Ever since 2017, Whole Foods Market has been owned by Amazon. The original Whole Foods Market was established in Austin, Texas, way back in 1980. If you think the 2017 merger has allowed the company some protection from the Retail Apocalypse, you’re probably right.
While Whole Foods accounts for only 3% of the total grocery store market, it’s got the e-commerce Godzilla on its side, which was proven to have protected it quite well. The most significant store closings, however, are of Whole Foods Market’s smaller, lower-priced brand called, 365. All 12 of the 365 stores were closed in 2019.
Vitamin Shoppe
Vitamin Shoppe is GNC’s top competitor. For quite a long time, if you needed any vitamins or supplements, this is where you would go. Except no one physically goes anywhere if they can have the product they want sent right to their doorstep.
Both companies are mired in the same retail nightmare. Vitamin Shoppe watched its stock price plummet over 80% between 2015 -2018. Sales slid downward for two years straight. The company’s 2019 outlook included opening ten new stores and closing 60 to 80 underperforming stores. One goal was to increase e-commerce, and in 2018, they increased online sales by almost 19%.
Neiman Marcus
Founded in 1907, more than a century ago, Neiman Marcus is somehow still around. The exodus from mall shopping to outdoor shopping pavilions has taken its toll on many retailers. Department stores like Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom, and Macy’s have felt the pinch. Neiman Marcus has not fared much better.
The company has only lost money between 2016-2018. They pointed out that hopes were not too bright under the company’s heavy debt load. Neiman Marcus CEO and President Karen Katz blame decreasing sales on social media and “fast fashion.” Access to fashion shows used to be exclusive, and now anyone can tune in.
99¢ Only Stores
What's better than a store that sells various items for one dollar? A store that does the same for LESS than one dollar. One of the first competitors to then-thriving dollar-discount chains, upping the ante to just under a dollar, 99¢ Only Stores opened in 1982. In 2019 they faced elimination by such competition as Dollar Tree and Dollar General.
The competition also came from Walmart and, of course, Amazon. Thankfully, 99¢ Only Stores made it, but financial analysts only give the store a 50% chance of survival. To compete, the store is now offering more products and other perishable grocery items foods.
Gump’s Holdings
Gump’s is gone. Like a gaping void in San Francisco’s vibrant retail center, the flagship store, along with its massive, iconic Buddha sculpture that has greeted customers of Gump’s for 157 years, simply does not exist anymore. Gump’s: Established in 1861, liquidated in 2018. The luxury department store had searched for a buyer to save it, but with no takers, it succumbed to bankruptcy in August of 2018 instead.
The store, which was around during the California Gold Rush and was rebuilt after damage from the 1906 earthquake, closed for good on December 23, 2018. All is lost. In the past, while online and catalog sales were still humming, the website and Gump’s By Mail accumulated north of 75% of its sales. It’s an unusual case. The online competition was not a problem, but it was liquidated anyway after bankruptcy protection fell through. It was a unique store. Gump’s is gone, and it’s irreplaceable.