Bankruptcies Push Up Store Closures

Another day and one more retail store data point.

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There are now 5,185 announced store closures, versus 4,810 store openings in the U.S., according to data from Coresight Research. The tally last month for store closures versus store openings were 4,548 and 4,426, respectively.

Coresight’s data analyst Aaron Mark Dsouza found that some of the store closings include those previously disclosed, such as the 55 Macy’s stores—four just closed—that are slated to shutter by the end of the current fiscal year. Specialty apparel chain The Buckle opened two locations in the second quarter, but also shut down two stores. Home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma opened six stores in the second quarter, and closed two.

J.C. Penney closed one store last month in Eden Prairie, Minn., leaving the mass merchant with a total store count of 659.

But it’s still the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings— consumer companies are leading corporate bankruptcies—that have contributed the most to store closings this year. More recent names on the Chapter 11 front include Conn’s , Rue 21 , and Bob’s Stores . And then there’s bankrupt Eastern Mountain Sports , which will be acquired by U.K. retailer Mountain Warehouse in a $10 million deal. While the deal includes keeping the seven core, profitable stores open, that also means about 17 locations are going away. Just today, Big Lots entered bankruptcy court protection as part of a sale process that will see 315 stores shutter.

While retailers are reviewing their store networks all year long, many of the decisions on which doors should close often come close to the end of the fiscal year, with the retail fiscal year ending usually at the end of January or early February. That’s because retailers count holiday and post-holiday sales in hopes of making their fourth quarter and full-year target goals.

Still, other retailers are opening stores.

Academy Sports + Outdoors plans to open nine new stores this fall. The stores are located in Beckley, West Vir.; Kingsport, Tenn.; Bloomington, Ind.; Selma, North Carolina; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; Springfield, Ohio; Bradenton, Fla., and Bulverde, Tex. The outdoor retailer opened three earlier this year, bringing the total to 12 once these locations are opened. The retailer has plans to open a total of 15 to 17 new stores in fiscal year 2024.

“Academy Sports + Outdoors is excited to continue our company growth with nine new stores this fall, making shopping with us more convenient than ever in existing markets and providing new customers with the best localized assortment of sports apparel, footwear, equipment and outdoor gear,” the retailer’s senior vice president of retail operations Eric Friederich said.

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The retailer, which sells top national brands along with its private labels Magellan Outdoors, Freely, R.O.W., BCG and others, offers an assortment mix of apparel and equipment for women’s and men’s, as well as workout wear and an assortment of athletic and casual footwear from brands that include Nike, Adidas, L.L. Bean, Carhartt, and more.

Specialty apparel chain Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended the second quarter with 757 stores. The first half saw the opening of 18 new stores, as well as the closure of 26 locations. For the full year, the current plan includes the opening of 60 new stores and 40 closures.

Abercrombie’s mall competitor American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is also altering its retail footprint. Executive vice president and CFO Michael A. Mathias said last month the retailer is planning on opening 25 to 30 more Aerie and Offline locations this year, as well as 20 to 25 American Eagle store closings. A total of 30 new stores opened thus far in 2024, and Mathias said there will be “about 70 to 80 by the end of the year.” The retailer had projected early this year possibly 100 new Aerie and Offline stores in 2024.

Nordstrom Inc. said last month when it posted second-quarter results that it has opened 11 off-price Nordstrom Rack banner locations thus far this year, with 12 more planned for the balance of the year. In the off-price channel, the TJX Companies Inc. CEO Ernie Herrman last month said it celebrated the opening of its 5,000th store , while Burlington Store’s CEO Michael B. O’Sullivan said the retailer is on track to open 100 net new stores for the year. O’Sullivan said the off-pricer opened 36 net new stores in the second quarter. And Ross Stores CEO Barbara Rentler said the retailer opened 21 new Ross doors and 3 DD’s Discount locations in the second quarter. “We remain on track to open a total of approximately 90 new locations this year, comprised of about 75 Ross and 15 DD’s,” she said.

Another retailer expanding its store count is Five Below Inc. The deep value chain’s treasurer and CFO Kristy Chipman said last week that the retailer “opened 62 new stores across 22 states in the second quarter.” That’s up from the 40 new stores it opened in the same year-ago quarter. New store openings to date total 123, versus 67 a year ago. For 2025, the company last week disclosed that it plans to open 150 to 180 new stores.

Dollar store retailer Dollar General executive vice president and CFO Kelly Dilts said last week that the company is on track to open 730 new stores.

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