Retailers Closing the Most Stores

The Boca Raton, Florida-based office supply company announced plans to shutter 50 stores in 2019 — after closing 19 stores in 2018 and 63 the previous year. In the third quarter of 2016, the company announced a plan to close 300 stores in North America over the next three years. The company has been forced to retrench because of competition from e-commerce titan Amazon.com, as well as the decline in the use of office and school supplies.

L Brands, Inc., the Columbus, Ohio-based parent of Victoria’s Secret, plans to close 53 North American locations of the intimate women’s apparel chain. The announcement comes after 30 Victoria’s Secret stores were shuttered in 2018. Last year, the company also said it planned to close all of its Henri Bendel stores, an upscale women’s accessory brand. Victoria’s Secret, whose stores are located in malls and other retail centers, has been hurt by the decline in shopper traffic at brick-and-mortar establishments.

Performance Bicycle was once one of the nation’s largest bicycle chains. However, the chain’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based parent Advanced Sports Enterprises filed for bankruptcy protection last November as the bicycle company was hurt by debt and the impact of rising costs tied to the ongoing international trade dispute. The company’s, whose bicycle retail division is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, plans to close 102 stores this year.

Signet Jewelers, parent company of well-known brands like Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared, is another victim of the downturn in shopper traffic at malls and physical retail locations. The Bermuda-incorporated company that says it is the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry reported that in the 2019 fiscal year it closed 262 stores, most of which were in malls. Signet said it plans another 150 store closures in fiscal 2020. The company said in regulatory filings that it is “working toward a portfolio of fewer, better stores.”

Discount chain Fred’s Inc. said on April 11 it will close 159 underperforming stores by the end of May as it looks to “evaluate strategic alternatives.” Joseph Anto, Fred’s CEO, said in a statement, “After a careful review, we have made the decision to rationalize our footprint by closing underperforming stores, with a particular focus on locations with shorter duration leases.” The planned closings represent about 29% of Fred’s store count. Memphis, Tennessee-based Fred’s operates stores in over a dozen Southeastern states. Most of the stores scheduled to close are in Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.