Gap Closing Beachwood Place Location

BEACHWOOD, OH — The Gap store at Beachwood Place Mall was closed over the weekend. Gap is closing 230 stores globally, many in the U.S., and began shuttering locations this month.

Gap management said the stores that closed were either under-performing or no longer fit the vision for the future of the company.

"We are confident these closures will strengthen the health of the specialty fleet moving forward and will serve as a more appropriate foundation for brand revitalization," the company's management said in a statement on its website.

Brick-and-mortar retailers have been off to a brutal start in 2020. Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy's have all announced store closures in Ohio and and nationwide. Shoppers continue to migrate their buying patterns to online titans like Amazon, pinching the market for in-person shops.

Last year, the parent company, Gap Inc. announced plans to shutter about 230 stores over the next two years. Last year, the San Francisco-based retail company had a total of 725 specialty stores, not including those in China.

Sales had dropped 5 percent, according to Gap's 2018 earnings report.

The 50-year-old retailer has been mired in a financial swamp over the past few years. Gap is estimating that it will lose about $625 million from the store closure, but then save about $90 million as the process takes shape.

As the retail stores close, a shift to the Gap's e-commerce division will take place, according to the announcement.