More than 1,300 Department Stores Closed Last Year — Here’s How Malls are Scrambling to Survive

“The pandemic has accelerated what we thought was the normal trend by about three years.”

More than 8,000 major retail stores nationwide closed in 2020, according to Coresight Research. Of them, 1,347 were department stores.

“For department stores, the weaker chains have been disappearing for 25 years,” says Michael Brown, a partner at Kearney, a consumer practice of management consultancy. But like many other consumer retail shifts in 2020 — the adoption of QR codesthe rejection of of underwire bras — the pandemic simply sped up what experts noticed was already happening.

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About the Contributor

About the Contributor

Tyler has robust experience leading multi-year sourcing initiatives within Higher Education, Retail, Consumer Products, Transportation and Energy, achieving over $250M in strategic profitability improvement. He has over 10 years of sourcing experience and developing strategic solutions regarding innovation, automation, process improvements, and strategic programs integral in generating substantial strategic profitability improvement. He has completed projects in a multitude of sourcing categories including temporary labor, most facilities (material and services) areas, IT hardware and software, scientific supplies, supply chain/transportation, outsourcing and human resource benefits. Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a published author in Internet Retailer.