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Another Giant Retailer Permanently Closes More Locations

These are challenging times for retailers. Estimates say that more than 15,000 stores across the U.S. will close in 2025, which is more than double the number that closed in 2024.

The data concerns not only smaller businesses, but also large national retailers with a strong footprint across the states. This year, many famous brands, department stores and popular chains have shut a number of locations, and some have even gone bankrupt.

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For example, JCPenney, which has been in business for 123 years as of 2025, has announced plans to shutter more locations this year.

Joann declared bankruptcy and closed all of its retail stores after 82 years in business. Then there’s CVS, Kohl’s, Walmart, and At Home, which are also downsizing their brick-and-mortar footprints.

In the majority of cases, retailers were forced to shut down due to economic challenges emerging since the Covid pandemic. As if the pandemic wasn’t a huge enough blow for brick-and-mortar stores, retailers are now also dealing with higher cost of labor, persistent inflation, and increased rates on debt obligations.

Often major retailers close stores to optimize operations or experiment with new models such as e-commerce, and closures don’t necessarily indicate that the retailer is struggling.

Staples, once a global leader in the workplace products sector, has struggled over the last few years.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

Staples struggles over the years

For more than 35 years, Staples has been one of the leading retailers in the workspace products sector, offering traditional office supplies, furniture, cleaning products, and technology.

Its first store opened back in 1986 in Brighton, Mass., and in 10 years it secured its place in the Fortune 500’s list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years.

In 2014, when the competition from online sellers intensified, Staples started closing some of its stores. Remember how the term “Amazon effect” arose in 2012 to describe the disruptive effect the online retailer had on the global retail industry?

Nevertheless, in 2015 Staples was back on its feet with huge plans to acquire Office Depot and OfficeMax. The purchase fell through, however, as it was blocked on antitrust grounds.

The failed acquisition pushed Staples into shifting its retail strategy by reducing the number of brick-and-mortar stores and focusing more on business-to-business services.

In 2017, Staples was sold to a private equity firm, Sycamore Partners, for $6.9 billion. A huge part of the acquisition was made through a substantial debt, and two years later, Sycamore Partners finalized a $5.4 billion refinancing.

More closings:

The private company was placed under scrutiny as it took $1 billion out of Staples and paid it to itself as a dividend, which is an unusually large amount, according to Bloomberg.

This indicates that Sycamore managed to return about 80% of its original investment in Staples in less than two years.

Now, Staples is making headlines again with new closures.

Staples to permanently close another store this summer

Earlier this year, Staples closed two stores in Connecticut: one in Newington and another in Norwich.

Reasons for the closure of Staples store in Newington this March are unknown, except it was confirmed that Bob’s Discount Furniture will take over the location.

The store in Norwich closed in May because Hartford Healthcare purchased the lease to expand into the space.

However, Norwich General Manager Heather Kenyon noted that Staples is still opening new stores, and that the company might return to Norwich in the future, writes The Bulletin.

Also in March, Staples closed its only store in Minnesota, reminding customers they can continue to purchase Staples products online.

More recently, Staples confirmed the closure of one of its two Norwalk, Conn., locations.

An employee at the Staples store at 654 Main Ave. in Norwalk confirmed on June 24 that the store would permanently shut down on August 8, reported the CT Post.

Staples' other store is located about four miles away from the Main Ave. location. After these four closures, about 24 Staples stores remain in the Nutmeg state, and some 840 stores remain nationwide.

The reason behind the latest closure was not yet disclosed, according to the outlet.

Staples closed multiple stores last year as well, and customers shared their thoughts on Reddit, with many of them arguing that Staples is a “dying company” and that it is just a matter of time when it will file for bankruptcy.

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Another Giant Retailer Permanently Closes More Locations

Staples struggles over the years

Staples to permanently close another store this summer

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