Sears, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Macy's: These retailers are closing stores in 2017
Is 2017 the death of retail as we know it?
Each day, it seems another beloved shopping icon is issuing bad news as retailers continue to face a challenging environment.
Brick-and-mortar stores are struggling to change and adapt fast enough in the highly competitive digital age and retailers are closing under-performing stores, shedding workers and launching new initiatives in an attempt to cut costs and stay relevant.
Here is a look at the top retailers that have announced store closings in 2017:
J.C. Penney: 138 stores
J.C. Penney announced it was closing 138 stores and offering buyouts to 6,000 workers as it attempts to cut costs and shrink its retail footprint. That represents about 14% of its locations as Penney will continue to operate nearly 900 stores.
The department store chain will introduce new goods and services aimed at the shifting preferences of its customer base as it attempts to "raise the overall brand standard of J.C. Penney" and invest in remaining stores, according to CEO Marvin Ellison.
Originally most stores were set to begin liquidation sales April 17 and close in June but a surge of last-minute shoppers prompted the company to delay its plans. Liquidation sales are now set for May 22 and store closures have been pushed back to July 31.
Here's the list of planned closures:
Check this list to see if your J.C. Penney store is closing
Sears Holding: More than 300 Kmart and Sears
Sears Holdings has had several rounds of store closures this year as the struggling retailer fights for its survival.
At the beginning of the year, the company announced the closing of 150 stores, including 108 Kmart and 42 Sears locations in 40 states.
In March, the retailer said the entire company is in jeopardy and warned that "substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern."
The company reports that progress has been made but has been quietly adding more stores to the list of locations being closed.
Here are lists of the stores that are closing:
Is your local Sears or Kmart among the 150 stores closing
Sears quietly closes 30 more stores
Another 49 Kmart and 17 Sears are slated to close
20 more Sears stores are closing: See the list
Retail crisis at Sears continues as 43 more stores closing
Macy's: 68 stores
The iconic department store said at the beginning of the year that it closing 68 stores and reports have surfaced during the year that the company may be put up for sale.
The company still has more than 700 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores.
These are the Macy's stores that are closing:
Macy's is closing these 68 stores: Is yours on the list?
H.H. Gregg: 220 stores
Electronics and appliance retailer HHGregg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and expects to close all of its 220 stores by the end of May.
Currently the retailer's web site is advertising going-out-of business sales at all of its locations.
Here are the stores: H.H. Gregg store locator
MC Sports: 68 stores
Midwest sporting goods retailer MC Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February.
The company concluded that a restructuring was not feasible and has begun liquidation sales at all of its 68 stores. MC Sports is the latest sports retailer to file for bankruptcy, following Sports Authority, Golfsmith and Sport Chalet.
These are the MC Sports locations set to shutter.
Gander Mountain: 32 stores
Outdoor goods company Gander Mountain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and said it will close 32 of its 162 stores in 11 states.
The web site currently says all 126 locations are going out of business and is advertising liquidation savings.
But Camping World Holdings, which operates a network of stores catering to recreational vehicle owners, announced in May that it won a bankruptcy auction of Gander Mountain’s assets. Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World and star of CNBC's The Profit, said he plans to keep at least 70 of the 126 stores open.
Here is the list of the 32 stores Gander Mountain said it was closing:
Gander Mountain is closing 32 stores: Is yours on the list?
Payless ShoeSource: About 800 stores
The discount footwear chain filed for bankruptcy protection in April and announced the closing of about 400 locations worldwide. The company is now asking a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to close up to 408 additional stores.
Taken together that would represent about 20% of its total locations.
Complete list:Store locations Payless plans to close
Other retailers:
RadioShack closes more than 1,000 stores
The electronics retailer filed in March for its second bankruptcy in two years and began closing underperforming stores. The pace of store closings picked up dramatically as the electronics retailer held liquidation sales and closed more than 1,000 stores since the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The company says it will only have about 72 company-owned stores left open.
List: RadioShack stores still open
Rue21 to close its money-losing stores
The teen retailer plans to close about 400 stores out of 1,218 stores, according to The Associated Press
Here is an approximate list: Stores that are believed to be closing
Gymboree files bankruptcy and plans to close 375-450 stores
The children's clothing chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June and plans to close 375-450 of its 1,281 stores.
The women's clothing chain Bebe Stores said it is closing all of its stores after a string of losses and signed a deal with liquidator Tiger Capital Group to sell all of its remaining inventory.
The retailer expects to close all of its stores by the end of May.
The Limited Stores files for bankruptcy
The women's clothing store officially filed for bankruptcy in January after closing all of its 250 stores.
The teen retailer closed all of its 171 stories after it could not find funding to continue to operate.