Retailers Closing the Most Stores

The maternity apparel retailer that operates in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico said in regulatory filings that it plans to close up to 67 stores in 2019 and as many as 280 into 2022. Destination Maternity CEO Marla Ryan said in published reports that the Moorestown, New Jersey-based retailer plans to test smaller format stores to try and boost productivity. Ryan became chief executive in May 2018 and is the fourth CEO at Destination Maternity in the last year.

Midwestern general merchandise chain Shopko said in March it is closing what is left of its 363 stores after it failed to find a buyer. The chain filed for bankruptcy in January and shuttered about 100 locations at the time. The retailer, headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was founded in 1962, went public in 1991, and was bought by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners bought Shopko for $1.1 billion in 2005.

Even dollar stores such as Family Dollar, parent Dollar Tree Inc., are feeling the pain of the retail Armageddon. In March, the Chesapeake, Virginia-based chain announced plans to close 390 Family Dollar stores in what it called “a store optimization program.” The plan includes a rollout of a new store model for new and renovated Family Dollar stores for fiscal 2019. Dollar Tree Inc. operates 15,237 stores in 48 states and Canada. For the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, 2019, the company posted a loss of $1.6 billion, compared with net income of $1.7 billion in the fiscal year ended Feb. 3, 2018.

Liquidation company SB360 Capital Partners, bought Charlotte Russe from Advent International, to sell off the troubled retailers remaining assets. In a March statement, SB360 confirmed it would be closing all 416 of the women’s apparel retail locations. Charlotte Russe originally filed for bankruptcy protection in February, and at the time said it would close 94 stores. It also put itself up for sale but failed to find a buyer. SB360 Capital Partners is an affiliate of the Schottenstein family, who also own DSW Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters.

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree, owned by private equity firm Bain Capital, filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than two years in January and announced plans to close all locations. Gymboree, found in America’s malls, first filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2017 after it was unable to pay down $1.4 billion in debt accrued after it was purchased by Bain Capital in a leveraged buyout in 2010. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in October 2017 and as part of the reorganization plan, the company liquidated 375 underperforming stores.