True scale of US retail bloodbath revealed: How a 5,500 shops have closed in just one year... and even big names Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and Nike have suffered.
- Stores like Signet Jewelers announced closures amid poor sales after Covid
- Some major home and office retailers went into bankruptcy and shut locations
- Others like Walgreens pointed to escalating theft to explain poor sales
The closures affected a whole range of sectors, from clothing stores to discount stores and drugstores, as American commerce increasingly takes to the internet.
But the home and office sector was hit hardest, accounting for more than 30 percent of all closures - more than twice the amount in 2022.
Driving the high tally was that many retailers, such as Bed Bath & Beyond and Tuesday Morning, went bankrupt in 2023 and closed almost all stores as a result. Other retailers, like Signet Jewelers, announced closures amid generally poor sales.
Many retailers, like Walgreens, pointed to escalating theft as an explanation for their dwindling profits and decision to close locations.
Total closures were 5,463, according to the latest estimates from advisory firm Coresight Research. That is a 30 percent increase on 2022.
Bed Bath & Beyond reported it would shut 866 stores, far more than any other retailer, according to the report.
That high count is because it filed for bankruptcy in April and liquidated all locations within months.
Its closures accounted for around half of the total that affected the home and office sector.
Walgreens came in second, having closed some 505 stores and bringing its total down to 8,880.
In June, the drugstore reported poor earnings in the face of reduced consumer spending and revenue from Covid vaccines.
CEO Rosalind Brewer said at the time the company would be 'taking immediate actions to optimize profitability for our US healthcare segment,' which would include the shutting of stores.
Rite Aid also closed 470 locations last year. Like Bed Bath & Beyond, those came shortly after a bankruptcy filing in October.
CVS shut 279 stores, bringing its total store count to 7,501. Almost 100 of last year's closures were made by wedding dress seller David's Bridal.
Other major retailers to have closed stores include: 7-Eleven, Foot Locker, Signet Jewelers, Christmas Tree Shops, Party City, Office Depot, Big Lots, Bath & Body Works, Sally Beauty, Save A Lot, Petco and Shoe City.
All three of the mainstream dollar stores shut significant numbers of stores last year.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, both owned by Dollar Tree, Inc., closed a total of 209 stores. Separately-owned Dollar General shut 99.
However, their closures were overshadowed by an avalanche of openings. The three retailers together accounted for 1,599 openings last year.
While closures in 2023 reached their highest level since the pandemic, openings were also well up. Last year, retailers opened a total of 5,837 - more than the total closures.
Bed Bath & Beyond - 886 closures
After Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy early last year, its intellectual property was purchased by Overstock.com for $21.5 million, which said it would continue operating the brand as a digital operation.Around 120 Buybuy Baby locations were also affected in the process.
Bed Bath & Beyond sold the brand to New Jersey-based babywear designer Dream on Me Industries - which has one small store and an e-commerce site.
Since the sale only included intellectual rights to the company, Buybuy Baby's brick-and-mortar locations closed.
Christmas Tree Shops - 82 closures
Party City - 65 closures
Signet Jewelers - 95 closures
Walgreens - 505 closures
RANKING OF MAJOR US STORE CLOSURES IN 2023| Retailer | Total store closures | Total store count |
|---|---|---|
| Bed Bath & Beyond | 866 | 949 |
| Walgreens | 505 | 8,880 |
| Rite Aid | 470 | 2,324 |
| Tuesday Morning | 463 | 491 |
| CVS | 279 | 7,501 |
| 7-Eleven | 184 | 13,232 |
| Couche-Tard | 163 | 9,295 |
| Family Dollar | 141 | 8,179 |
| Foot Locker | 128 | 1,822 |
| The Children's Place | 107 | 577 |
| David's Bridal | 101 | 291 |
| Dollar General | 99 | 18,818 |
| Genesco | 95 | 153 |
| Signet Jewelers | 95 | 2,512 |
| Christmas Tree Shops | 82 | 83 |
| Dollar Tree | 68 | 8,114 |
| Party City | 65 | 761 |
| Office Depot | 64 | 980 |
| Big Lots | 52 | 1,457 |
| Bath & Body Works | 47 | 1,681 |
| Sally Beauty | 42 | 3,146 |
| Save A Lot | 42 | 856 |
| Petco | 40 | 1,406 |
| Shoe City | 39 | 39 |
| Scotch & Soda | 39 | 48 |
| Sleep Number | 34 | 670 |
| Barnes & Noble | 34 | 607 |
| Aldi | 31 | 2,275 |
| Versona | 30 | 131 |
| T.J. Maxx | 27 | 3,461 |
| American Eagle | 27 | 876 |
| Best Buy | 27 | 979 |
| Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams | 27 | 27 |
| Williams-Sonoma | 26 | 547 |
| Gap | 25 | 504 |
| Walmart | 25 | 4,742 |
| Express | 25 | 566 |
| Adidas | 25 | 179 |
| Banana Republic | 23 | 433 |
| Staples | 22 | 1,018 |
| Old Navy | 22 | 1,247 |
| Wawa | 21 | 988 |
| Chico's | 20 | 1,261 |
| Morphe | 20 | 20 |
| Tapestry | 20 | 586 |
| Alex and Ani | 20 | 39 |
| Dirt Cheap | 19 | 93 |
| Nike | 19 | 250 |
| Casey's |
The Bden economy is worsening by the minute.
Why big name US retailers shut 5,500 stores in one year
Shop closures in the US acclerateted last year - the number of stores shut was 30 percent higher in 2023 than the year before.
