Illinois Stores Closing In 2018

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 retailers that have announced plans to close locations in 2018 below:

Sears

Sears Holdings announced in November that it would be closing another batch of stores 2018. As part of the closures, Sears said it informed associates at 45 Kmarts and 18 Sears that the stores would be closing in late January 2018. One Illinois store was on the chopping block.

Bon-Ton Stores

The Bon-Ton Stores plan to close at least 40 locations in 2018, the company announced in mid-November. The retailer has not yet announced a list of stores that will close next year. Bon-Ton operates 260 stores in 24 states under the names Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers.

Target

Target is closing 12 stores with the last date of operation for the shuttering stores slated to be Feb.3. The Minneapolis-Star Tribune reported that the company began notifying affected store employees in November of the upcoming closures. Two Illinois locations will shut down.

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. The retailer hasn't provided a list of scheduled closings.

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.

Teavana

Starbucks announced in July that it will close its close to 400 Teavana stores by next year. Starbucks said the majority of the Teavana stores will close by Spring 2018.

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.

Charming Charlie

The retailer filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday and is looking to close six stores in Illinois after the new year.

Watch Now: List Of Retailers Closing Stores In 2018

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By Feroze Dhanoa, Patch National Staff