Retailers Closing the Most Stores

The home improvement company said in December that it will close 20 stores in the United States in 2019, 31 locations in Canada, and will leave the Mexican market entirely, shuttering all 13 locations in the country. The majority of the U.S. stores being closed are within 10 miles of another Lowe’s location. Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe’s also said last year that it was closing all 99 of its Orchard Supply Hardware stores, which are located in California, Oregon, and Florida.

Foot Locker Inc. operates more than 3,000 stores worldwide under the following brands: Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, and SIX:02. In a recent regulatory filing, New York-based Foot Locker said sales declines may be attributed to the drop in foot traffic at malls, where many of its stores are located. Net income for Foot Locker for fiscal year 2018 climbed 90% to $541 million, from $284 million, the previous year.

LifeWay Christian Resources is a Nashville, Tennessee-based Southern Baptist publishing company. In acknowledgment of the shift to e-commerce, the company said it will close all of its 170 brick-and-mortar stores in 2019. The company had previously announced it was cutting staff and was shifting to an online retail strategy, though it intended to keep the physical stores open to sell Bibles, books, and various faith-themed items.

Mall denizen The Gap, Inc. said in February it plans to close about 230 Gap brand stores during fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020 in an effort to revitalize the brand. The San Francisco, California-based retailer said pre-tax costs associated with the store closures over the two-year period would amount to $250 million to $300 million. The Gap, Inc. sells apparel under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, Intermix, and Hill City brands. The company reported net income of $1.0 billion in fiscal year 2018, up 18.3% from $848 million a year earlier.

Women’s apparel chain Chico’s FAS Inc. said it will close at least 250 locations over the next three years. Closures will include locations of its namesake chain as well as stores at its other retail brands, White House Black Market and Soma. The company said in a press release in January that the decision to shutter these stores will allow the retailer to “take advantage of its lease expiration cadence, while improving profitability and return on invested capital.” The Fort Myers, Florida-based company said that for fiscal 2019, net sales slipped to $2.1 billion, a 6.6% drop from $2.3 billion in fiscal 2018.