I am fulfilling my promise to “have more on Business Insider on the retail apocalypse with an emphasis on stores instead of malls” to conclude Business Insider and Dan Bell on dead malls in the Retail Apocalypse with two graphs and a video.
First, Business Insider reported last September that more than 6,400 stores were shutting down in 2017. In true “a picture is worth 1000 words” fashion, they presented the data visually.
I wrote last time that I would write about the demise of Payless. This graphic shows that Radio Shack is another famous chain I need to examine. Once again, Retail Archeology has videos, which I will use when I post that follow-up.
The third company closing lots of stores is Ascena Retail Group. I didn’t know who they were, but I did know some of the chains they own, including Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Lane Bryant, and Loft. I might suggest Retail Archeology look at them. He already has a video about Claire’s.
Next, Business Insider followed up this April by reporting more than 3,800 stores will close in 2018. The following graph displays the affected chains.
Both J.C. Penney and Macy’s closed more stores last year than Sears and are still closing stores this year, but fewer than Sears both this year and overall. That doesn’t mean they’re immune from my eye. I’ll look at all three of them in the future as well.