The list of major retailers closing store locations this year continues to grow.
Giant drugstore chain Rite Aid, which filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 15, 2023, had closed more than 800 stores by the time it exited bankruptcy in September 2024.
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The Philadelphia-based retailer's rival, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) , which operates 8,000 stores with 6,000 profitable locations revealed on Oct. 15 that it will close 1,200 underperforming stores over the next three years. It's planning 500 closings in fiscal year 2025.
Rite Aid and Walgreens competitor CVS is expected to close 300 stores in 2024. The closings were expected. In 2021, CVS announced a plan to close 900 of its nearly 9,900 stores over three years – 300 stores each year in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
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Bankrupt home goods retail chain Big Lots, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 9, 2024, has designated 553 of its 1,392 locations in 48 states for closure so far. Don't be surprised if the debtor files more notices for store closures in the weeks ahead.
Big Lots is the nation's fourth largest home goods retailer with general operating revenues of $4.7 billion in 2023.
Finally, baby clothing, furniture, and accessories retailer BuyBuy Baby will shut down all stores about a year after restarting operations, following the chain's July 2023 sale to Dream On Me in the Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy auction.
BuyBuy Baby shuts down all stores
Dream On Me purchased the BuyBuy Baby brand and digital assets for $15.5 million and 11 store leases for $1.7 million at auctions and reopened for business.
When Bed Bath & Beyond owned BuyBuy Baby before its 2023 bankruptcy filing, it operated about 120 baby product stores. Today, Dream On Me operates 10 BuyBuy Baby stores in seven Eastern states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
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Dream On Me on Oct. 18 revealed on its website that it will be shutting down all of its stores and transitioning into a digital-first brand for online shopping.
“The demand of consumers has changed, and as such, so are we,” BuyBuy Baby said in a statement to Retail Dive on Oct. 18. “Based on the feedback from our loyal customers, we are shifting away from the brick-and-mortar model for the near future and redefining ourselves as a digital-first brand.”
On its website, the company said it will close all stores by the end of the year and begin store closing sales on Oct. 18 with all sales final. All purchases made before Oct. 18 will be subject to BuyBuy Baby's standard return policy. Online purchases are still subject to the standard return policy.
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BuyBuy Baby gift cards will be accepted through Oct. 31. Afterward, gift cards can be redeemed online at buybuybaby.com.
The retailer's buy-online and pick-up in-store service was discontinued on Oct. 18, as was its in-store price match service. The store's baby registry, however, will still be available at buybuybaby.com.
BuyBuy Baby's website will continue operations and customers can still purchase items with gift cards online.
BuyBuy Baby was founded in 1996 by Richard and Jerry Feinstein, sons of Bed Bath & Beyond founder Leonard Feinstein. In 2007, Bed Bath & Beyond purchased the baby products retailer for $67 million.
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