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Toys R’ Us is the latest brick-and-mortar store to bite the dust, and the company has already announced the liquidation sale. The year is looking bleak for many retailers, and empty stores and desolate shopping malls could be the new normal.
Kiplinger compiled this list of 12 stores that could be gone forever in 2018. Many of the names were supposed to shutter in 2017, once-huge retail giants like Abercrombie & Fitch, Sears, JCPenney, and a few other shopping mall staples like Rue21 and Nine West. A few of the retailers on the list come as a surprise, especially these two huge names in the book and health and wellness space.
First, Barnes & Noble is in a rough spot. Kiplinger spoke with an expert on B&N, and the outlook is bleak for the bookselling giant. “The book chain is hemorrhaging cash flow,” he told them. “It saw an overall sales drop by 7.9% in Q2 2018 … and its loss rose to $30.1 million from $20.4 million in the prior year.'”
The other surprising name is GNC. GNC was once the go-to venue for health and diet supplements. The internet offers better and cheaper choices. According to the article, the company’s profits peaked in 2013, and sales peaked in 2015.
The GNC news is surprising but not crazy since diet and health products are everywhere but Barnes & Noble closing stores would create substantial physical gaps in the retail landscape. Not that anyone would notice ANOTHER shuttered store in their town.
[via Kiplinger]