I came upon an article on the Penn Live website detailing anticipated store closings as of mid-year 2019. The article by Daniel Urie, "‘Retail apocalypse’ continues: Thousands of retail stores will close this year", includes a large number of non-toy related retailers. In order to better understand how we in the toy and play industry are affected by the closings, I audited the list and picked out those that will impact us.
I don't care for the term "Retail Apocalypse" as I think it overstates what is happening, which is a natural adjustment to the ever-growing impact of e-commerce and the existence of too many retail outlets.
Here is my edited list:
Retailer Number of Store Closings
Walmart 17
Bed Bath & Beyond 40
Party City 45
CVS 46
Lifeway Christian Resources 170
Family Dollar 390
Kmart / Sears Hundreds
Walgreens / Rite Aid 600
