The Retail Apocalypse Has These Stores Shutting Their Doors
In recent years we've experienced a retail apocalypse, with major stores closing their doors on multiple locations or all of them for good. While Disney shut down 60 locations in favor of online sales, Fry's Electronics said goodbye to 36 years of business, permanently locking the doors on all locations.
And they're not the only retail giants suffering on-site closures. Take a look because it's closing time for these stores.
Fry's Electronics
Known for its large store and a wide variety of electronic products, Fry's Electronics has been a go-to for many people since its grand opening in 1985. At its peak, Fry's expanded into nine states with 34 stores.
The success came to a halt in 2021 when they permanently shut down all their locations. A statement on the company's website said the closure was due to "changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic."
GameStop
While GameStop operates 4,816 locations worldwide, there has been a noticeable decrease in locations over the past few years. In 2019 there were around 300 stores that shut their doors.
In 2020, another 300 closed with an announcement stating there were plans to close another 400 to 450 stores in 2021, including all Canadian locations.
Sears
The department store Sears has been in a steady decline for the past few years. In 2019, 36 stores permanently shut their doors, while the number of closures jumped to a startling 100 in 2020.
When 2021 finally rolled around, Sears continued its closing procedures, only keeping 29 stores open and operational.
Microsoft Store
In 2020, it was announced that the physical Microsoft Store was going to take a new approach to retail. The first step: closing all of its locations. Today, there are no more Microsoft Store locations to be found.
The company plans to use its "Experience Center locations" to help promote its products.
Disney Stores
The year 2021 was the beginning of the end for Disney stores across the United States and Canada. Wanting to focus more on its e-commerce sales, Disney announced that they planned to close at least 155 of its locations, including its European outlets.
As of 2022, only 23 stores remain open and operational in the United States.
Francesca's
Francesca's is a little boutique found in malls across the United States. Unfortunately, between the lack of foot traffic in malls nowadays and the retail apocalypse, the company has seen better days.
After filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Francesca's has made the decision to close 140 of its 700 United States-based stores.
Tuesday Morning
The off-price retail store Tuesday Morning has recently come into some hard times. In 2020, they had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to keep their head above water while the economy collapsed.
Unfortunately, they never got re-settled. With 687 stores nationwide, Tuesday morning plans on going through the process of closing up to 230 stores.
Victoria's Secret
The lingerie, clothing, and beauty retail giant Victoria's Secret has had a steady decline in sales. Between their branding and then the crash of 2020, people are looking elsewhere for their undergarments.
Because of this, Victoria's Secret's foot traffic has been rapidly dropping, resulting in the closure of 250 stores in the United States and Canada in 2020 and 30-50 more locations in 2021.
DSW
The shoe retail store DSW has a long-term closing plan. After filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2020, DSW's parent company, Designer Brands, announced its plan to close 65 of its stores within the next four years.
Well, those next four years began in 2021 with the permanent closure of 24 United States-based locations.
GNC
The vitamin and dietary supplement company GNC has been slowly closing its stores in the past few years. In 2019 alone, the company closed the doors on 1,400 locations, mostly located within shopping malls.
Fast forward to 2020, and GNC filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and announced the closure of 800 - 1,200 by the end of 2021. Today there are few remaining locations!
Abercrombie & Fitch
Once very popular in the early 2000s, Abercrombie & Fitch clothing has since dropped off the radar of many people. And the retail stores have definitely noticed. In 2020, the company closed seven of its flagship stores and 129 other locations.
That's on top of the 450 locations Abercrombie closed between 2010 and 2018.
H&M
H&M is a fashion retail chain that operates worldwide. With the retail collapse of 2020, though, the clothing company had to reconfigure some of its business plans, starting with the permanent closing of some of its locations.
In 2021, H&M announced plans to close 5% of its 5,076 stores across the globe.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Movie theaters were hit hard in 2020, and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is no exception. In 2021, they finally had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, shutting down multiple expansion projects, including opening the Orlando, Florida, location.
The company also permanently shut down two of its Texas location, including downtown Austin and one in Missouri.
Best Buy
Even though Best Buy is one of the more popular electronics stores, it didn't save the company from the retail apocalypse of 2020. Starting off that year with around 977 stores across the United States, Best Buy began silently closing more locations throughout 2021.
In 2021, Best Buy permanently closed their Carbondale, Illinois, Syracuse, New York, Brockton, Massachusetts locations and two in Richmond, Virginia. Now, 956 locations are standing.
Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works has been going strong since 1990, becoming the largest soap store chain in the United States seven years later. Their luck has come to an end in recent years, though, with the once-popular retail store closing up shops.
According to L Brands, Bath & Body Works closes more than 50 of its in-mall locations across the United States in 2021.
Paper Source
The year 2020 was hard for the greeting card and stationery store Paper Source. They hardly kept their head above water and, eventually, when 2021 came around, had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
According to USA Today, Chicago alone plans to close 11 of its 158 stores "while attempting to secure rent concessions and evaluating other locations."
Chico's
The clothing and accessories retailer Chico's was founded back in 1983 and catered to more formal wear. With many people working from home, the retail company has had to make some adjustments.
Not only are they restyling their catalog with more casual wear, but they're also closing around 100 locations throughout the United States.
Fossil
After decreased sales due to the retail blunder of 2020, the clothing chain Fossil has had to make some adjustments. In 2021, not only did the fashion chain have to cut their employee numbers down substantially, going from 10,200 to 7,500, but they decided to close locations.
In 2021, Fossil permanently shut the doors on 65 of their United States-based locations.
The Children's Place
The Children's Place specializes in children's clothing and has been a popular store for back-to-school shopping. Unfortunately, the lack of foot traffic and retail collapse has resulted in the company shutting down locations throughout 2020 and 2021.
The company permanently shut down 200 stores in 2020 and closed the doors on another 300 United States, Canadian, and Puerto Rican-based stores in 2021.
Godiva Chocolatier
Founded in 1926, Godiva Chocolatier has expanded to over 600 locations worldwide, including stores in the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Unfortunately for this chocolate manufacturer, their stores are located somewhere that has lost a lot of traffic in recent years -- malls.
Due to low foot traffic, Godiva Chocolatier decided to close all 128 of its brick-and-mortar locations throughout the United States in 2021.
