Companies have been closing locations left and right over the past two-and-a-half years. Store closures took off in 2020 amid challenges from the COVID pandemic, and some retailers like Lord & Taylor and Stein Mart were forced to shut down all of their stores completely. In 2021, major companies like Disney and DSW pared down their stores by the dozens. But even as the fallout from COVID has lessened over time, new setbacks like record-high inflation rates have some retailers still struggling to stay afloat. Store closures have hardly let up in 2022, with a number of popular retail chains shuttering dozens of locations just this year. Read on to learn more about massive downsizing by name brands.
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1 | Bed Bath & Beyond
ShutterstockWe were just a week into the new year when the first massive retail closure was announced. In Jan. 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond released a list of 37 locations that it would be closing over the following two months, CNBC reported. According to the news outlet, the stores had already kicked-off liquidation sales at that point to allow for closures to be completed by the end of February.
All in all, 19 states were impacted by the closures, with New York and California losing the most locations. In 2020, Bed Bath & Beyond had announced plans to shutter 200 of its underperforming stores over the next two years as part of broader turnaround efforts—and these closures were attributed to that plan. "We are executing a full-scale transformation and simultaneously running a business in a highly unpredictable environment," CEO Mark Tritton said during a Jan. 6 earnings conference call.
2 | Amazon
ShutterstockBack in March, Amazon confirmed to Reuters that it would be permanently closing all of its physical bookstores, pop-up shops, and "4-star" stores in both the U.S. and the U.K. A total of 68 brick-and-mortar stores were impacted by this decision, but a company spokesperson told Insider that the closing dates would vary by location. Many have already closed, although a Google search indicates that at least one Amazon 4-star location in New York City is still open as of Aug. 12.
According to Amazon, the downsizing decision was made to allow the company to focus more on its other store concepts: Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, and Amazon Style stores. "We remain committed to building great, long-term physical retail experiences and technologies, and we're working closely with our affected employees to help them find new roles within Amazon," the spokesperson told Insider.
3 | CVS
iStockCVS has been busy closing store after store throughout the U.S., since as early as April of this year. In Nov. 2021, the drugstore chain announced it would be implementing a "new retail footprint strategy aligned to evolving consumer needs." But in order to do so, CVS revealed that it would need to close around 900 CVS stores over the course of the next three years. At the time, CVS confirmed that the closures would start in spring 2022, and that it would shutter about 300 stores each year.
"The company has been evaluating changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs to ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations for consumers and for the business," CVS said last year.
4 | Rite Aid
ShutterstockBut CVS is not the only drugstore chain that has taken an axe to its retail footprint this year. In Dec. 2021, Rite Aid revealed plans to close 63 stores throughout the end of last year and the first several months of 2022, CNBC reported. But in April 2022, the company announced it would be closing 82 more locations than originally disclosed.
Rite Aid spokesperson Alicja Wojczyk told The Oregonian that the company was expecting to close a total of 145 "unprofitable stores" nationwide by June 2022 as a means to significantly reduce its costs. "These store closings are part of our business plan to drive maximum efficiencies, and a number of factors are considered before determining a store closure," Wojczyk said.
5 | Sears
ShutterstockSears' numbers have been dwindling for some time now, leaving it with fewer than 200 stores by 2020, per USA Today. But the already weakened chain has taken quite a hit this year. At the end of May, CNN reported that roughly 100 Sears Hometown locations spread over about 30 U.S. states would be permanently closing in the following weeks—representing around half of its remaining retail footprint.
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6 | Kmart
iStockKmart's decline has followed a similar trajectory to Sears', which is not surprising given that the two once-iconic chains have been managed by the same parent company for years now. But while Sears is still holding on to dozens of locations, there are only three Kmart stores left open in the continental U.S. At the end of last year, Kmart had 27 stores left in operation, according to 24/7 Wall St. But in April 2022, USA Today reported that the retail chain was down to just its Westwood, New Jersey; Bridgehampton, New York; and Miami, Florida, locations after a Kmart store in Avenel, New Jersey, was permanently shuttered on April 16.
