Major retailers announced more store closures for 2017 amid decline in holiday sales and competition with Amazon

Briefing

Major retailers announced more store closures for 2017 amid decline in holiday sales and competition with Amazon

March 15, 2017

Briefing

  • Retailers Downsizing Operations – Major retailers Sears, Macy’s and Kohl's planned to shut down more stores in 2017 due to weak store sales during holiday season
  • 2017 Closing Stores – Sears will close 150 stores in early 2017, including 108 Kmart stores and 42 Sears stores, while Macy’s will close more than 60 stores and eliminate 10,000 jobs in spring 2017, with Kohl’s also planning to shut down physical stores
  • Declining Holiday Sales – Macy’s November 2016 and December 2016 stores sales declined by 2.1%, while Kohl’s holiday sales decreased 2.7%
  • Failed Omnichannel Strategies – Macy’s, Kohl’s and Walmart adoption of omnichannel strategies that turned stores into mini-distribution centers to fulfill online orders and address shifting customer needs and behavior proved unsuccessful
  • Amazon Holiday Growth – Shipped 50% more items for third party sellers during the holiday season

Accelerator

Market Disruption

Sector

Information Technology, Wholesale and Retail Trade

Organization

Kohl's Corp., Macy's Inc., Sears Holdings Corp.

Source

Original Publication Date

January 6, 2017

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