RETAILERS across the country are closing thousands of stores as streamlining and downsizing are ways to get finances in control.
It’s likely a trend that will persist in the coming months as stores battle inflation, lowered customer demand and shifting shopping habits.
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The U.S. Sun has outlined the retailers that have filed for bankruptcy so far.
1. TUESDAY MORNING
Home goods store Tuesday Morning filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the closure of half of their retail locations.
At least 860 stores have reported their upcoming closures in 2023, but that’s likely just the start of the burgeoning retail ice age.
Stores in states including but not limited to California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, and Nebraska will be shuttering this year.
The first hit of closures for the chain arrived in May 2020 after its initial bankruptcy protection filing. Back then, the retailer lost 230 locations.
While Tuesday Morning did eventually make its way out of bankruptcy in December of that year, it has still struggled since then.
In the fiscal year ending July 2, 2022, the furnishings store had lost $59million, followed by another $28.1million more in the first quarter of its current fiscal year.
The company said filing for bankruptcy will “enable the company to reduce its outstanding liabilities, obtain the significant and necessary capital, and ultimately transform into a nimbler retailer that serves heritage markets in a profitable manner.”
2. PARTY CITY
Party supply store Party City may have flourished pre-pandemic, but the coronavirus outbreak put a hit on both in-person events and the store’s financial performance.
Since filing for bankruptcy, the store has placed 12 locations up for auction so far.
Under a $150 bankruptcy loan, the chain intends to continue operating while restructuring its debt load.
In September 2022, Party City held $1.7billion in debt but was working to achieve a smaller and more successful fleet of stores.
3. JCPENNEY
The popular department store declared bankruptcy in May 2020 and announced it would close over 800 stores.
Unfortunately, the company had acquired $4.5billion in net losses since 2010.
Only 670 JCPenney locations exist today, and this spring more stores are slated to close, including those in Oswego, New York, and Elkhart, Indiana.
Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group have agreed to acquire the chain for $1.75billion.
OTHER STORE CLOSURES
While many retailers have avoided filing for bankruptcy, several are still implementing plans to close hundreds of locations nationwide.
Financial experts believe that mid-tier retailers and higher-end stores will be the first to say goodbye amid.
“I suspect there’s going to be a whole round of restructures, bankruptcies, all sorts of upheaval, as we approach the end of the year into next year,” the director of retail studies at Columbia University, Mark Cohen, told Insider.
It’s a trend that started ages before the pandemic, when consumers began shifting from in-person shopping to online browsing, with Amazon taking a huge market share.
Reports show around 40 percent of the nation’s department stores have closed since 2016.
Gap and Banana Republic are set to close over 50 of their stores nationwide.
Likewise, Bed Bath & Beyond is slashing the number of brick-and-mortar stores it operates nationwide.
Bed Bath & Beyond executives officially announced the closure of 150 of their stores last September.
Macy’s has also been hit with financial woes, closing well over 100 department stores into 2023.
Eight retailers have already outlined a list of closings throughout the month of April.
Plus, here’s the full list of Targets shutting down for good by this May.
