These Illinois Retailers Are Closing Locations In 2023

ILLINOIS — The past few years, COVID-19 has location businesses to drastically change the way they do business. And even as Illinois continues to heal, shifts in consumer buying habits amid soaring inflation have continued to hinder brick-and-mortar retailers.

As the threat of recession looms over the Prairie State, retail chains could face yet another difficult year. Record inflation has caused operating costs at retail spaces to spike and chipped away at sales, according to experts.

Illinois Restaurants That Closed Permanently In 2022

Even for chains that survived the pandemic, a spate of closures could be on the horizon for both department stores and large retailers in 2023, UBS analysts predicted in mid-December of 2022.

"These trends are likely not good for department stores as both luxury companies, as well as off-price retailers, compete directly with department stores," UBS analysts Jay Sole, Mauricio Serna, Shoshana Pollack, and Tiffany Agard told Insider. "We expect department stores to close locations as challenges persist."

Here are the chains that have closed, will close or are likely to close Illinois stores in 2023.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond is set to close more than 150 stores across the nation as part of a plan to strengthen business at remaining stores. Illinois will see the closure of six locations:

• Gurnee Mills Mall, 6132 Grand Ave., Gurnee
• 915 East Golf Road, Schaumburg
• Fairview Center, 6611 N. Illinois St., Fairview Heights
• University Mall, 1265 E. Main St., Carbondale
• 2850 Plainfield Road, Joliet
• 2056 North State Route 50, Bourbonnais

Axios reported that it called several Bed Bath & Beyond stores at random and learned that they expected to close between December and late January and were no longer accepting returns.

CVS

CVS announced in November 2021 that it would shutter more than 900 locations over the next three years — 300 stores per year. The company said the closures would reestablish a "new retail footprint strategy aligned to evolving customer needs," Yahoo reported.

So far, a list of Illinois store closings has not been released, but the chain did close its only location in one small Illinois town just last month.

In 2019, the chain closed seven Illinois stores.

Nordstrom, Kohls?

While it's unclear whether Nordstrom will completely fold in 2023, analysts predict that the retailer will be "under pressure" in the first half of 2023, Insider reported.

The news website also reported that analysts predict a wave of department stores will close in 2023, including Kohl's locations.

Over the summer, it looked like Kohl's stores, including the 66 locations in Illinois, might be bought out by competitor JCPenney. But that deal never materialized, and instead, Kohl's doubled down and increased its Kohl's/Sephora concept stores in Illinois and in other states.

Some retailers reopening?

While the economic picture has been bleak in recent months, there are some glimmers of hope — and one nostalgic retailer returned to Illinois in 2022, at least in a new format.

Beloved retailer Toys R Us returned to 15 Macy's stores in Illinois, just in time for the holidays.

Macy's also opened took another shot at a brick-and-mortar store by opening its first dual-store format, Market by Macy’s and Macy’s Backstage at Evergreen Plaza, in a vacant former Carson's store in Evergreen Park.

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