Last Call: These Chain Stores Are Closing Locations in 2023

Year Established: 1963
Store Closures: 200 Branches*

While CVS (and its CVS/Pharmacy brand) has managed better than most to adapt to consumers’ online delivery needs, the company still faces an existential conundrum given its massive presence of nearly 10,000 stores nationwide. This mighty real estate investment in the face of dwindling walk-in customers has forced the company to both innovate and selectively cut back.

CVS © BobNoah / Shutterstock.com

As a result, this year CVS plans to shutter at least 200 underperforming stores nationwide by the end of 2022, including its famous Springfield, Missouri location (known as the “largest CVS in the world”). Though this is less than 1% of their overall footprint, the move will cost CVS more than $130 million.

Year Established: 1950
Store Closures: 800

Dunkin’ Donuts is a company that many Americans know thanks to its advertising strategies. That doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be supremely profitable, though. The tides can change just as quickly on this business as they can anywhere else. 

Dunkin Donuts ©Sorbis / Shutterstock.com

The company announced in 2020 that it would be closing the doors on over 800 locations. With an operation like this, it’s understandable that it’s being done in stages, with more stores still set to close by the end of 2021.

Year Established: 1920
Store Closures: TBD

There’s big money to be made in the movie business, but movie theaters don’t always get the biggest slice of the pie. Companies like AMC don’t even make the most money from movie tickets, instead of relying on concessions and add-ons for the most profit. 

AMC ©Ian Dewar Photography / Shutterstock.com

Like other theaters, AMC has been struggling over the last couple of years, with many questioning how some locations can stay open. The company is remaining relatively tight-lipped on the future of its theaters considering AMC has faced and avoided bankruptcy on four occasions in recent years. 

Year Established: 1971
Store Closures: 500 Branches*

It’s been a tough time for the retail industry, but the hospitality sector has also taken a hard knock. Starbucks has been around since 1971, providing coffee lovers across the world with their daily cup of Java, but even this titan hasn’t come out of 2021 unscathed. 

Starbucks ©pio3 / Shutterstock.com

The popular chain announced closures of over 500 stores in the US and Canada as it turns its focus to pick-up only locations. Starbucks said that despite this, it was still hopeful that this move would “enhance the customer experience” and “enable profitable growth for the future.”

Year Established: 1983
Store Closures: 320 Branches*

In 2020, AT&T closed down 250 of its physical stores. Now, it will be closing down another 320, according to the Communications Workers of America Union. The CWA said that these closures will lead to more than 1,600 job losses. AT&T has defended the total of 570 closures by saying it is “adjusting” its retail presence to “reflect” consumer “shopping practices.”

AT&T ©Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

AT&T said that it always intended to focus more on online sales, as opposed to in-person store traffic. The retailer stated that the reason it was happening so quickly was that the retail apocalypse of 2020 accelerated the plans.

Year Established: 1971
Store Closures: 200 Branches*

Though Bed Bath & Beyond will be closing roughly 200 stores (less than four percent of its total stores worldwide) by the end of 2022, many market insiders predict that this may be the first few drops of a potential waterfall of closings within the next several years.

Bed Bath & Beyond ©Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com

CNBC reported that Bed Bath & Beyond was trying to “save itself from extinction.” Business Insider was a little less optimistic, declaring that the “iconic brand” was experiencing a “rise and fall.” The company’s bonds have been straddling the border of junk debt for a while, trading at 73 cents on the dollar in December of 2019.

Year Established: 1901
Store Closures: 200 Branches* 

Walgreens may be a surprising name to see on the list, as they seem to be everywhere in some cities in America. Nevertheless, they certainly have their competition cut out for them, with CVS and other big names dominating the drugstore industry.

Walgreens © Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

Now, the pharmacy stores are closing off an even 200 stores, hoping to continue turning a profit in their other locations. Walgreens has continued to lose money, and Fox Business pointed out some shocking specs on the company’s failure. The company, owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, lost $1.7 billion during three months in 2020. In 2021, the chain closed a further 17 locations in the San Francisco area, citing shoplifting.

Year Established: 1995
Store Closures: 13 Branches*

Emerging as one of the biggest rivals to the retail titan known as Walmart, Target exploded to global success in the 2010s – though the company was actually formed more than a decade ago. At the time, it was known as Goodfellow Dry Goods.

Target © Nils Versemann / Shutterstock.com

Target has transitioned exceptionally well into the Internet age by focusing on Internet sales and targeting (pun intended) the more image-conscious consumer. Though revenues are up, Target plans to close about 13 locations through 2022 – though more store openings are likely on the horizon.

Year Established: 1947
Store Closures: 215 Branches*

H&M is the go-to retailer for shoppers all over the world looking for trendy pieces at an affordable price. From workwear to streetwear, and everything in between, the fashion giant has clothes for men, women, and children for every occasion. 

H&M @TheStreet / Youtube.com

Like other brick-and-mortar stores, H&M fell on hard times in 2020, announcing 250 store closures by the end of 2021. They then went back on their announcement after receiving surprisingly high sales figures in the fourth quarter of the year. 

Year Established: 1966
Store Closures: >20 Branches*

Best Buy is a one stop shop for all things electronic. From great deals on flat screen TVs to finding a replacement for that one random cable you need for an old camera, they have everything you could want or need. 

Best Buy @Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

However, the tech retailer has faced a dramatic decline in sales over the years as the rise of online retail has taken hold. It’s unclear exactly how many stores will close in the following years, but higher ups at the company say the number will be greater than 20. 

Year Established: 1935
Store Closures: 900 Branches*

Much like Earth Fare, GNC is another health and wellness store that has bit the dust. The vitamin retailer wasn’t doing well before 2020 hit, and the events that year just sealed GNC’s fate. In June of 2020, the brand declared bankruptcy and announced that it would close 900 of its stores, which number 7,300 in total.

GNC ©Mahmoud Suhail / Shutterstock.com

The closures are slated to take place over the next few years, wrapping up in 2023. When GNC filed for bankruptcy, it asked a judge to protect it against creditors to which it owed money. The judge later would approve a sale to Harbin Pharmaceutical Holding Co., preventing GNC from being sold at auction.   

Year Established: 1990
Store Closures: 50 Branches*

Arguably one of the most consistent staples of any American mall, Bath & Body Works vaulted from relative obscurity to market king within a decade of its founding. The company is one of the few brands to not only escape the “retail apocalypse” of the 2010s – but actually flourish during this time.

Bath & Body Works @ KildonanPlace / Twitter.com

Having said that, the company recently announced that 50 store locations, primarily in the United States, will be closing permanently by the end of 2022. The company plans to offset this with a three-year plan to open to 46 new locations and renovate up to 175 pre-existing locations. Considering the company operates more than 1,600 stores worldwide, this is hardly a drop in the bucket.

Year Established: 1990
Store Closures: 19 Branches*

Ulta Beauty is a dream for people who love makeup. It has pretty much every product you could ever want, and it is always making new deals with beauty brands and other stores. For example, Ulta announced that it was going to open one-hundred mini-stores in Targets across the country during the latter half of 2021.

Ulta Beauty ©Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

These new openings were exciting to fans, but not all the news from Ulta was positive. Ulta not only shrank its corporate staff, but it also announced its plans to shut down nineteen stores during the third fiscal quarter of 2020. Hopefully, Ulta shoppers whose favorite store closed will be able to go to Target, instead.

Year Established: 1975
Store Closures: 358 Branches*

For decades, Pet Valu was a discount way to get supplies and services for your pets. Fans of the chain were disappointed to learn that Pet Valu was going to close down all 358 of its stores. The announcement was made in November of 2020, and the closures are still ongoing.

Pet Value ©Raymond C. Eichelberger / Shutterstock.com

Pet Valu said it was winding down all of its operations, including corporate offices and warehouses. The beneficiary of this closure ended up being Pet Valu’s former rival, Pet Supplies Plus. Pet Supplies Plus acquired forty of Pet Value’s stores, and it announced in December of 2020 that it would rebrand Pet Valu in P.S.P.’s image.