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NEW YORK — Ahold Delhaize recently said it would shutter an undetermined number of underperforming Stop & Shop supermarkets this year, joining what some press reports have described as a “tsunami” of planned retail store closings.
Coresight Research, which tracks store openings and closings, said that as of May 31, major U.S. retailers have announced 3,279 planned store closures for 2024. That represents an 18.5% increase over the 2,767 closures announced in the comparable period of 2023. “We estimate that the closures announced year to date will account for 46.7 million square feet of closed retail space in 2024,” Coresight noted in its report.
Leading the list of retailers planning to reduce their store counts this year is Dollar Tree Inc., which said in March that it would close 620 Family Dollar stores this year and as many as 370 in the next several years as their leases expire. Dollar Tree more recently announced that it is weighing options — including a possible divestiture — for its Family Dollar chain, which has about 8,000 U.S. locations. (See related story on this page.)
Rue21, an apparel, footwear and accessories chain, is next on the list, with plans to close all its 543 U.S. stores as it goes out of business following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Also going out of business is 99 Cents Only Stores, which announced in April that had commenced going-out-of-business sales and would close all 371 of its stores, ending its 42-year run as a deep-discount retailer.
Other leading retailers that have announced significant store closure plans for 2024 include CVS Health, which plans to shutter 315 stores (about 4% of its store base); 7-Eleven, which plans to shut 272 convenience stores (about 2% of its store base); Rite Aid, which plans to close 165 stores in 2024 (about 9% of its store base); and Walgreens Boots Alliance, which said it plans to shutter 77 U.S. drug stores (about 1% of its store base).
The store closures are happening for different reasons. Some chains, like 99 Cents Only Stores, the Body Shop, and Sam Ash Music, are going out of business. Other retailers are reorganizing or are simply closing underperforming stores in order to focus their resources elsewhere.
And plenty of retailers that are still in growth mode are also closing some stores — Coresight Research’s list includes Walmart, which plans to close nine stores, Aldi, which plans to close four, and Hy-Vee, which plans to close three.
The Coresight Research report also details planned store openings for the year, noting that as of May 31, major U.S. retailers have announced 3,781 planned store openings for the year.
This compares to 4,007 openings announced in the comparable period of 2023, though, which represents a 5.6% decline. “We estimate that the announced year-to-date openings equate to 72.5 million square feet of new retail space,” the report states.
It’s worth noting that while announced store closings are up and store openings are down in 2024 compared to 2023, the number of U.S. retail stores and total retail square footage is not shrinking, but rather is increasing, albeit more slowly than in years past. The total store count will be up by 502 net for the year if all the announced closings and openings occur as planned.
Dollar General alone plans to open 819 stores, according to Coresight Research’s list, and CVS Health plans to add 219.
