Online shopping has made it so brick and mortar shops are becoming more and more obsolete. The introduction and skyrocket of Amazon has made it so easy to order yourself whatever you want from the comfort of your home so that leaving it seems like an unnecessary hassle now. In addition to Amazon, stores are now offering delivery on their products, and food delivery companies are now replacing customer in the restaurants. Over time, the effect of the digital world has made it so brands no longer need physical locations as they would be losing money because of it. These brands have done just that and so in 2019 alone, have shut the doors on many of their locations, leaving a lot of people stunned as their favorite department store and restaurant chain is shut down.
No one expected these chains to close their stores, everyone thought they were doing so well! We were saddened and very surprised to learn that names like Nordstrom, Macy's, Chipotle, and Target are just some of the major brands that are shutting down their stores in 2019 and have more changes to come in 2020. How are we supposed to get our clothes, home supplies, and coffee if every place we go to is now going to close?
Walmart
There was a time when it seemed that Walmart was absolutely everywhere. There were more and more locations popping up every day in every state, like a weed! However, in 2019, the retail mega giant decided to close 17 locations across the nation, 10 of them being Walmart Neighborhood Markets.
The states in which these locations are closing or have already closed are in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Arizona, Washington, and Virginia. There are more changes to the company structure ahead of 2020 so there may be even more closures ahead.
Macy's
Macy's department store has been hit by hard times many a time in the past but it seems to be getting worse and worse, they are on the brink of disaster. Every single year, they close more and more of their locations due to low sales.
In 2019, Macy's decided to close no less than 13 locations, which was in addition to the whopping 100 stores they closed in 2016. It seems like the company's days are numbered so enjoy it while you can since it is not looking promising.
Nordstrom
Nordstrom closed almost 50 of their physical locations in 2019. While this is indeed a sad move, they are one of the only department stores with a very high digital and online presence with orders being done online more and more every day.
They are evolving with the times and may survive the change in shopping that seems to be taking place. Still, shutting down 50 of its stores had to be a huge hit for them financially, so their future is also undecided. Time will tell if their online investment will pay off.
J. Crew
J. Crew is one of the worst off on here. They are well on their way to filing for bankruptcy if they do not make some drastic cuts. In 2019, they made just those cuts by closing 20 of their stores.
The company itself is on shaky ground as their CEO of only 17 months decided to step down for a reason that is unknown to the public and is showing less and less chances of coming back to the height of its success. We may be seeing all J. Crew stores closed in the near future.
J.C. Penny
One of the most iconic department stores in the United States, J.C. Penny is pretty much going out of business. Just in 2019, the company made the decision to close 27 locations and it seems as the financial team on the company's dime is going to continue these closures unless something big happens.
It is said that 2020 will show more and more shops closing and may even be the end of the department store and company as we know it. It will truly be the end of an era if this does happen.
Barney's New York
Official news: Barney's New York has filed for bankruptcy. The store, which is known for being a luxury shop, started the process of filing for Chapter 11 by closing no less than 15 of their stores. Barney's New York has been serving people since 1923, so it is sad that it has come to an end entirely.
The high end brand could not combat the changes in the market and so continuously saw lower and lower revenue until it no longer made sense to continue having their shops running.
Bed Bath & Beyond
Where are we to get our home decor and supplies if Bed Bath & Beyond closes? Well, in 2019, the company decided to OPEN 15 new stores, but they also decided to close 40. The reason for these changes has more to do with locations and the low income they are seeing from them.
The executives of the companies are willing to open more and more locations where it makes sense, but in order to do that they ask for the cooperation of the landlords who they say need to offer better leases for the locations.
Lord & Taylor
The fact that Lord & Taylor is still around is a surprise to be honest since they are not seen that often. The chain opened its doors in 1826 and was one of the first department stores in the country.
In 2019, the company decided to close nine of its stores. In a move to try and save the company, Lord & Taylor partnered with Walmart so that some of their products could be sold through Walmart's website which was doing much better than theirs.
CVS
CVS is everywhere, and that is part of the problem. The company was doing well and therefore decided to grow their store count. However, they grew their stores too fast. In 2019, they are now closing 46 of their stores in 16 states.
While this is a small percentage of their 9,600 stores across the United States, it is creating a pattern that they do not like and should not like. They are still going strong but are not invincible and therefore becoming more conservative with their store opening and spending.
Lowe's
Lowe's has always had to compete with big names like Walmart, Home Depot, and Amazon. After years of this battle, they are now showing their struggle by closing 51 locations across the United States and Canada.
They still have more than 2,000 locations across the countries but they are not out of trouble yet, they need to make sure that their bottom line remains in the black and that it makes sense to keep the stores open rather than transferring to a strictly online presence.
Kmart
Kmart is not going to be around for much longer, but that is not a surprise to most people who have not shopped there in years. In 2019 alone, the brand closed 53 of their stores.
The reason this is also huge is because they only had 53 stores left to close so they are officially no longer on the market as a retailer, the days of Kmart are behind us all and it seems like many other brands are going in the same route sadly.
Victoria's Secret
This one took us by surprise, that is for sure. Victoria's Secret was not wise in some of their remarks in recent months and so people got upset and decided not to buy there anymore. The effect was so profound that the brand suffered financially.
In order to make amends, the brand did some rebranding and put out some statements to try and calm the people. In 2019, however, they still needed to close 53 locations across the country, which is a very large number for any company.
Office Depot
Amazon is the reason for the demise of Office Depot. Instead of going to the store, people use their Prime membership to order whatever they need for the office and get it delivered the very next day for free.
In an effort to remain afloat, Office Depot decided to close 59 locations, which is only part one of a three year plan that will see the closures of over 300 Office Depot and OfficeMax locations. The face of shopping is being changed forever.
Sears
Another day another department store. Sears is not looking promising considering their low revenue. They have been selling off their smaller brands in order to stay afloat and away from filing for Chapter 11. However, their plan did not really work.
In 2019, Sears closed and is continuing to close 93 stores across the nation, including their massive one in the Mall of America. It does not look bright for them and so more closures and eventual permanent shutting of the doors may be the end result.
Walgreens
Walgreens is another brand that is not doing well this year. In 2019, they closed 200 of their stores and it looks like that number is only going to grow. The 200 closed stores are only 3% of the stores that Walmart has in the country, but it is not a pattern they would like to see continue.
Every retailer is having much of the same issues considering they are all dealing with the online market growing more and more and people preferring online shopping to physically going in.
Topshop
Topshop was on cloud nine for such a long time but it looks like it hit the top and is now on the way down. The chain was originally from the United Kingdom and came to the United States in 2009 with the endorsement of model Kate Moss and rapper Jay-Z.
They are now closing 11 stores across the country and to make even worse news, Topshop's parent company has filed for bankruptcy which is not a good indication as to where the company is going in the future.
Abercrombie & Fitch
How are teens everywhere supposed to get back to school ready without Abercrombie & Fitch? The brand has said that they are not doing well and the fact that malls across the country are closing because more and more people are online shopping and not going into them physically is making the brand all the more anxious about their future.
They announced in 2019 that they will be closing 40 of their stores by 2020 and that more changes are going to be made.
The Children's Place
Kids clothes are not easy to shop for so this one is hitting close to home, where will be buy clothes for our little ones? With 45 of their locations closing, The Children's Place is in real trouble, and so are we when it comes to back to school season.
Over the course of the last few years, the retailer has seen tough times and has already begun closing the 300 stores they said they would by 2020. These shops will be disappearing quickly.
Pier 1 Imports
Pier 1 is no longer going to be easy to find should you want to furniture shop. In 2019, the company said they will be closing as many as 145 of their locations nationwide. They decided this after a weak holiday season in 2018 where sales dropped a stunning 13.7% rather than grew like expected.
The brand is on their way to filing for Chapter 11 and so get it while you can, otherwise you will have one less option to go for when home decor shopping.
LifeWay Christian Stores
LifeWay Christian Stores were never a huge part of the retail market but they are soon going to become less and less in existence. LifeWay Christian Stores is closing 170 of their stores in 2019 and are shutting more and more down as the years come along.
The reason, obviously, has to do with lower sales and and more people deciding to online shop than ever before. Perhaps they will find a way out of this pickle, but it does not seem likely.
GAP
The writing has been on the wall for GAP for a long time now. They used to be on top of the retail world but are far from it now. In 2019, they closed as many as 230 locations across the world, as well as endured Old Navy breaking apart from them and becoming their own store.
The rest of the brands under the GAP name remain as is, but it does not look good for the retailer with that many closures in one year.
Family Dollar
In 2015, Dollar Tree brought Family Dollar. However, despite buying it, they could not save it from its impeding doom. For the year 2019, Family Dollar will shut no less than 390 of its stores! In addition to those 390, they will also be closing 200 of the Dollar Tree locations, making everyone very nervous about their ability to stay open at all.
Dollar Tree is considering increasing their prices in order to stay afloat, something that is sure to anger customers and solidify their fate as gone.
Payless
It has been a while now that we all knew that Payless was not going to make it. All the way back in 2017 the brand filed for bankruptcy and started closing their many stores. The reason for its initial demise had to do more with T.J. Maxx and having them as a competitor and not the added pressure of Amazon!
In 2019, they closed 2,100 locations across the country and Puerto Rico. There are now only 665 Payless stores in the country and even those are not safe.
Shopko
Shopko has been in the process of closing for years now. They have been closing stores in order to not file for bankruptcy but it seems as though it was not going to help them no matter what.
The retailer decided that it was officially going to close in 2019, shutting the doors on all of their 363 locations nationwide and not reopening. There are many more like this company that are about to do the same and it is downright scary...
Gymboree
Gymboree announced that they were bankrupt back in 2017. They also attempted to make a rebrand and a comeback at the same time. Sadly, the company could not compete with Amazon, Target, and Walmart and filed for bankruptcy once again.
In that declaration, the company announced that they will be closing nearly 800 stores across the country and that there will be no coming back or rebranding from this. It is a very interesting time we live in now that the world has gone digital.
Dressbarn
Dressbarn has been around for a very long time, 60 years to be exact. The brand has been putting up with low sales by cutting their losses and closing stores as much as they can. The brand's parent company, Ascena Retail Group, made the decision to close Dressbarn and redirect the focus to their other more profitable brands.
All 650 Dressbarn locations will be closed by the end of 2019. Women everywhere will need to find a new place to find the perfect dress for that occasion they may have.
Chico's
Another victim of Amazon is Chico's. In an attempt to be more progressive, Chico's is moving their retail brand online to try and keep up with the needs of the masses and the competition in Amazon. Chico's will be closing 250 locations across the country in 2019 to make more room for the online business.
They have a three-year plan to move everything from brick and mortar to online only. Only time will tell if this strategy will work for them or not.
Charlotte Russe
Many women across the country have visited Charlotte Russe when in need of clothing, but soon enough they will not have the chance to do so anymore. The chain has been around since the 1970s!
However, in 2019, the brand told the world that they will be closing 512 of their stores across the United States, which is one fifth of all the stores they have in the country. A cut as big as that one means that they are sure to have more.
The Cheesecake Factory
Our hearts are broken here! We love The Cheesecake Factory! The food giant has been having some hard times for years now, but in 2019 they officially announced that they are shutting the doors on 10 of their locations.
Perhaps they will see better times and some openings of new locations so as to bring the revenue stream back up, but it is hard to tell what the future holds for our favorite restaurant chain. How ever will we get angel hair pasta perfection?
Subway
Subway has been in the news for a bunch of reasons lately and none of them good. They have had issues with customers and as a result they have been having issues with their sales. In 2017, they closed 866 locations, in 2018 they went on to close another 1,100 locations, and in 2019 the number is only growing and growing with their sales lowering and falling.
Soon enough, there will be no more Subway sandwiches for us to enjoy, or complain about.
Chipotle
Chipotle certainly hits the spot when you are hungry and need something fast. However, not only has the chain not opened a new location in many years, they have actually closed 50 of them in 2019 alone.
Their stock is up for the time being, but the food quality has been under scrutiny and needs a change otherwise we will be seeing so many more closures and perhaps a total change in the company's structure altogether. A world without Chipotle? We do not want to live in it!
Starbucks
Starbucks has been very smart with their online order system, making it so much easier for customers to order and pick up in seconds. They did this because they saw sales falling and fast. In 2019, however, despite their best efforts the company closed 150 stores that were underperforming in terms of sales and operations.
We cannot foresee Starbucks closing altogether, we all need coffee, do we not? But they need to make sure that they have the right locations with the right employees.
Target
Target is one of the top retailers moving into the digital sphere. They saw the trend with Amazon and Walmart and jumped on the online bandwagon. As such, in 2019, they closed six of their locations to make room for a larger online presence.
The holiday season is always upon us it seems to it looks like they will be making their revenue up again with their online shopping deals and other sales attractions. This was their way of staying relevant and so far it is working.
Kohl's
Say it ain't so! Before you write Kohl's off, it is actually in a better place now that Shopko has closed its doors. Kohl's is one of the few department stores that stands alone and is not part of a mall, which makes it already in a better location.
Despite it all, however, they have closed eight locations in 2019 and it may mean more to come. The company did make a statement that the closings were to open new locations elsewhere that made more sense.