Retail apocalypse: 4,810 closures in first three months of 2019
So far 2019 hasn’t been particularly good for the brick-and-mortar retail industry.
Following a brutal bloodbath last week, where popular retailers Gap, JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret and Foot Locker all announced store closures of more than 465 locations in less than 48 hours, the apocalypse has far from simmered this week.
Since Monday, more retailers joined the list adding an additional 1,000 store closures, bringing the total tally to more than 4,810 so far this year, according to Coresight Research.
Discount chain Dollar Tree announced this week it plans to shutter up to 390 of its Family Dollar stores nationwide this year and convert about 200 more into Dollar Tree locations instead.
Abercrombie & Fitch later followed, revealing it plans to close up to 40 locations over the next year.
Then bankrupt clothing retailer Charlotte Russe confirmed it will close all of 416 stores and begin liquidation sales.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JCP | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| GPS | GAP INC. | 20.10 | -0.81 | -3.85% |
| ANF | ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. | 115.09 | -4.57 | -3.82% |
| LB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| DLTR | DOLLAR TREE INC. | 122.39 | -0.17 | -0.14% |
However, the most surprising closure news this week came from Amazon, the online retail giant that has been repeatedly blamed for the demise of brick-and-mortar retail locations for years.
The e-commerce giant announced it planned to shutter all 87 of its pop-up shop locations across the country.
"Across our Amazon network, we regularly evaluate our businesses to ensure we’re making thoughtful decisions around how we can best serve our customers. After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
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Still, despite the rampant closures, Coresight did note that there have been more than 2,254 store openings so far this year from retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Indochino and Ross Stores.