The company said it would integrate leadership of the remaining three stores with its primary outdoors-focused brand, Public Lands.
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The German discount grocery chain Lidl closed underperforming locations in six states: North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
The chain has over 12,000 stores worldwide, with roughly 170 stores in the US. It recently opened stores in Washington, DC, and Greensboro, North Carolina, and is planning to open another in Brooklyn, New York.
Amazon announced the closure of nine of its Go locations — two in New York, three in Seattle, and four in San Francisco — as the company reevaluates its physical store strategy.
Bennett Raglin/AP
The discount chain said it was shutting down three stores in California and four in Colorado as the retailer moved toward small towns and away from urban areas.
The luxury consignment marketplace said it was shuttering four stores and two consignment offices across the US to cut about $2 million in costs.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Macy’s announced it was closing four stores during the first quarter in shopping malls in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Maryland, as part of its three-year plan to close 125 locations.
JCPenney said locations in Oswego, New York, and Elkhart, Indiana, would close this year following the wind-down of over 150 stores since 2020.
