US retail bloodbath continues as store closures hit 2,600 so far this year – here’s the full list
US retailers have announced the closure of nearly 2,600 stores by 2024 – just four months into the year.
Big names like Macy’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Foot Locker and 7-Eleven have all said they are closing stores.
But discount stores like Family Dollar and the bankrupt 99 Cents Only have been hit the hardest, as have drugstores like CVS and Rite Aid.
If closures continued at the same pace for the rest of the year, they would total 7,800 in 2024 – almost 40 percent more than the 2023 total.
Physical locations are having a hard time with online competition.
Scroll down for the full list of closures so far in 2024.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, will close 600 stores by 2024. Pictured is a closing Family Dollar location in Paris, Maine
99 Cents Only Store will close all 371 stores nationwide this year
According to Coresight Research, retailers closed or announced plans to close a total of 2,599 locations between January 1 and May 3.
Another twelve store closures in the past week were led by Skechers and Save A Lot with eight and two respectively. QuikTrip and Walmart each had one planned.
Meanwhile, there were 3,560 store openings, down from the 3,824 planned at this time last year.
So far, major US retailers have announced 2.5 percent more closures and 9.5 percent fewer openings compared to the same period last year.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, announced in March that more than 600 stores would close by 2024. That represents about 15 percent of all locations.
The retailer with the second highest number of closures was 99 Cents Only Store.
In April, the company announced it would close all 371 locations due to high inflation and increasing theft.
The West Coast brand – which has stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada – announced the news without providing a timeline for the closures.
In a statement, interim CEO Mike Simoncic said the decision was due to “ongoing challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving consumer demand, increasing contraction, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds . ‘
Large drugstores were also responsible for a significant portion of the closures this year. CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens were responsible for 315, 165 and 77 respectively.
While CVS and Walgreens targeted underperforming stores, Rite Aid’s closures came after the company filed for bankruptcy in October. Since then, it has closed 431 locations.
99 Cents Only Stores is closing ALL 372 locations – here’s one in Los Angeles on La Tijera Boulevard that opened in 1982
CVS is closing more than 300 stores. This from a closure in 2029
Rite Aid went bankrupt in October. Since then, it has closed more than 400 locations across the country
Large pharmacies are having a hard time with competition from Amazon and large chains such as Walmart and Target.
In addition, Rite Aid has also failed to settle hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of overprescribing opioids.
And last month, fashion retailer Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it planned to close more than 100 stores.
The retailer, whose portfolio of brands also includes Bonobos and UpWest, lists assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to a filing in Delaware bankruptcy court.
As part of the bankruptcy process, the company said it would close approximately 95 Express stores and all 12 of its UpWest stores.