Retail Collapse: Here Are 2018’s 57 Biggest Store Closings

Closed storefronts are typical in American cities across shopping malls that once flourished in commercial zones of suburbia are now empty and abandoned.

As the retail apocalypse deepens, more than 3,800 stores are expected to close across the country this year. Department stores like Kmart, Macy’s, Sears, and JCPenney, and retailers including Best Buy, Payless, BCBG, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bebe have decided to close dozens of locations.

A new report by real estate research firm Reis noticed that shopping malls had not been this empty since 2012, CNBC reported. The vacancy rate at regional and super-regional malls in the U.S. reached 8.6 percent in the second quarter of 2018, up from 8.4 percent in the prior quarter.

The increased vacancy rate is simultaneously occurring while online retailing giant Amazon continues to acquire a more significant share of the consumption pie.

According to Reis, the vacancy rate of malls could significantly jump over the next several years. Even Credit Suisse believes 25 percent of shopping malls will shut their doors by 2022.

As shoppers move online and mall traffic declines, NJ Advance Media has provided a complete andstartling list of the 57 biggest retail chains shuttering storefronts as of recent:

Abercrombie & Fitch

In March 2018, Abercrombie & Fitch announced it would close up to 60 more stores amid struggling sales and other closures in 2016 and 2017. The company has not announced if any of the New Jersey locations will close, and so far they’ve all stayed in business. Currently there are stores in Atlantic City, Bridgewater, Cherry Hill, Deptford, Eatontown, Edison, Elizabeth, Freehold, Paramus, Rockaway, Short Hills and Wayne.

Aeropostale

The retailer filed for bankruptcy in the spring of 2016, but in the fall of 2016 was acquired by a group of mall owners for $243 million. The sale was expected to save about 230 of Aeropostale’s 800 stores, according to Fortune. More than 100 stores were set to close after the bankruptcy filing, but the N.J. stores, so far, have never been on the chopping block.

Aerosoles

Edison-based women’s footwear chain Aerosoles has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close a “significant” number of stores, the company said in a September statement. While the company didn’t disclose how many or which of its 88 locations will be shuttered, it said it will maintain four flagship stores in New Jersey and New York, and continue to sell online.

American Apparel

The clothing brand filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and closed all stores, but its trademark was bought by Gildan Activewear. The company just recently opened its first brick-and-mortar store in L.A. after an online relaunch.

American Eagle

The teen apparel retailer announced in 2017 that 25 to 40 stores across the country would close, but so far its 20 New Jersey stores and outlets have remained open.

Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice, Catherines, Maurices

In the summer of 2018, Ascena Retail Group — which owns the brands Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice, Catherines andMaurices — announced plans to close 25 percent of retail stores (about 250 locations) by the end of 2019 and an “additional 400 or so stores … through landlord negotiations during the same period,” according to RetailDive.com.

The Banana Republic & The Gap

In September 2017, Gap Inc. announced it would close 200 Gap and Banana Republic stores over the subsequent three years. The company, however, said that it plans to open 270 new locations for Old Navy and Athleta. No N.J. closures have been announced.