WAVING GOODBYE
‘No reason to go anymore’ cries shopper as mall shuts down Forever 21, Macy’s & more – but ‘new concepts’ are on the way
The city blamed a larger issue
MALL shoppers were left disappointed as their favorite retailers, such as Forever 21 and Macy's, abruptly left a popular shopping center.
Although the Franklin Park Mall in Ohio has seen a handful of iconic stores exit over the past few years, shoppers can still look forward to new concepts that are on the way.
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The super-regional shopping mall, located in Toledo, Ohio - roughly a one-hour drive south of Detroit - is losing its appeal, according to shoppers.
Locals Tori Klepsky and Dyllan Miracola both admitted that the wave of store closures made a trip to the Franklin Park Mall less inviting.
"There are still plenty of things to do," Miracola told local CBS outlet WTOL. "You can hang out with people there still, get food, buy things that you wouldn't normally find in other places."
However, the two customers cited that a slew of closures, including the shutter of Macy's in January, made them less inclined to shop at the mall.
Read More on Closures
"Once those stores are gone, there's not a reason to go anymore," Klepsky said.
Under the department store chain's "Bold New Chapter" plan announced last year, the Franklin Park Mall Macy's was one of 66 US locations set to close. It was one of two locations slated for shut down in Ohio.
Macy's Closures
Macy's has confirmed the 66 stores closing across 22 states over the next few weeks. The full list is included below:
Arizona
- Mesa
California
- Chula Vista
- Citrus Heights
- Corte Madera
- Los Angeles
- Newark
- San Diego
- Westminster
Colorado
- Centennial
- Denver
Florida
- Altamonte Springs Furniture
- Boynton Beach
- Fort Lauderdale Furniture
- Pembroke Pines Furniture
- South Dade Furniture
- Sarasota
- Tampa
Georgia
- Duluth Furniture
- Duluth
- Suwanee Market by Macy’s
Idaho
- Coeur d’Alene
Illinois
- Springfield
Louisiana
- Lafayette
Maryland
- Bel Air
- Baltimore
Massachusetts
- Kingston
Michigan
- Flint
- Sterling Heights
- Traverse City
- Troy
Minnesota
- Burnsville
- Maplewood
Missouri
- Kansas City
- St. Louis
New Jersey
- West Orange
New York
- Brooklyn
- Bronx
- Elmhurst
- Huntington
- New Hyde Park
- Massapequa
- Rochester
- Staten Island
Ohio
- Beavertown
- Toledo
Oregon
- Hillsboro
- Salem
Pennsylvania
- Altoona
- Exton
- Philadelphia
- Wilkes Barre
Tennessee
- Memphis
Texas
- Dallas Market by Macy's
- Flower Mound Market by Macy's
- Fort Worth Market by Macy's
- Houston
- Plano
- Fairview
Virginia
- Colonial Heights
Washington
- Puyallup
- Redmond Furniture
- Silverdale
Source: Axios
Although Macy's disappeared as an anchor store at the Ohio mall, big box retailers such as Dillard's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, and DSW remain anchored at the shopping center.
The Toledo locals were also dismayed to see the BD's Mongolian Grill at the mall close for good on March 18.
Most read in Money
"I used to go to the Mongolian Grill nearby a lot," said Miracola. "I enjoyed the food there, but now there's less reason to go because somewhere that I like isn't there anymore."
Klepsky also frequented the Forever 21 at the Franklin Park Mall, which was shut down on Sunday.
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The shopper is trying to enjoy the stores remaining at the mall.
"A lot of my little clothes shopping stores, but it is nice right now because there are deals on things, but then they're going to be gone and where do I go from there?" she said.
BIGGER PICTURE
The city of Toledo was likewise disappointed by the series of closures at the Franklin Park Mall, Toledo's director of economic development Brandon Sehlhorst shared in a statement to WTOL.
However, he also noted that they represented a larger issue in the retail industry.
"These closures are a result of industry-wide challenges rather than conditions unique to our community," said Sehlhorst.
Although store closures are on the rise nationwide, with an estimated 15,000 shutters predicted in 2025, it's not all bad news for the beloved mall.
Guests at the Franklin Park Mall can expect to see new stores take the place of the closed ones soon, a spokesperson for the mall told the local outlet.
US braces for '45,000 store closures'
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
"Retail is about what’s new and fresh, and while we are always sad to say goodbye to one of our stores, we look forward to the opportunity to bring new concepts to Franklin Park Mall," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"Any time we can re-lease well-positioned space, we view it as a chance to bring new energy to our merchandise mix.
"In the last few months, we have welcomed several popular national brands including JD Sports, Lovisa, Dunkin’ and Miniso to our family of retailers and we will be welcoming Saucy Slamwich later this Spring."
Shoppers can look forward to these other retail openings.
Read More on The US Sun
An iconic discount chain that’s "cheaper than Dollar Tree" is set to open up 150 new locations in 2025.
Plus, a Dollar Tree executive has revealed huge 2025 plans with 300 new stores and a major shake-up to 2,000 locations.
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