More companies announce bankruptcies and closures, citing inflation as almost 3,200 stores face shuttering in 2024: poll

Published

1 year ago

June 20, 2024

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More companies are declaring bankruptcy and shutting down operations, citing inflation and high costs.

Inflation and the economy remains a top issue among all voters, according to a recent The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll.

Retailers are closing nearly 3,200 stores this year, according to a recent analysis from CoreSight Research.

The closures are a 24% increase from 2023.

US drug stores and pharmacy closures led to 8 million square feet of shuttered retail space this year, the research company said.

It also notes that retailers are losing inventory and customers due to retail theft. Retail shrink is closely connected to organized retail crime, it notes.

Out of the 3,200 being closed, the majority are being closed by roughly 30 retailers, with Family Dollar closing the most of over 600, according to the data, CBS News reported.

Tupperware is the latest to announce it’s permanently closing its last operating production plant in the US in Hemingway, South Carolina.

All of its 148 workers will be laid off, the first in September, followed by others in waves through next January.

Tupperware announced its plans last week, stating it would continue to produce its products in a plant in Lerma, Mexico.

The iconic plastic container company has also been shedding real estate and dealing with a non-compliance notification from the New York Stock Exchange, Plastics Today reported.

The teen apparel retail chain, Rue21, also filed for bankruptcy last month, announcing it was closing all 540 of its stores.

The Pittsburgh-based retailer was in $200 million worth of debt and is laying off all of its 4,900 employees because of under-performing retail locations inflation and macroeconomic headwinds, CNNreported.

The California-based discount retail chain 99 Cents Only filed for bankruptcy in April because the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, the Los Angeles Times reported. Its closing all 371 of its stores.

Others closing stores this year include CVS Health, 7-Eleven, Rite Aid, Express, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Macys, The Body Shop, Soft Surroundings, Burlington stores, Foot Locker, Carters Big Lots, Dollar General, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Big Lots, Best Buy and others, according to the CoreSight analysis.

The trend of stores closing is up from the amount that closed in 2023, The Center Squarereported.

Last year, retail stores, pharmaceutical and fast-food chains continued a trend of previous years: declaring bankruptcy and closing their doors or shutting down some locations to cut costs, citing inflation, higher costs and profit losses.

In January of this year, the trend continued, led by the iconic department store Macys.

Inflation has also hit the car insurance market,causing ratesto surge 26% nationwide in one year and remain elevated until 2025.

Potential home buyers are also not immune from inflationary woes. In 2024,home buyers needed 80% more income to purchase a home than they did in 2020, The Center Squarereported.

Americans are also feeling the pinch at the grocery store.

Its been 30 years since food ate up this much of your income, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing high transportation, fuel, ingredients, services and labor costs all contributing to food manufacturers, grocery stores and restaurants keeping prices up.

Food inflation has been evidenced the most by higher prices and smaller portions, otherwise known as shrinkflation, The Center Square first reported on in 2022.

Earlier this year, former CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler Bob Nardell warned more layoffs were coming because high-interest rates are “killing” middle and lower-market companies, The Center Square reported.

One key indicator of economic health is consumer spending, and while it hasnt yet slowed, warning signs are there because its largely being financed by debt, economists have explained.

And consumers are also struggling to pay it off, they add.

Earlier this year, economist David Rosenberg of Rosenberg Researchwarnedthat as total credit card debt reached a new all-time high of $1.13 trillion, credit card and auto loan delinquencies were also up.

“As far as consumer credit is concerned, the default cycle isn’t merely looming, it’s arrived,” he wrote in an economic report.

According to a recent The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, inflation/price increases (45%) and the economy/jobs (24%) are top concerns among voters.

“Inflation is a high-ranking issue among Democrats and Republicans and True Independents,” David Byler of Noble Predictive Insights told The Center Square. “Every political group thinks this matters.”

Entertainment

Broadcaster John Stapleton has died aged 79

Published

1 hour ago

September 21, 2025

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Broadcaster John Stapleton has died aged 79

Broadcaster John Stapleton has died, his agent has said.

The 79-year-old, who had Parkinson’s disease complicated by pneumonia, died peacefully in hospital this morning.

Stapleton was known for his work on programmes such as Newsnight, Panorama and GMTV’s News Hour. He was among Sky News’ original presenters.

Stapleton’s agent, Jackie Gil, said: “His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning.”

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US

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers call on judge to block the death penalty

Published

1 hour ago

September 21, 2025

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Luigi Mangione's lawyers call on judge to block the death penalty

Lawyers for Luigi Mangione have called on a judge to block federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against him.

Mangione’s legal team says the 27-year-old’s case has been turned into a “Marvel movie” after a failed bid by the US Justice Department to indict him on terrorism charges over the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York on 4 December.

New York state judge Gregory Carro said there was no evidence that the killing, which took place as Mr Thompson walked into an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, amounted to a terrorist act.

But Judge Carro upheld second-degree murder charges, which suggest there was malicious intent – but not that it was premeditated.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi has called for Mangione to face capital punishment, describing the charges against him as a “premeditated cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.

But in the new court filing, Mangione’s legal team argues federal prosecutors have “violated Mr Mangione’s constitutional and statutory rights” by “staging a dehumanizing, unconstitutional ‘perp walk’ where he was televised, videotaped, and photographed clambering out of a helicopter in shackles” on the way to his first court appearance.

The legal team, led by former Manhattan prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo, also claims the death penalty case has been “fatally prejudiced” after President Donald Trump commented on it on Fox News.

Despite laws that prohibit any pre-trial commentary that could prejudice the defendant’s right to a free trial, he told the network on Thursday: “Think about Mangione. He shot someone in the back, as clear as you’re looking at me or I’m looking at you.”

The defence team’s 114-page court filing reads: “There is a high bar to dismissing an indictment due to pretrial publicity.

“However, there has never been a situation remotely like this one where prejudice has been so great against a death-eligible defendant.”

Federal prosecutors have until 31 October to respond to the documents.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all the state charges against him, which cannot result in the death penalty and only life imprisonment, unlike federal ones. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.

He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing in the state case on 1 December and the federal case on 5 December.

The 27-year-old was arrested five days after Mr Thompson was killed – when he was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, around 230 miles west of New York City.

UK

British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Published

1 hour ago

September 21, 2025

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British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Two British fighter jets have flown their first defence mission over Poland after a Russian drone incursion into the country’s skies.

The flight was part of NATO‘s operation “Eastern Sentry”, launched to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down Russian drones earlier this month.

A Russian drone was intercepted flying over Romania days later, while three Russian jets entered Estonian airspace without permission for 12 minutes on Friday.

The three incursions into NATO airspace fuelled concerns about the potential expansion of Russia‘s three-year war in Ukraine and have been seen as an attempt by Moscow to test the military alliance’s response.

The incident over Poland prompted its prime minister, Donald Tusk, to warn that his country was the closest to “open conflict” it had been since the Second World War, while the UK announced it would provide Warsaw with extra air cover.

Two RAF Typhoons, supported by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling plane, took off from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Friday night to defend Poland’s skies before returning safely early on Saturday morning.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the mission sends a clear signal that “NATO airspace will be defended”.

“I’m proud of the outstanding British pilots and air crew who took part in this successful operation to defend our allies from reckless Russian aggression.”

He said the mission was “especially poignant” coming as the UK marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – when Polish pilots came to the aid of the UK – this weekend.

The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, said: “This sortie marks the RAF’s first operational mission on Eastern Sentry, reinforcing the UK’s steadfast commitment to NATO and its allies.

“We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range.”