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

US retailers closed a total of almost 5,500 stores in 2023, with major brands such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens and Rite Aid leading the way.

The closures affected a range of industries, from clothing stores to discount stores and drugstores, as U.S. commerce increasingly turns to the Internet.

But the residential and office sectors were hardest hit, accounting for more than 30 percent of all closures – more than double the number in 2022.

The driving force behind the high figure 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, such as Signet Jewelers, announced closures due to generally poor sales.

Scroll down for a complete list of major US retailers and closed stores.

Many retailers, such as Walgreens, pointed to escalating theft as an explanation for their declining profits and decision to close locations.

The total number of closures stood at 5,463, according to the latest estimates from consultancy Coresight Research. That is an increase of 30 percent compared to 2022.

Bed Bath & Beyond said it would close 866 stores, far more than any other retailer, the report said.

That high number is because it filed for bankruptcy in April and liquidated all locations within a few months.

The closures accounted for about half of the total affecting the residential and office sectors.

Walgreens came in second after closing about 505 stores, bringing the total to 8,880.

In June, the drugstore reported poor earnings due to reduced consumer spending and revenue from Covid vaccines.

CEO Rosalind Brewer said at the time that the company would take “immediate actions to optimize profitability for our U.S. healthcare segment,” including closing stores.

Rite Aid also closed 470 locations last year. Like Bed Bath & Beyond, they came shortly after a bankruptcy filing in October.

CVS closed 279 stores, bringing its total number of stores to 7,501. Nearly 100 of last year’s closings were made by wedding dress retailer David’s Bridal.

Other major retailers that 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.

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All three regular dollar stores closed a significant number of stores last year.

Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, both owned by Dollar Tree, Inc., closed a total of 209 stores. Dollar General, a separately owned company, closed 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 levels since the pandemic, there were also many openings. Last year, retailers opened a total of 5,837 stores – more than the total number of 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, through which the company would continue to operate the brand as a digital operation.

About 120 Buybuy Baby locations were also affected in the process.

Bed Bath & Beyond sold the brand to New Jersey-based baby clothing designer Dream on Me Industries, which has a small retail store and an e-commerce site.

Because the sale only included intellectual rights to the company, Buybuy Baby’s physical locations were closed.

Christmas tree shops – 82 closures

The seasonal retailer, founded in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1970, declared bankruptcy in August, meaning its assets had to be liquidated.

All stores in the northeast were closed.

It came after the brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and took out a $45 million loan but was unable to make payments due to declining sales.

“It is clear to me that there has been a complete breakdown,” said a judge reported as stated during a bankruptcy hearing.

Hundreds of employees who worked at its headquarters and stores and were laid off during the collapse filed wage claims against the retailer.

Party City – 65 closures

New Jersey-based party supplier Party City filed for bankruptcy last January.

A month later, the company announced it would close a total of 22 stores across the country, with the possibility of more opening.

It previously operated more than 800 stores across the country, but had already closed 28 before the announcement.

After filing for Chapter 11, it completed restructuring efforts in October and emerged from bankruptcy, but in total closed about 65 of its stores last year.

The company said at the time that the majority of its remaining stores would remain open.

Seal jewelers – 95 clasps

The jeweler said in June it would close stores that “did not meet our productivity expectations,” CEO Virginia Drosos said during an earnings call.

It operates more than 2,500 stores under brands including Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, Blue Nile and JamesAllen.com.

Most of these closures affected traditional shopping centers, Chief Financial Officer Joan Hilson said at the time.

To explain the drop in sales last year, the company suggested there were fewer dates three years earlier due to ‘Covid’s disruption of dating’.

Walgreens – 505 Closures

Walgreens announced plans to close more than a hundred of its nearly 9,000 U.S. stores during its third-quarter earnings.

Locations to be closed included New York, Minnesota, Vermont, Alabama and Florida.