The Decline of the UK Department Store – and Struggles in Germany, Too

Executive Summary

In the UK, major midmarket department stores are undertaking store closure programs to address underperformance—and Germany’s department-store market leader is seeing sales declines deepen, too.

• On May 22, Marks & Spencer (M&S) announced plans to accelerate its closure program, which involves shuttering more than 100 of its Clothing and Home stores by 2022.
• On June 6, privately-owned House of Fraser announced plans for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that proposes 31 store closures—more than half of its current 59 stores in the UK and Ireland.
• On June 19, Debenhams issued its third profit warning of 2018. It, too, is closing stores.
• On June 5, Hudson’s Bay Company(HBC) reported a 6.6% slump in comparable sales at Germany’s Galeria Kaufhof.