More Retail Stores Closing Including Walgreens and GameStop

Yesterday, we learned about the bankruptcy of J.C. Penney, now it seems more stores are following along by shutting their doors. Although these will not be a full shutdown, they are closing a good bit of their stores that haven't been able to survive the pandemic.

According to Business Insider, an additional 3,000 stores will be closing during 2020 and 2021. That number is now being added to the over 9,000 stores closed in 2019. Although these retailers were already planning on closing some of their stores due to lack of performance, the pandemic has made that closing number considerably higher.

First on the chopping block for closing is Pier 1. The retailer announced even in January that it would be closing a number if its outlets and distribution centers, but that number now is up to 450 outlets. The chain currently has 950 stores and over 3,500 employees. GameStop is another store that had to close some stores in 2019, but was able to open new ones at the same time in other areas. It will now close over 300 of its outlets by the end of the year.

Walgreens isn't safe from feeling the strain of the pandemic, either. It was already planning on closing almost 200 stores in an attempt to cut costs. Now, it expects to close 750 of its stores in the United States alone. We wrote about Bed Bath and Beyond a few months ago closing not only its stores, but its sister companies: World Market, buybuy Baby, Christmas Tree Shops, and One Kings Lane. At the time they announced it, they were only closing 40 or so of their stores. By the end of 2020, another 20 stores will be added to the list.

With the combination of online retail and now a global pandemic, people are not venturing out and visiting these outlets. The question is will the closures stop or will we just shop online for everything from here on out?