Executive Summary

Coresight Research tracks news about store closures, openings and bankruptcies. Our Weekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker focuses on department stores and specialty retail stores, including, but not limited to, those selling softlines, hardlines, consumer electronics, groceries and furniture.

Click here to view our full collection of Weekly US and UK Store Trackers.

In this report, we review 2018 store closures in the U.S. and the U.K., by sector.

• In the U.S., major retailers closed 5,524 stores and opened 3,083 stores during 2018.
• By sector, apparel specialist stores led the pack with 766 closures; Payless ShoeSource contributed 408 of these closures.
• Toys “R” Us was the retailer that closed the most stores in the U.S. in 2018.
• In the U.K., major retailers closed 1,432 stores and opened 755 in 2018.
• General merchandise retailers closed the most stores in the U.K., with Poundworld closing more stores than any other.