Losing To Win: Why Major Retailers Need To Close More Stores

It’s been a banner year for store closing sales. At first, that didn’t seem likely. While retail closures were rife in 2017, that “slowed considerably in 2018,” according to a Credit Suisse note updating its store closure index. But things have picked up again this year, and the firm has recorded the highest number “at this point in the year for any year” in the index’s 24-year history: 7,600. “Our updated Credit Suisse U.S. Retail Store Closure Index supports our view that large scale store closures are going to be a challenge for the industry for several years to come,” analyst Michael Binetti wrote in the Oct. 8 client note. “We expect elevated closures to remain a primary operational distraction and stock risk for the U.S. retail space for several years.” Read more at Retail Dive.