Seph Lawless
- More than 4,300 stores are expected to close in 2019.
- Gap, JCPenney, and Victoria’s Secret announced more than 300 store closures over the course of 24 hours this week.
- Payless has said it plans to close all of its 2,500 stores in what could be the largest retail liquidation in history.
The staggering rate of store closures that has rocked the retail industry over the last couple of years is expected to continue in 2019, with roughly the same level of closures expected this year.
Retailers closed a record-breaking 102 million square feet of store space in 2017, then smashed that record in 2018 by closing another 155 million square feet of space, according to estimates by the commercial real estate firm CoStar Group.
"This year we are predicting more of the same in the retail space," said Drew Myers, a CoStar senior consultant.
Retailers have announced more than 4,300 store closures so far this year, according to an analysis by Business Insider.
Here’s a list of all the stores closing this year.
Payless ShoeSource: 2,500 stores
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Payless filed for bankruptcy in February and said it planned to close all of its 2,500 stores in what could be the largest retail liquidation in history.
Gymboree: 805 stores
Wikimedia
Gymboree Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and said it planned to close more than 800 stores under its Gymboree and Crazy 8 banners.
Shopko: 251 stores
Shopko
Shopko filed for bankruptcy in January and has said it would close 251 stores.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- These photos of Victoria’s Secret commercials over the years reveal why the store is struggling in the #MeToo era
- We visited Old Navy and saw why it became Gap’s biggest asset before it was announced it was spinning off as its own company
- Old Navy and Gap are splitting into two companies. We visited both stores, and realized why one company is dominating the other.
Source: Business Insider – hpeterson@businessinsider.com (Hayley Peterson)