B&BW Closing Stores & Many Others As Well

I just learnt about this.   I am sure many others knew already, but for those who have not heard, B&BW is closing a lot of their stores.  They are not going out of business, but they are shutting down a lot of mall stores.  I guess I am not too surprised by this.  I do not like malls and go very infrequently.  I often have wondered in the last 15-20 years if many malls would close completely.  Many people shop on-line exclusively or nearly exclusively.  I prefer to shop on-line even for some types of clothing.  

In any case, I am sad to hear that B&BW are closing stores.  They are not the only ones, either.  Take a look at this list.  I am amazed at so many store closings.

https://www.businessinsider.co...

We don't even have B&BW stores in Germany 😭

But this is not surprising. I know that B&BW is often the last store in deserted old malls in the USA, so it makes sense to close locations like that. 50 are not even that many.

 I like malls in principle, but I'm always disappointed when I shop for clothes offline. It's easier to find what you're looking for online. Testing perfumes in stores is great though. 

Who knows?  Perhaps one day they will expand to Germany.  😃

I rarely ever go to a mall even to test perfumes.  I have a fairly large collection, and I purchased all of them based on the notes pyramids and reviews.  I tested very, very few of them before purchasing.  I do not buy many clothing items anymore, either, so I have more or less avoided malls since the 1990s.

As for stores closing, though, it is not just B&BW.  We have had many long lived chains that are going out of business.  We have had some upmarket stores that have either gone out of business or declared bankruptcy and were restructured, e.g. Barney's and Neiman Marcus respectively.  I never see that much traffic at the malls except in late Autumn through early Spring, and that is because of holiday shopping and returns.

Another chain that has declared bankruptcy is Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I very rarely visited BB&B.  I never really liked how the store was organised or its general ambiance, and I found their prices were not very competitive with other large retailers that sold the same sorts of items, but I am sorry to know they have gone into receivership.  I just found out about it today.  I had a gift card for them I had not used, so I figured I better use it.  Then, I found out they now refuse to honour their gift cards.  I will have to file a claim with the receiver, but I am doubtful I will ever see the money.  I think that is wrong.  They accepted cash for a plastic card.  If they are not going to honour the cards, then they should return the cash.  Just wish I had known about this a month or two ago.

Thank you for sharing, I felt concern because I love BBW! But I saw in the article that they are opening 90 standalone stores - so in the end, it sounds like it's just part of growth (and that the number of new stores outweigh the number of closures which is fortunate).

I do feel sad thinking of the mall closures, as I love going to the mall and feel so nostalgic whenever I do. I agree that online shopping is great, but there's something about the experience - and the core memories - of shopping in a mall! 🥲

^^^ Yes, they are opening more stand alone stores, so it looks like they plan to be around for a good while to come.  🙂

I think some people, as we get much older, lose interest in malls.  One thing I think they are still good for me is for walking in inclement weather.  If you can stand the recycled air, you can always go to the mall and walk round and round in relatively comfort even if it is very hot or very cold or raining, etc., outside.  Have to be practical!  😁