Announced U.S. Store Closures Double, Openings Up 20 Percent from 2016, says New Fung Global Retail & Technology Weekly Tracker

Global think tank tracks and analyzes U.S. retail news, says Managing Director Deborah Weinswig

NEW YORK (May 8, 2017) – The month of May thus far offers a mix of positive and negative retail news, as 2017’s announced store closings are nearly twice that of the same period last year, while announced openings are up 20 percent year over year, says “Weekly Store Openings and Closures Tracker,” a new report from global think tank Fung Global Retail & Technology. Boosting the openings sum was this week’s announcement that Bonobos will add 20 Guideshop showrooms by year-end.

The new weekly report series tracks store openings and closings, as well as major executive movements, and merger and acquisition announcements for a select group of U.S. retailers.

“The industry is in the middle of a major disruption, but there are bright spots, including Bonobos’ commitment to physical retail. As we’ve seen, some retailers are continuing to expand, even as store closures are up markedly from 2016,” says Fung Global Retail & Technology Managing Director Deborah Weinswig. “We’ve created this report series to provide the facts as they are announced, while adding context to paint an accurate portrait of the state of the industry.”

Overall, closings have been announced for 3,296 stores for 2017, up 97 percent from the same period last year, the report says, with most of the shuttering closing units falling within the department and specialty store categories. Meanwhile, value-driven concepts such as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Aldi and TJX have announced major expansion plans. As noted in Fung Global Retail & Technology’s new report “Lidl US Update: Answers to Four Key Questions,” the German grocer will debut its first three stores in the U.S. this summer. In all, Fung Global Retail & Technology reports 2,573 announced store openings thus far in 2017.

“Value-driven 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,” Weinswig writes.

The report can be found here. Other recent reports issued by Fung Global Retail & Technology include: “Deep Dive: Opportunities from US Department Stores’ Closures,” “Deep Dive: Global Male Grooming Market,” “Deep Dive: Retail Revolution-US Apparel Shifts in 20 Charts” and “Deep Dive: The Mall is Not Dead” series.

Fung Global Retail & Technology’s reports and analyses can be found at www.FungGlobalRetailTech.com and www.deborahweinswig.com. Subscribe here to receive Deborah Weinswig’s daily news and analysis on retail, fashion and technology.

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About Fung Global Retail & Technology
Fung Global Retail & Technology is a think tank whose research team, based in New York, London and Hong Kong, follows emerging retail and tech trends, specializing in the ways retail and technology intersect, and in building collaborative communities.

The team, led by Deborah Weinswig, former top Wall Street and retail tech analyst and startup advisor, publishes ongoing thematic and global market research on topics such as the Internet of Things, digital payments, omnichannel retail, luxury and fashion trends, and disruptive technologies. More information can be found at www.FungGlobalRetailTech.com.

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