Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.
A new year means a fresh start for retailers, whether they’re opening new storefronts to test their brick-and-mortar bona fides, or closing underperforming stores to make room for new opportunities down the road.
Store closures increased 80% year over year in 2023, due in large part to Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy. Still, last year’s 4,600 store closures were offset by nearly 5,500 openings, according to Coresight Research data cited by CBS News.
We’re going to take a look at a handful of ribbon-cuttings and farewells that have kicked off 2024.
Adidas
Adidas’s only San Francisco store closed up shop on Jan. 13, joining a list of retailers including Nordstrom, Hollister, and Lego that recently exited the SF Centre mall.
- The company does have locations outside city limits; the nearest outlet is located 40 miles away in Livermore.
- But it’s not all bad news for the Bay Area; Ikea and Banana Republic opened new storefronts in downtown San Francisco last year.
The Village at Orange mall
The 50-plus-year-old Orange County institution notified storefront operators in September that the mall will shut down, at least temporarily, on Jan. 31. Some of the businesses affected by the closure include Walmart, Ross, Ulta, HomeGoods, and PetSmart.
- As of this week, some business owners have been able to relocate, while others are still looking, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Meijer
The discount grocery chain brought its small-format supermarket to Cleveland on Tuesday, the first outside the company’s home state of Michigan. The 40,000-square-foot neighborhood market has been in the works since December 2021, and is part of a mixed-use development in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood.
- The company introduced the neighborhood market concept in August 2018, and debuted another smaller-store format last year, Meijer Grocery, in two Michigan locations that opened nearly a year ago. The stores will run between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet.
- Meijer’s supercenters are typically between 150,000 and 250,000 square feet. Last year, the company opened two new Ohio supercenters that feature “Shop & Scan,” which allows customers to check out using a mobile app that scans barcodes.
Publix
The Florida-based grocery chain is on a bit of a tear, with plans for five new supermarkets due to open by Feb. 8. Publix also recently debuted two new locations in Kentucky and Georgia, which opened on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17, respectively.
- Publix delivered five new locations across Florida last year and remodeled 79 of its more than 1,300 supermarkets across the Southeastern United States.
- With the help of its new stores and a 4.3% bump in comparable sales in Q3, as well as higher prices due to inflation, Publix reported a 16.2% increase in adjusted net income. The company earned $14 billion in Q3 2023, a 7.2% increase over the $13 billion it earned in Q3 2022.