These IL Retailers Went Out Of Business In 2023

ILLINOIS — Several national discount, department store, and specialty chains closed locations in Illinois in 2023 as they grappled with inflationary pressures, filed for bankruptcy, or adjusted their business models to reflect changes in consumer shopping habits.

Others, including pharmacy giants CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid, closed stores as demand for COVID-19-related services declined. And Target blamed the closure of a handful of metropolitan stores on a spike in organized retail crime.

Here’s a look at how some of the announcements affected Illinois:

Bed Bath & Beyond came back from the dead in digital form after Overstock.com acquired $21.5 million in intellectual property assets from the beleaguered chain. Still, the chain planned to shutter 896 stores as part of its bankruptcy filing, according to NBC News. The closures included 360 flagship stores, 120 Buy Buy Baby stores, and 416 Bed Bath & Beyond, Harmon, and Buy Buy Baby stores that were set to close.

In August, the new owners of Buy Buy Baby, announced plans to reopen 11 stores in the Northeast, and the new owner of the health and beauty chain Harmon said it would reopen at least five stores, CNBC reported.

In Illinois, the retailer announced in August that it would be closing its remaining 11 stores across the state as the business began to wind down operations. Bed Bath and Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey and as part of the process, it would no longer accept coupons that had become popular among customers. Most of the remaining stores were in the greater Chicago area with the remaining location set to close in downstate Normal and Springfield.

Bed Bath and Beyond had previously shuttered six Illinois stores in the final quarter of 2022.

Foot Locker said it would shutter 545 stores, including 125 of its Champs Sports locations by 2026, as part of a “reset” that includes opening about 300 “new concept” stores, according to Business Insider.

In February, Dallas-based discount home goods retailer Tuesday Morning announced plans to shutter half its stores amid bankruptcy but then said in April it would close all of its stores. In all, 487 stores were affected.

After the retailer announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, it said it would close its remaining seven locations in Illinois as part of its nationwide shuttering of stores. Four of the remaining Illinois stores that were open at the time were in the greater Chicago area after an Arlington Heights location had previously closed due to a lack of traffic.

Banana Republic and its parent company, Gap, said about 350 stores would close in 2023 and that it would end the year with about 866 stores.

Party City filed for bankruptcy in January, announced in February it would shutter 22 store closures, and added another nine to the list in April.

However, as part of the Chapter 11 filing, Party City officials said that it expected many of its stores to remain open and to continue to operate normally. In Illinois, the chain has 42 stores across the state, including 23 in the greater Chicago area.

Walmart, which has been closing a handful of underperforming stores each year, said it was shuttering 23 stores across a dozen states, according to a Business Insider report.

In April, Walmart announced that it would close four Illinois store locations, citing underperforming stores in Chatham, Kenwood, Chicago, and Little Village. Earlier, the big box retailer announced it would shutter stores in Lincolnwood, Plainfield, and Homewood, again performing a lack of sales at those locations.

Best Buy said it would close between 20 and 30 big box stores in 2023 while opening eight smaller concept and 10 outlet stores. The company did not say what specific stores would close, but typically closes between 15 and 20 a year, Business Insider reported.

Best Buy officials announced in January that the retailer would close its location in suburban Algonquin, where that store would close by March.

More CVS stores closed as the company adjusts its business plan to reflect changing populations and buying patterns. CVS is in the second year of the three-year plan to close 900 stores by the end of 2024.

Struggling under slumping sales and heavy debt from opioid-related litigation, the Rite Aid drugstore chain said in October it was accelerating the closure of some underperforming drugstores while it restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In all, 154 locations were affected. A month later, Rite Aid said it was closing 31 more stores. In all, 185 locations were affected.

Walgreens plans to close 150 stores by the end of August 2024, the Deerfield-based drugstore chain said in June, citing slowing demand for COVID-19-related services among other factors. Walgreens did not say which among its 9,000 stores nationwide would close.

A company spokesman told Patch in July that in addition to the 2024 store closures, the retailer would also close an Edwardsville-based e-commerce center this summer. That closure would cause about 400 people to lose their jobs, the spokesman told Patch.

Edwardsville, located in Madison County, is part of Southern Illinois and the Metro East region.

Blaming a lower demand for COVID-related services, among other factors, WBA said it was taking some cost-cutting measures following the release of its third-quarter earnings report last month. A WBA spokesperson told Patch the 150 stores targeted for closure have not been announced.