Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker #6: Bonobos Opening 20 New Stores
KEY POINTS
Fung Global Retail & Technology tracks store openings and closings for a select group of US retailers.
- Among the retailers we track, this past week, Bonobos announced plans to open 20 more physical stores by the end of 2017.
- None of the major retailers we track made store closing or bankruptcy announcements this past week.
- About 3,300 stores have been included in retailers’ store closing plans since the start of the year. Cumulative store closing announcements for year-to-date 2017 far exceed the previous year’s average. We expect more announcements in the coming months, particularly for stores located in lower-grade malls.
2017 Store Openings and Closings
During this past week, none of the retailers we track made any store closing or bankruptcy announcements.
The majority of retailers that have been closing stores fall within the department store and specialty retail categories. Primary reasons for the closures include: 1) declining mall traffic; 2) reconfiguration of store networks as retailers shift online; and 3) to cut losses from unprofitable stores.
Among the retailers we track, men’s clothing retail startup Bonobos, rumored to be in talks to be acquired by Walmart, has announced plans to open as many as 20 more Guideshops by the end of 2017, bringing the total number of stores to 50.
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.
2016 Store Openings and Closings
