These Maryland Retailers Struggling, May Close Locations In 2023

MARYLAND — In 2020 and 2021, the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to change everything about the way they do business. And even as Maryland recovers from shutdowns, shifts in consumer buying habits amid nagging inflation have hurt long-standing retail brick-and-mortar businesses.

As the threat of recession looms over Maryland, chains could face yet another difficult year with a whole new set of challenges. Months of inflation have caused operating costs at retail spaces to spike and have chipped away at the sales of mid-tier retailers, experts said.

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."

“[W]e believe department stores face many challenges ahead,” Sole said as reported by RetailDive.com. “We model very weak earnings outlooks for Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Macy’s and believe these challenges are not fully appreciated by the market.”

Here are the chains that analysts say might close entirely or close many of their stores in 2023.

1. 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. No Maryland stores have been listed as closing in 2023 so far.

In 2020, the retailer closed three Maryland stores in Gaithersburg, Hanover (Arundel Mills Mall) and Salisbury.

Here are the current Bed Bath & Beyond stores in Maryland:

• Annapolis: 200 Harker Place, Suite 200
• Bel Air: 559 Baltimore Pike
• California: 23415 Three Notch Road, Unit 9B
• Columbia: Snowden Square, 9021 Snowden River Parkway
• Frederick: Riverview Plaza, 5413 Urbana Pike
• Gambrills: 2382 Brandermill Boulevard, Suite 102
• Germantown: 12940 Middlebrook Road
• Hagerstown: 17716 Garland Groh Boulevard
• Ocean City: 12641 Ocean Gateway
• Rockville: Congressional North Shopping Center, 1519 Rockville Pike
• Towson: The Towson Place, 1238 Putty Hill Avenue, Suite 1
• Waldorf: 3270 Crain Highway
• Westminster: 200 Clifton Boulevard

2. CVS

CVS announced in November 2021 that it would shutter more than 900 locations over 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.

3. Rite Aid

In the spring of 2022, the retail chain announced it would close 145 stores before the year's end.

The company cited unprofitability as the main reason to close so many stores. Officials said the closures were meant to "significantly reduce costs."

4. Kroger/Safeway/Harris Teeter

Grocery stores were hardly spared from the "retail apocalypse," which decimated the shopping industry from 2017 to 2020. Two of the nation's largest grocery chains — Kroger and Albertsons — announced a $25 billion merger in October. Kroger closed several stores in 2021 and 2022 and will continue shuttering locations in 2023.

Both retailers own grocery stores that are prevalent across Maryland: Harris Teeter and Safeway. There are 60 Safeway stores in Maryland, and 18 Harris Teeter stores in the state. Company officials have not said which stores would be affected by the pending merger.

"Closing a store is a difficult decision and one that we take very seriously," Lori Raya, president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic Division, said in a statement after closing a store that opened in 1979, according to BestLife. "This store's low financial returns made it unfeasible to continue to operate while still upholding our low-price commitment to our customers."

5. Nordstrom

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. In August 2020, the Annapolis location of Nordstrom closed, the Capital reported.

6. Sears

Once a shopping behemoth that sold everything from clothes and toys to house kits, the last Sears store in Maryland will close in January 2023. Sears at Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick will close Jan. 15, a manager told the Frederick News-Post.

7. Best Buy

This struggling electronics retailer has been quietly closing more stores each year. The chain closed 20 locations in 2019 and 20 more in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced mass closures of retailers across the nation.

In early 2021, the chain announced plans "to close a higher number this year." The company did not reveal the total number of its stores. Media reports suggest that at least 60 Best Buy stores closed in 2021.

Best Buy currently has 23 locations in Maryland. In late 2021, the Best Buy at Arundel Mills closed permanently. In a March, 2022 Star Tribune article, Best Buy executives said they expected business to continue to taper.

In a 2022 BizJournals.com article, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry predicted that supply chain issues, labor shortages and continued outbreaks of COVID-19 globally could lead to unexpected shutdowns of factories that could ripple through the markets, she said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misattributed the statement made by Best Buy CEO Corie Barry.