Mega-Retailers Are Closing a Total of 480 Stores This Year
Several popular companies have plans to pare down their portfolio in 2023.
Shoppers saw storefronts shut down in droves when the pandemic hit in 2020. But retailers are still struggling to keep things afloat three years later. Recently, record-high inflation and changing consumer habits have heightened financial issues for most businesses even more. And now, a plethora of companies are making cuts to their fleet as a result. In fact, many mega-retailers have closed stores in the past few months or have confirmed that they are closing stores this year. Read on to find out more about the 480 store closures that are already set for 2023.
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Bed Bath & Beyond
Total number of stores closing: 400
No mega-retailer is taking quite as big of a hit as Bed Bath & Beyond this year. In a Feb. 2023 regulatory filing, the company revealed that current plans for its "store fleet optimization program" now include more than 400 closures. There were initially 200 Bed Bath & Beyond stores set to close in 2023, but the retailer has decided to close approximately "150 additional lower-producing" stores from its flagship brand. The company is also shutting down its entire Harmon brand this year by closing the 50 remaining stores in the U.S.
"In response to evolving shopping preferences today, this target store base includes the Company's most profitable locations and best geographic presence for customers that can enable an optimal omni-experience," a Bed Bath & Beyond spokesperson previously told Best Life in regards to its closure plans.
Gap
Total number of stores closing: 50
Gap, Inc. is also getting rid of several stores for two of its popular brands this year. During a March 9 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Katrina O'Connell confirmed that the company plans to "close 50 to 55 Gap and Banana Republic stores" in 2023. These new closures build on work Gap has been doing since 2020, when it announced that it was planning to close a total of approximately 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores across North America over the following three years.
"As we adapt to the current market conditions and meet the increase in online demand, we are looking thoughtfully at our real estate to support the best path forward," Gap states on its website, noting that the overall transformation was set "with the goal of having a smaller and healthier fleet of stores."
Walmart
Total number of stores closing: 14
Walmart is already making its way with store closures this year as well. Since Feb. 2023, the mega-retailer has been continuously confirming reports that it will be letting go of several "underperforming" locations. A total of 14 Walmart stores are being affected so far. This includes the retailer's last two remaining pickup-only store concepts in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Lincolnwood, Illinois—both of which were closed on Feb. 17. Then in March, shoppers saw Walmart stores close in Washington D.C. and throughout several states: Wisconsin, New Mexico, Florida, Illinois, and Oregon.
"We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them," Felicia McCranie, director of global communications at Walmart, previously told Best Life about the closures. "We look forward to serving them at our other stores in the surrounding communities and on Walmart.com."
Four more locations are set to close this month. On April 21, Walmart stores will get shuttered in South Bend, Indiana; Brooklyn Center, Minnesota; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Everett, Washington.
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Amazon
Total number of stores closing: 8
Notable Walmart rival Amazon is taking an axe to its physical footprint too. Despite mostly operating as an online marketplace, this mega-retailer has a variety of different retail stores located in U.S. But several are now set for a shut down in 2023. Amazon announced in March that it plans to permanently close eight of its 29 Amazon Go convenience stores, CNN reported. The closures include two locations in Seattle that had already been shuttered on a temporarily basis. The other six stores were set to close on April 1, with two located in New York City and four in San Francisco.
"Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way. In this case, we've decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco," Amazon told CNN in a March statement. "We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores.
Target
Total number of stores closing: 4
Shoppers received another devastating blow in March when Target announced it would be closing multiple locations. The mega-retailer confirmed that four stores are set to hold their last day of business on May 13. This includes two locations in the Washington, D.C. metro area, one in College Park, Maryland, and the other in Falls Church, Virginia. The other two Target stores closing are located in Philadelphia and Minneapolis.
"The decision to close any of our stores isn't something we take lightly," a Target spokesperson previously told Best Life. "It's an action we take only after multiple years of working to improve performance."
Macy's
Total number of stores closing: 4
Similar to Target, Macy's plans to get rid of at least four stores in 2023. The department store confirmed the closures to Axios at the beginning of the year, which are set to occur sometime in late April or early May. The four Macy's stores closing are located in Fort Collins, Colorado; Kaneohe, Hawaii; Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Los Angeles.
These closures are also part of a transformation that has been going on for years. In 2020, the company first announced that it was planning to permanently shutter a total of 125 stores over the following three years.
"As part of our Polaris transformation strategy, we continue to optimize and reposition our store fleet to ensure we have the right mix of on-mall and off-mall stores to better serve our customers and effectively support omnichannel market sales growth," a Macy's spokesperson previously told Best Life in a statement. "As a company, we are committed to offering impacted colleagues a role in nearby locations or severance packages."
