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  Big Lots is closing more than 300 locations across the United States, or roughly a quarter of its stores, following an earlier warning that its future was in “substantial doubt” amid ongoing financial troubles. The discount retailer previously said it planned to close as many as 40 stores during its most recent earnings report in June, when it recorded a 10% decrease in sales and a $205 million loss for the quarter because customers are cutting back on spending. In a recent regulatory filing, Big Lots said it would increase the number of closures to 315 stores, part of an updated loan agreement to secure its finances. A specific list wasn’t revealed, but Big Lots is listing closing sales at hundreds of its 1,389 stores on its website. Big Lots told CNN that it’s “taking decisive actions to operate efficiently and reviewing our store footprint on an ongoing basis to make sure we’re best positioned to serve our customers and our business.” A company spokesperson said that although a “majority” of its stores are profitable, it’s making the “difficult decision to close certain underperforming stores.” “We are confident that the steps we are taking will best position the company for the future as we return to our roots, focus on owning the bargain space, and deliver unmistakable value to our customers,” Big Lots said. CEO Bruce Thorn said in a press release in June that the company “missed our sales goals due largely to a continued pullback in consumer spending by our core customers, particularly in high ticket discretionary items.” The recent regulatory filing, however, was more dire about the state of the 57-year-old company’s health. The filing said that there’s a “significant likelihood” of a potential default on a 2022 loan and that the company has “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to remain operational. Customers cutting back their spending on non-essential items has hurt a number of retailers, even putting some out of business. Amazon and other online retailers have also hurt traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Conn’s HomePlus, a 134-year-old furniture and electronics retailer, recently filed for bankruptcy and is in the process of closing all of its stores. Bob’s Stores and 99 Cents Only Stores also went out of business earlier this year.

Express Store Closings Hit California the Hardest Nearly 100 Locations Expected To Go Dark Coast to Coast - Express, a well-known mall retailer, is closing dozens of stores this year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. - The company, based in Columbus, Ohio, plans to shut down nearly 100 of its namesake brick-and-mortar stores and has already begun going-out-of-business sales at those locations. - The aim is to vacate these stores by June 30. - Express joins the ranks of retailers filing for Chapter 11 or reducing their store numbers without bankruptcy proceedings, including 99 Cents Only Stores. - Store closures will happen across the United States, with California seeing the most closures (16), followed by New York (11), New Jersey (7), Florida (5), Texas (5), and Connecticut (4). - Besides its namesake stores, Express will also close all of its UpWest locations. - As of March, Express operated about 530 Express and Express Factory Outlet stores, approximately 60 Bonobos Guideshop locations, and 12 UpWest stores. - The future of Express is uncertain, but a group that includes two major mall landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties, along with brand manager WHP Global (an Express stakeholder), is seeking to acquire its retail locations and operations.

There's a new wave of store closures, as highlighted by CNBC. Bad News: " Retailers have already announced 1,925 store closures so far in 2025 — and that was only as of Jan. 10." Good News: "There’s some hopeful news for the retail industry, however: Store openings also accelerated last year in the U.S. to 5,970 — the highest number since Coresight began tracking store openings and closures in 2012. The firm anticipates that will stay about flat in 2025, with an estimated 5,800 stores opening." What’s going on? 📦 E-commerce’s growing dominance? 💰 Inflation and tighter consumer spending? 🛍️ Shifting preferences toward convenience and experiences? #Retail #CRE #PropertyTaxes #CommercialRealEstate

More Macy's stores to close in 2025. See the list of closing locations. https://ift.tt/Sz4fKYx Macy's is closing 66 stores as part of its "A Bold New Chapter" plan, with liquidation sales set to start in January, the retailer confirmed to Axios Thursday. Why it matters: The struggling department store chain is getting smaller as it continues to deal with declining sales. Macy's said last February that it planned to shutter 150 stores by the end of 2026 — about a third of its locations. The retailer also said it is leaning into its high-end brands and plans to invest in its "350 go-forward Macy's locations." Tony Spring, Macy's chair and CEO, said in a statement the company is closing underproductive stores "to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go–forward stores." The big picture: The department store sector has been reeling for years, struggling to compete with nimbler big-box chains, fast-fashion retailers and digital competitors. The industry has seen the bankruptcies of stalwart chains such as Sears, JCPenney and Neiman Marcus. Kohl's announced Thursday that it was closing 27 stores by April. Flashback: In early 2020 before the pandemic, Macy's Inc., which includes Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, said it would close around 125 stores, a fifth of locations, as part of a three-year plan. Macy's fell short of its target and closed 80 namesake stores. Last year, it closed another five stores. Macy's liquidation closing sales State of play: Macy's confirmed to Axios that clearance sales will begin in January and will run for approximately 8–12 weeks for full-line and small-format stores. For most furniture galleries and free-standing Backstage stores, clearance sales will begin in February and will run for approximately six weeks. Macy's stores closing list 2025 Zoom in: Macy's typically announces closings after the holiday shopping season, which has been the case in recent years, including in January 2023 and January 2024. Stores slated to close include stand-alone Backstage stores, Market by Macy's small format stores, department stores and furniture stores. Arizona Macy's store closure Mesa: Superstition Springs Center, 6535 E Southern Ave. California Macy's closing stores Chula Vista: Otay Ranch Town Center, 2015 Birch Road Citrus Heights: Sunrise Mall, 6000 Sunrise Mall Corte Madera: Village at Corte Madera, 1400 Redwood Highway Los Angeles: Downtown LA Plaza, 750 W 7th St. Newark: NewPark Mall, 200 Newpark Mall San Diego: Mission Valley Home, 1555 Camino De La Reina San Mateo Hillsdale Furniture: 2838 South El Camino Westminster: Westminster Mall, 300 Westminster Mall Colorado Macy's closing stores Centennial Southglenn Furniture: 6797 South Vine Street (already closed) Denver: The Shops at Northfield, 8298 E Northfield Blvd Macy's Florida closing stores Altamonte Springs Furniture: 820 West Town Parkway Boca Raton Furniture: 9339 Glades Rd (already closed) Boynton...

Paradigm Shift Risk in the Retail Sector⚠️⛔️💰⚠️ Globe & Mail - SUSAN KRASHINSKY ROBERTSON: Hudson’s Bay to close Regina store next year, latest in series of cuts. Hudson’s Bay plans to close its store in downtown Regina next year after 55 years in the city, the latest in a series of cuts as the department store retailer copes with pressure on its business. The announcement of the closing follows dozens of job cuts disclosed last week, part of an effort at “right-sizing” the business, according to Hudson’s Bay. The shutdown of the Regina store, which is located in the Cornwall Centre shopping mall, will mean a further 60 job losses, spokesperson Tiffany Bourre wrote in a statement. “HBC continually evaluates its real estate portfolio and looks at opportunities to optimize holdings,” Ms. Bourre wrote. “Through normal course of business, Hudson’s Bay has made the decision not to renew the lease for the Hudson’s Bay store at Cornwall Centre in Regina. With the lease expiring, the Hudson’s Bay store will close to the public in April 2025.” The closing will leave Canada’s oldest retailer with just one store in the province of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, as well as its online store. “We thank our customers in Regina for their patronage and hope to continue serving the community,” Ms. Bourre wrote. Retailers such as Hudson’s Bay that sell non-essential products have been struggling to attract shoppers, as months of inflation and higher interest rates have led many consumers to cut back on spending. Hudson’s Bay also fell behind in paying its bills to suppliers last year, leading some to put product deliveries on hold. In November, the retailer’s parent company HBC LP completed US$340-million worth of real estate transactions in the U.S. and Canada. The company said at the time that the cash would help to fund its retail operations. Hudson’s Bay had already been cutting costs, laying off roughly hundreds of people in corporate roles in 2023. During a round of cuts last May, Ms. Bourre said that macroeconomic pressures had persisted longer than company executives had hoped for. The Regina store is one of a handful of locations Hudson’s Bay has slated for closing since executive chairman Richard Baker took the company private in 2020. The retailer currently operates 82 stores across Canada. It has closed flagship locations in Edmonton and Winnipeg, as well as one of its two stores in downtown Toronto. In addition to Regina’s store, the company plans to shut down its location in Burlington, Ont., early next year. Hudson’s Bay has also previously announced plans to “modernize” other stores. In some locations that has meant shrinking the square footage devoted to the department store and converting those areas for other uses such as office space, other retail shops or residential units.

One of the more confounding facts about retail – particularly the brick and mortar piece of the industry – is that store closures can actually be a good thing... at least for investors. Closing underperforming locations to shore up profits, mitigate an issue, or fold up misguided ventures can actually be a very healthy indication that management is paying attention and knows when to simply throw in the towel. Of course, this is not always the case.

7,325 Stores Closed in 2024 Another 1,925 Stores Closed By January 10th, 2025 15,000 More Expected to Close This Year (Courtesy: Coresight Research) "...Major retailers, including Party City and Macy’s closed 7,325 stores in 2024, according to the retail advisory group’s data. That’s the sharpest jump since retailers in the U.S. shuttered almost 10,000 stores in 2020, the year when the Covid pandemic began. So far this year, closures continue to climb. Retailers have already announced 1,925 store closures so far in 2025 — and that was only as of Jan. 10. The five retailers that have announced the most closures this year are Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens Boots Alliance, 7-Eleven and Macy’s, respectively. The retail advisory firm projects that retailers will close about 15,000 stores this year as some legacy brands shrink and file for bankruptcy protection, or liquidating companies shutter locations...." https://lnkd.in/ecRPNgth

Discount chain 99 Cents Only Stores is closing all of its 371 stores and liquidating all its merchandise, including fixtures and furnishings. The majority of the chain's locations are in its home state of California, but it also has a presence in Texas, Arizona and Nevada.The last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds.The closure is the latest bump in the road for the dollar store sector. In March, Dollar Tree reported a net loss of about $1.7B for its most recent fiscal quarter and said that it will close about 1,000 stores in the first half of 2024. That includes about 600 of its Family Dollar locations.By contrast, Dollar General, the largest of the dollar store chains, is planning to add about 800 stores this year.One of the Dollar General's main advantages is that most of its stores are in rural areas where there is little competition. #cre #commercialrealestate #Commercialrealestateadviser #commercialproperty #retailrealestate #creinvesting

Store closures in the U.S. last year hit the highest level since the pandemic — and even more locations are expected to shutter this year, as shoppers’ dollars increasingly go to a few industry winners, according to an analysis by Coresight Research. Major retailers, including Party City and Macy’s , closed 7,325 stores in 2024, according to the retail advisory group’s data. That’s the sharpest jump since retailers in the U.S. shuttered almost 10,000 stores in 2020, the year when the Covid pandemic began. So far this year, closures continue to climb. Retailers have already announced 1,925 store closures so far in 2025 — and that was only as of Jan. 10. The five retailers that have announced the most closures this year are Party City, Big Lots , Walgreens Boots Alliance , 7-Eleven and Macy’s, respectively. The retail advisory firm projects that retailers will close about 15,000 stores this year as some legacy brands shrink and file for bankruptcy protection, or liquidating companies shutter locations. #economists #economy #retail #inflation https://lnkd.in/gdk4MufJ

U.S. Retail Closures Up Almost 70% This Year As Thousands Of Stores Prepare To Go Dark "About 7,100 store closures were announced nationwide through the end of November 2024, according to a new report from research firm CoreSight. That metric is up 69% from this time last year. Family Dollar announced 677 store closures, more than any other retailer. CVS Health came in at No. 2 with 586. Big Lots, Conn’s and Rue 21 rounded out the top five with 580, 553 and 543 slated closures, respectively." https://lnkd.in/gT-tkGvM