Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker #3

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KEY POINTS

Fung Global Retail & Technology tracks store openings and closures for a select group of US retailers.

During the past week, none of the retailers we track announced store openings. Overall, retailers that are expanding their store footprint are: value concepts such as fast fashion, discount and off-price, and the beauty and sportswear (athleisure) specialty retailers.
During the past week, hhgregg announced it will be closing its entire 220-store fleet, after failing to secure a buyer during a bankruptcy sale. In addition, Eastern Outfitters announced it will be closing 48 stores, or 56% of its store fleet—the retailer is undergoing Chapter 11 proceedings and is reportedly working closely with Sports Direct International plc on a potential deal.
Overall, store closure activity continues to exceed that of store openings, reflecting a worsening retail environment.

2017 Store Openings and Closures

Among the retailers we track, hhgregg and Eastern Outfitters made announcements last week regarding store closings. Hhgregg is now preparing to close all 220 of its stores, after failing to find a buyer under bankruptcy proceedings. We previously reported that hhgregg would close 88 stores. Eastern Outfitters is closing 48 stores, or 56% of its total store fleet, subject to bankruptcy court approval. The company filed for Chapter 11 back in February, and is reportedly working closely with Sports Direct International plc, a UK sporting goods retailer, on a possible deal.

The majority of retailers that have been closing stores fall within the department store and specialty retail categories. Primary reasons include: 1) declining mall traffic; 2) reconfiguration of store networks as retailers shift online; and 3) cutting losses from unprofitable stores.

Among the retailers we track, no store opening announcements were made during the past week.

Value-driven retail concepts such as discount and fast fashion have been aggressive in expanding their store footprint, despite the difficult retail environment. Categories such as beauty and athleisure are outperforming the market, which is evident in their footprint expansion over the past 15 months.