Allbirds, Fred Segal, SJP Collection and More Retailers That Closed Stores in 2024
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
Retail store closures remained a big part of 2024 as consumers and the economy continued to struggle with high levels of inflation.
According to a recent report from Coresight Research, more than 7,100 stores closed across the country through November, which is a 69 percent jump in closures compared to the same time in 2023. Year-to-date, these closures have been led by the shuttering of businesses like Rue21 and an accelerated cost savings plan at Macy’s.
Here were some of the most notable store closures in 2024.
Allbirds
In March, Allbirds co-founder and then chief executive officer Joey Zwillinger said in its fourth quarter earnings call with analysts that the company planned to close between 10 and 15 “underperforming” stores in the U.S. in 2024, or about a third of its total fleet. The company said this decision will have a financial impact of between $7 million and $9 million, which will mainly be relegated to the first half of the year.
The stores targeted for closure mainly consist of newer, larger stores with a strong apparel offering, Zwillinger said. Moving forward, the company wants to highlight its core footwear franchises at retail as opposed to apparel. As part of a transformation plan outlined in March meant to jumpstart growth and improve capital efficiency, Allbirds has sought to revamp its product assortment with a focus on classic styles. This involves zooming in on popular core franchises, like the Wool Runner, and shifting away from newer styles that have not resonated as strongly with consumers.
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Fred Segal
In July, Fred Segal closed the last two of its five California stores, leaving only one retail outpost operating at Resorts World in Las Vegas.
Last year, Jeff Lotman, chief executive officer of Global Icons, the Los Angeles company that had the worldwide master license for the Fred Segal brand and operated the stores, announced he was hoping to open more locations in Miami and New York while eyeing China as another retail opportunity.
Instead, earlier this year he closed two Southern California stores barely open one year. One was on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica and a second venue was located at The Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. He also shuttered a relatively new outpost at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, Calif. The last to go was the Malibu store and a flagship on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Macy’s
Earlier this month, Macy’s chief executive officer Tony Spring said on the company’s third quarter earnings call that it now anticipates closing 65 stores by the end of the fiscal year. Spring acknowledged during the call that the majority of closures would take place after the holidays. This is up from the projection of 50 closures this year, as laid out in February.
The retailer added that it “remains confident” in its Bold New Chapter strategy, and that the plan “continues to gain traction across all three of its pillars.” Under the plan, the company is closing about 150 underproductive locations through 2026; prioritizing investment in about 350 “go-forward” locations, and expanding its small-format store chains, which includes Bloomies, and downsized Macy’s units.
Matches
In March, Frasers Group put luxury online retailer Matches into administration two months after buying it at a knockdown price from Apax Partners.
In a statement released to the London Stock Exchange at the time, Frasers said Matches “has consistently missed its business plan targets and … has continued to make material losses. While Matches’ management team has tried to try to find a way to stabilize the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable.”
The decision to shut Matches is an about-face for Frasers, which paid 52 million pounds for the retailer shortly before Christmas 2023 and touted its turnaround plans.
In April, Frasers Group repurchased the intellectual property and non-tangibles of luxury retailer. Those assets are understood to be non-tangibles such as the trademark, domain names and databases of the store, which was once a fashion e-commerce giant competing alongside names including Net-a-porter, Mytheresa and Ssense.
Rue21
Rue21‘s worst nightmare came to pass in May when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection, putting it in the rarified Chapter 33 club.
The filing, which included petitions from five affiliates, was in a Delaware bankruptcy court under the name New Rue21 Holdco Inc. The initial paperwork listed assets and liabilities each at between $100 million to $500 million.
Michele Pascoe, former Rue21 chief financial officer and current interim chief executive officer, told the bankruptcy court that the specialty chain operates more than 540 stores across strip malls, regional malls and outlet centers.
SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Collection
In August, the “And Just Like That” star’s namesake brand, obtained this afternoon by FN and WWD, The SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker collection is closing this fall.
The move comes a decade after Parker partnered with the late George Malkemus to realize a longtime dream of being a creative force in the industry she revolutionized during her “Sex and the City” days — when the actress helped turn Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo into household names.
At 10 years old, the brand — which focused on classic styles — outlasted a number of other celebrity shoe ventures and weathered the COVID storm. Still, it faced considerable competition from more established labels and trend-driven brands.
“After 10 colorful years, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker has made the difficult decision to close its doors this fall,” said the statement from the brand. “The SJP Collection team expresses enormous gratitude to all of their loyal customers and supporters, as well as all those they’ve worked alongside.”
Ted Baker
In May, Authentic Brands Group said it “remains committed” to Ted Baker, despite the fact that its North American operations are following their European counterparts into liquidation.
“We are close to finalizing agreements with new partners to operate Ted Baker’s concessions, wholesale distribution and e-commerce businesses,” an Authentic spokesperson told FN sister publication WWD at the time. “We remain committed to Ted Baker and are optimistic about the brand’s future.”
Ted Baker operated 34 stores in the U.S. and nine in Canada. On May 10, the e-commerce site was also shuttered.
