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Over 1,000 chain stores, or a little less than one in seven stores, in New York City permanently or temporarily closed last year, according to the Centre for an Urban Future's annual report, which said the number of chain stores across all boroughs dropped by 13.3 per cent from a 3.7 per cent decline in 2019. About 2 per cent of chains closed doors temporarily, and 11.3 per cent did not indicate whether closed locations will reopen.
Manhattan had the most losses, accounting for 520 of 1,057 store location closures, followed by Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island respectively, the report said.
In 2020, the city experienced the largest year-over-year chain store decline in the 13 years since the Centre for an Urban Future began analysing national retailers.
Most store closures were a direct result of the virus outbreak in New York, which at one point became the epicentre, though not all. Several retailers selling apparel, jewelry, cosmetics, pet supplies and vitamins closed due to competition from e-commerce rather than pandemic-led problems, the report said.
New York shut down nonessential businesses last spring for two months, putting a financial strain on small and large retailers and led some to bankruptcy. Many large retailers managed to survive the closures through furloughs, issuing bonds and negotiating rent deferments.
The virus accelerated an existing trend in the city. All five boroughs lost chain stores two years in a row. In 2019, chain stores in the city dropped by 304 locations, according to the Center for an Urban Future.
Few retailers managed to avoid closures, much less grow except for three sectors: home centers, wholesale clubs, and jewelry and watches. But even as states reopened, safety measures to prevent another shutdown like occupancy limits keep customers out of stores, and inefficient e-commerce platforms led to unhappy customers.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Over 1,000 chain stores in New York City permanently or temporarily closed last year, according to the Centre for an Urban Future, which said the number of chain stores across all boroughs dropped by 13.3 per cent from a 3.7 per cent decline in 2019. About 2 per cent closed temporarily, and 11.3 per cent did not indicate whether closed locations will reopen.