Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2018 #16: Liquidators Awaiting Approval to Wind Down All Bon-Ton Stores

Coresight Research tracks news about store closures and openings, bankruptcies and management changes. Our Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker focuses on department stores and specialty retail, including, but not limited to, softlines, hardlines, consumer electronics, grocery and furniture.

2018 Major US Store Openings and Closures

Year-to-date 2018, the number of US store closure announcements stands at 3,335 and the number of store openings is 1,699.

What Is Happening this Week in the US?

Liquidators Awaiting Final Approval to Begin Winding Down All Bon-Ton Stores

Bon-Ton Stores, a bankrupt chain of 200 regional department stores, will begin liquidation sales at all locations, as only liquidators took part in its court-supervised auction. Bon-Ton had been working with US mall owners Namdar Realty Group and Washington Prime Group to secure a bid that would have kept open a large portion of Bon-Ton locations, yet the auction started without the landlord groups. The liquidators are awaiting final approval before they begin selling inventory, leases and fixtures. It is still possible, however, that some of the stores could be acquired by another retail operator and reopen under the name of one of the Bon-Ton stores.

Non-Store-Closure News

CVS Names Kevin Hourican as President of CVS Pharmacy

CVS Health announced the appointment of Kevin Hourican to replace Helena Foulkes as President of its retail business CVS Pharmacy. Hourican has worked at CVS since 2012, most recently as Executive Vice President of Retail Pharmacy. Before joining CVS, he served in executive leadership roles at Macy’s and Sears Roebuck, where he gained significant experience in omnichannel operations and store-front merchandising.

Year-to-Date 2018 Major US Store Bankruptcies

2017 Major US Store Openings and Closures

2017 Major US Store Bankruptcies

2018 Major UK Store Openings and Closures

Year to date in the UK, there have been 313 store closure announcements and 491 store opening announcements.

Carpetright to Close 92 Stores as Part of Restructuring

British floor coverings retailer Carpetright has struck an emergency agreement with its lenders to close or exit the leases of at least 92 of its stores under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which is a type of restructuring plan designed to keep businesses out of formal insolvency proceedings. “The CVA proposal will enable the group to undertake a fundamental restructuring of its property portfolio that the board believes must be carried out as part of implementing the group’s revised business plan,” said Carpetright.

Toys“R”Us to Close All Remaining UK Stores by the End of April

Administrators from insolvency specialist Moorfields Advisory said that as part of the plan to close all 100 stores, the remaining 75 Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores in the UK would close between April 18 and April 24. “The stores across the county will be open as usual until the last day of trading,” said joint administrator Simon Thomas. “Extended discounts of up to 70% are in place from today.”

Mothercare Eyes Closure of a Third of its Stores

Mothercare is reportedly considering entering a CVA as it looks to reduce costs by shutting a third of its 143 stores and lowering rents for others.

2017 Major UK Store Openings and Closures