These RI Stores Are Closing In 2018 (Or Have Already Closed)

In 2017, retailers in the United States announced plans to shutter close to 7,000 stores, a whopping 224 percent increase in announced store closures compared to 2016. The numbers were compiled by the think tank Fung Global Retail & Tech, which tracks store openings and closures in the U.S.

According to the numbers compiled by Fung Global, there have been 6,885 announced store closures in 2017 and 3,443 announced store openings. In 2016, there were 2,122 announced store closures in 2016 and 2,294 announced store openings.

Looking ahead to 2018, major retailers from various industries have already announced plans to close stores in the U.S. starting as early as January 2018.

Patch has compiled a list of major retailers that have announced plans to close locations in 2018 or have already closed:

Benny's

The store where generations of Rhode Island families shopped is going out of business. Benny's announced it would close all of it stores by the end of the year, and the final locations shuttered just recently.

Sears/Kmart

The Sears Holdings wave of store closings leaves Rhode Island with just two Sears Hometown stores and no Kmart locations. The final Kmart in Cranston shut down over the summer.

Teavana

Starbucks announced in July that it will close its close all of its nearly 400 Teavana stores. A judge this month ruled Starbucks can't close every location by the end of the year because it signed leases and could potentially hurt foot traffic in the malls it is in. Teavana is in Providence.

J. Crew

The speciality retailer plans to close 39 stores by the end of January 2018, CNN Money reported. That amounts to about 6 percent of its total stores and is double the number of stores it previously planned on closing. Patch was unable to obtain a list of affected locations; there are several J Crew locations across Eastern Mass.

Gap

In September, Gap announced it would be closing approximately 200 "underperforming" Gap and Banana Republic stores in the near future. The list of stores to be closed has not yet been released.

Walgreens

Walgreens will close about 600 drugstores as it buys 1,932 stores from its competitor Rite Aid, the Associated Press reported. A company spokesman told the AP that the majority of closures will be Rite Aid and a vast majority of stores closing will be within a mile of another store in the Walgreens network. Walgreens did not say which locations would be closed but the closures will start next spring.

Gymboree

Gymboree Corporation closed 350 stores nationwide, including the Warwick location in Rhode Island, after filing voluntary Chapter 11 petitions with the United States Bankruptcy Court earlier this year.

Bebe

The clothing store for young women closed all its stores, including in Rhode Island.

• Watch Now: List Of Retailers Closing Stores In 2018

By Feroze Dhanoa, Patch National Staff and Patch Editors Mike Carraggi and Autumn Johnson

Image via shutterstock