Clothes Stores Closing Across US in 2025

In January 2025, the massive department store Macy’s announced it would be closing 66 of its outlets in 2025, as part of a three-year plan to make it profitable again. Other major clothing and department stores have made similar announcements this year, with many citing rising costs, increased competition from online stores, and lower footfall as reasons to shut up shop.

Newsweek has compiled a list of some of the biggest clothing retailers and department stores that announced closures in 2025.

Why It Matters

An estimated 15,000 stores were expected to close in 2025, according to Coresight Research, cited by Forbes. This surge in brick-and-mortar shutdowns reflects the pressure from rising operational costs from higher inflation and wages, lingering supply chain issues, and shifting shopper habits—accelerated by COVID-19—and fierce competition from online marketplaces. The fallout has been severe: British newspaper The Independent reported that retail layoffs rose 274 percent in the first half of 2025—leaving thousands jobless and cutting access to shops and department stores for millions of Americans.

What To Know

In 2025, several prominent U.S. clothing retailers and department stores announced wide-ranging store closures, including:

Clothing Retailer Closures

Forever 21
The popular fast-fashion brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025, citing “rising costs and increased competition from abroad” as the main reason. Although Forever 21 hasn’t officially stated how many stores will close, Fashion United believes it plans to close all 354 of its U.S. stores.

Joann Fabrics
According to Reuters, the craft chain asked a court for permission to close around 500 of its U.S. stores in February 2025, after filing for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2024, less than a year after filing its first, in March 2024. Retail liquidator GA Group, which bought Joann’s assets at auction, reported that “Joann, the fabric and crafts retailer, has commenced store closing sales at all 790 locations nationwide.”

Torrid
The plus-size fashion retailer stated in its official first-quarter earnings report that it would close up to 180 of its underperforming stores—about 30 percent of its physical footprint—to allow the company to “reduce fixed costs and reinvest in areas that drive long-term growth.”

Claire’s
According to a court filing in Delaware, teen accessories favorite Claire’s is closing over 291 of its stores as part of its bankruptcy process, which it is going through for the second time, after filing its first in 2018.

Department Store Closures

Macy’s
The retail giant announced back in January 2025 that it would be closing 66 of its “non-go-forward store locations” as part of a plan to make the company profitable again, which includes closing around 150 “unproductive” stores over three years, and investing in 350 of its productive “go-forward” stores over the course of 2026.

Kohl’s
Kohl’s also revealed plans to close stores in January 2025, announcing that 27 of its “underperforming” stores would shutter by April 2025, as part of a long-term growth strategy.

Big Lots
After it filed for bankruptcy in 2024, court documents revealed that Big Lots more than $3 billion to over 5,000 creditors. To help pay this debt and reverse a major drop in sales from 2023 to 2024, Big Lots announced in January that it would close 545 of its stores.

What People Are Saying

In its official press release, Forever 21’s CFO Brad Sell said: “We are deeply grateful for the support you have shown us over the years, but rising costs and increased competition from abroad have made our current business model unsustainable.”

Claire’s CEO Chris Cramer said: “As we continue through our restructuring proceedings, our team has worked tirelessly to explore every option for preserving the value of the Claire’s business and brand. We are glad to reach this definitive agreement to sell a portion of our North America operations to Ames Watson and maximize the value of our company for all our stakeholders.

“I would again like to extend my gratitude to every Claire’s employee who has continued to show up for our customers during this challenging time for our business.”

Macy’s chairman and CEO, Tony Spring said: “Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go-forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service.”

Former Kohl’s CEO Tom Kingsbury said at the time of the announcement: “We always take these decisions very seriously. As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to support the health and future of our business for our customers and our teams.”