By Esther Trattner
This is likely to go down as the most brutal year ever for store chains. By our count, bankrupt Sears, Toys R Us and others have closed well over 5,000 stores, and that's looking only at the bigger chains. Smaller, regional retailers have been shuttering stores, too.
The huge shopping shift away from the mall and onto the smartphone and tablet has meant more going-out-of-business sales, store layoffs and empty big boxes.
Here are 30 major retailers closing the most stores in 2018. We count down to the chain shutting down the largest number of locations.
30. J.C. Penney
8 stores
After shutting down nearly 140 stores last year, J.C. Penney has been at it again in 2018. The department store chain said eight locations, from California to New Jersey, would be out of business before summer.
Penney's, which has been losing money for years, also planned to close a distribution center in Wisconsin over the summer.
29. Lord & Taylor
10 stores
Your grandmother may have shopped at Lord & Taylor — and your grandmother's grandmother and her grandmother, too. The department store chain has been around for more than 190 years.
The Lord & Taylor store on Fifth Avenue in New York City is an institution.
But Lord & Taylor is struggling to draw today's younger shoppers. Its parent company has decided to shut down up to 10 stores in 2018 — one-fifth of the total — including the chain's iconic flagship store on New York City's Fifth Avenue.
28. Macy’s
11 stores
Macy's closed around 70 of its department stores in 2017 and started off 2018 by announcing it would shut down nearly a dozen more.
Macy's started off 2018 by announcng it would close more stores.
The company says it wants to focus on its stores that are top moneymakers, and on its website. Macy’s has a strong presence online and is hungry to win over more shoppers there.
27. Victoria's Secret
20 stores
In fashion, you're either in or you're out. Twenty Victoria's Secret stores are out — they're being closed because of skimpy sales at the lingerie retailer.
Management blames some style choices that missed the mark. And, analysts say Victoria's Secret and its Pink brand have been losing out to competitors like American Eagle's Aerie women's underwear.
26. Henri Bendel
23 stores
The company that owns Victoria's Secret has decided 2018 will be the year the curtain comes down on its Henri Bendel stores. That chain, which sells luxury fashion accessories, got its start all the way back in 1895.
Henri Bendel's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue is something of an institution. Parent company L Brands says it wants to concentrate on its other chains, which also include Bath & Body Works.
25. Crocs
47 stores
Crocs — the company that makes those colorful, rubbery clogs with the holes — has been shrinking its "footprint." In other words, scaling back the number of brick-and-mortar stores it operates.
Crocs plans to close about 50 more of its footwear stores.
When it had 558 stores in March of 2017, the funky footwear firm said it wanted to reduce that tally to 400 by the end of 2018. At the beginning of this year, Crocs was still about 50 closings from its target.
24. J. Crew
50 stores
Many malls are kinda dead these days, at least compared to how busy they used to be. And that's really bad news for preppy clothing chain J. Crew, because most of its stores are at the mall.
Nautical-themed retailer J. Crew has been taking on water.
The troubled company said it would close 50 stores early in 2018 — more than double the number it had announced earlier. If you got a J. Crew gift card for the holidays, you may want to use it fast.
23. Abercrombie & Fitch
60 stores
The teen retailer known for its buff models and torn jeans will be turning out the lights at 60 of its Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores this year.
Abercrombie & Fitch will shut down 60 stores this year.
The Abercrombie company has been shedding its locations in malls because — you guessed it — more of its customers want to buy their threads online.
22. Sam’s Club
63 stores
Walmart says it's closing 63 of its Sam's Club warehouse club stores, though 12 of them will be converted to warehouses to store online merchandise.
Walmart is closing scores of its Sams Clubs.
The chain's CEO has suggested some of the stores were too close to others. Almost 600 Sam’s Clubs will remain.
21. Claire's
92 stores
Claire's, the retailer that keeps teenage girls well-accessorized in bangles and bling, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and said it would close 92 of its stores this spring.
Claire's is closing nearly 100 of its teen jewelry and accessories stores.
The company says it has been hurt by dying malls, competition from big-box chains (like Target) and "the increased popularity of online shopping."
20. Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo
94 stores
Supermarkets are not immune from the forces shaking up retailing. Smaller grocery chains are being squeezed out as Americans do more of their food shopping at dollar stores, Walmart and Amazon's Whole Foods.
The parent company of Winn-Dixie is wrapping things up this year at almost 100 of its supermarkets.
Amid that backdrop, Southeastern Grocers has filed for bankruptcy and has announced it's shutting down nearly 100 of its Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo and other supermarkets in seven southern states.
19. Brookstone
102 stores
Brookstone — that store tired shoppers have counted on for soothing demonstrations in its massage chairs — has filed for bankruptcy and is closing all 102 of its mall stores.
The shops known for selling all sorts of quirky gadgets have been losing business to online retailers. But you can still get a Brookstone fix when you travel: Its airport locations will remain open.
18. Foot Locker
110 stores
More than 100 Foot Locker stores are in their final inning and are expected to close in 2018. CEO Richard Johnson told analysts in early March that the company is leaving malls that are "starting to deteriorate."
The sneaker and athletic clothing chain is opening 40 new stores this year, including a new Champs Sports flagship store in New York's Times Square.
17. Guess?
Up to 120 stores
Guess? is doing better overseas than in the U.S., so the fashion retailer is guessing that cutting way back on its American stores will be good for business.
The company plans to permanently lock the doors at 100 to 120 U.S. stores in 2018, after closing around 60 last year. Meanwhile, the chain plans to expand in Europe and Asia.
16. Vitamin World
124 stores
The Vitamin World chain is looking like a 98-pound weakling these days. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2017 and put 124 stores in going-out-of-business mode. They were expected to close by February 2018.
The company has been looking for a buyer for its remaining 220 or so stores.
15. Michael Kors
Up to 125 stores
High-end fashion accessories giant Michael Kors will shut down 100 to 125 stores in the next two years after major drops in sales in 2017. Kors sales in both its branded stores and department stores fell by double digits.
It hasn't been pretty for Michael Kors stores.
If you’re a fan of Michael Kors (the brand, not necessarily the designer and snarky judge from "Project Runway"), then you’ll be glad to hear the firm is restructuring, not tanking. The company’s stock price has been going up and up!
14. The Children’s Place
Up to 144 stores
Kids may grow, but longtime kids' clothing retailer The Children's Place has been getting smaller and smaller. And, it plans to shut down another 144 stores by 2020.
The Children's Place keeps shrinking.
TCP wants to refocus on expanding its sales on Amazon and growing its international business, says Forbes.
13. Kmart
160 stores
The company behind the struggling Sears department store chain also owns the gasping Kmart discount stores and has been closing them steadily throughout 2018 because they're money losers.
Parent company Sears Holdings recently filed for bankruptcy and said it would shut down another 65 Kmart locations, on top of 95 closings announced earlier in the year.
10. (tie) Gap/Banana Republic
200 stores
Two of your local mall's staples — Gap and Banana Republic — may soon disappear. Parent company Gap Inc. says 200 of those stores will go dark in the next three years because they’re "underperforming."
Gap Inc. is shuttering hundreds of Gap and Banana Republic locations.
Even if your nearest stores close, you’ll still be able to get your Gap and Banana fix online. And it’s not all bad news for the company: It plans to open 270 new stores for its growing brands, Old Navy and Athleta.
10. (tie) GNC
200 stores
GNC is another vitamin retailer that has been looking sickly. Executives hope closing 200 stores in the U.S. and Canada will be just the spoonful of tonic the company needs to improve its financial health.
GNC hopes closing stores will restore the company to financial health.
The chain's strength has been sapped by the decline of shopping malls (where most of its stores are) and tough competition from Amazon and other online vitamin sellers.
10. (tie) Signet Jewelers
200 stores
Never heard of Signet? It's the company behind many of the big jewelry chains found in malls, including Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, and Piercing Pagoda.
Zales' parent company, Signet Jewelers, plans to shutter 200 of its stores.
Signet says it wants to put more of a shimmer on its online retailing. It's closing 200 stores but says 75% of those are in malls with other Signet-operated stores, which will pick up some of the lost business.
9. Sears
222 stores
Sears' business has been in a steady decline for more than a decade, and the company's stock price has dropped from about $40 a share in June 2015 to less than $1 in 2018. (Yikes!) Now, the Sears company has filed for bankruptcy.
The Sears chain continues to dwindle.
The retailer that was once the largest in the world is shrinking fast. About 700 Sears and Kmart stores remain; just six years ago, there were 4,000.
8. Best Buy Mobile
250 stores
Electronics big-box chain Best Buy has decided to shut down all 250 of its not-so-big Best Buy Mobile stores found in malls.
In a letter to employees, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly says the stand-alone mobile phone stores aren't very profitable. And, he says shoppers will typically find a regular Best Buy store nearby where they can buy a phone.
7. Bon-Ton
260 stores
This year brought an end to the Bon-Ton family of department stores, which included the Bergner's, Bon-Ton, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers chains.
Troubled retailer Bon-Ton is shutting down.
The 160-year-old retailer filed for bankruptcy in February and initially said it would close around 50 stores in 2018. Two months later, the company decided it would have to shut down entirely.
6. Teavana
379 stores
The end is brewing for Starbucks' tea brand: The company plans to shutter all 379 of its mall-based Teavana locations. Most were to be out of business by the spring.
Closings are brewing for all of Starbucks' Teavana outlets.
Although Starbucks made efforts to use merchandising and store redesigns to net more customers, the strategies just didn’t percolate.
5. Subway
500 stores
The Subway chain of sandwich shops is slimming down. After closing more than 900 stores last year, the company says it wants to shut down around 500 more of its U.S. locations in 2018.
Subway wants to close 500 U.S. stores this year.
Subway is still massive, with more than 44,000 stores around the world, including nearly 26,000 in the U.S. But its business is in a pickle from competitors, including supermarket sandwich counters.
4. Ann Taylor and her sisters
Up to 547 stores
The company behind Ann Taylor, Loft, Dressbarn and other clothing chains for women plans to close as many as 547 more stores by 2019. That's on top of at least 120 that Ascena Retail Group shut down in 2017.
The parent company of Ann Taylor and Loft is shutting down hundreds of those stores.
Falling sales and astronomical commercial rents have been big problems for the retailer.
3. Rite Aid
600 stores
Headaches are on the way for many Rite Aid drugstore customers: They'll have to transfer their prescriptions because 600 Rite Aids will close, starting this spring.
The Walgreens pharmacy chain is buying nearly 2,000 stores from its rival Rite Aid and says any of those locations that are too close to a Walgreens will be put out of business.
2. Mattress Firm
Up to 700 stores
After probably more than a few restless nights for its executives, Mattress Firm filed for bankruptcy in October and said it would close 200 of its stores immediately. Another 500 could be shut down by the end of 2018.
That would leave more than 2,500 locations. The company grew too quickly through a series of mergers that left it with a glut of stores. Plus, it has frisky online rivals that never sleep.
1. Toys R Us
735 stores
It's game over for Toys R Us in 2018. The chain that helped raise generations of kids says it's closing all 735 of its remaining U.S. stores and will try to sell its roughly 80 stores in Canada.
2018 will be remembered as the year Toys R Us went out of business.
The company filed for bankruptcy last September, then had a dismal holiday season. Analysts say what killed Toys R Us was online competition and kids choosing electronic gadgets over traditional toys.
Doug Whiteman