#retail

The retail stores that are turning franchise are the following.

• Under performing year over year (all metrics, not just growth)

• overlapping/ redundant stores, including stores in congested markets (example, districts with stores within a 30 mile radius from each other)

• locations with upcoming expiring leases

• locations that have not been remodeled

• Mall locations (all)

The cuts outside of stores closing will be support channels, R2B reps/managers, Sr operations analysts, training, director consolidation, sr director consolidation, market presidents and VPs and their support teams (executive assistants, etc.) Retail stores with 3 assistant managers.

Is anyone else thinking of finding a better opportunity else where if your still at Target?

So believe me when I tell you right now their going to give up about 200 corporate owned run retail stores to authorized retailers or close completely some locations,but over the next few years Verizon plans to have no corporate owned stores .All 3rd party sellers.I believe if your on the Verizon Wireless retail side start planning to get out . Even if you survive these Layoffs over the year or 2 .The end is near

What's the prediction?

I’m afraid the holiday season will flop, and things will only get worse from there. Jobs are scarce, most of us have little to no savings, and there’s nothing to fall back on if it really hits hard. Maybe I’m anxious for no reason, but the vibe has never felt worse in my memory.

Have any stores been notified of being closed or converted to indirect? What about the ops support people? If these stores close down do they cut their ops person too?

What do you honestly spend more time doing every day, trying to sell anything or fixing the same simple problems for seniors over and over again? At some point it becomes pretty clear what the store has actually turned into, and that makes the whole closure feel less like a surprise and more like an overdue decision. We've basically ended up acting like a walk in help desk for the senior crowd instead of an actual retail location, and once that becomes the main part of the job, the writing’s already on the wall.

Belk is opening ANOTHER outlet in an old big lots store in Jackson Mississippi.

So kudos to people keeping slacks open to the public, most people probably saw the 29k reference. However I found a new one showing 200 people under Kevin Z... also OWBPA report was referenced. So it looks like the retail rumors are definitely true. One more week till we all know if we have a job or no job going into 2026. Really su-ks that this is our reality, hoping for the best.

Total head count by Q1 2026 will be over 35K employees accross whole company. That’s been confirmed by higher ups in my department.

They are mostly going after call centers and stores. AI implementation.

• Band 3 employee

Belk is the cr-ppiest company to work for. They want so much done. Like markdowns, markups, 5000 times the freight, customer service, credit, apps, sale sets, fullfillement, etc... all under minimum hours. Stores look like cr-p, can't recover, always on the register or having to do other things because God forbid they don't meet the numbers for them. Not to mention the dock, corporate watches the camera to see if your dock is cleared (he-l no it isn't, we have no hours and no time), they don't support there associates!!
But corporate has time to throw lavish parties in Charlotte and open new stores 🙄 that they won't staff correctly with a abundance amount of work to do. How about stop having stores hire if you won't give the stores hours to give them, common sence there. Do not work for Belk. They take all there associates and salary managers for granted. Less pay, less help, but more workload!!!!

How about everyone just shows up to work and do nothing, just sit down and play with our phones and send a message to the big wigs

dealing with amazon might be sweet in the beginning but it will ki-l you down the line.

Yes, amazon will deliver few billion dollars of sales immediately but keeping them close will ki-l you down the line by cutting independence, originality, fresh new views, objectivity!!
Look at Toys are us, book publishers and latest victim is turns out is UPS. This is short list that comes to my head

Nike be free and independent !!!

It is more than 15K if Retail is IN ADDITION to the 15K Corp layoffs

I know a restructure was said to take place and 180 store closures.. do you think we will restructure all of the territories? How do we think Sr. Directors and Directors will be impacted? Or possibly Sr. Managers and Assistant Managers?

A reliable source is telling me that all corporate stores in Alaska / Hawaii are going to be either closed or sold off to an indirect. I think it's fewer than 15 stores in both areas.

Spoke with a supervisor who confirmed today that layoffs are coming and also added that layoffs will be for managers and stores. Also layoffs will will happen before Nov 20. It was indicated some managers will be gone before then. They had meetings today and word is they will know on Friday.

Reports that Verizon leadership had denied mass closings are false. I work closely with Global Real Estate. We have stopped renewing some Retail leases about a year ago in preparation for mass closings. This will equate to about 2/3 stores per district being closed. Verizon wants out of the expensive in-person experience and move to AI. By 2030 all retail will be shifted to an app.

I wish everyone here the best.

I happen to be watching the Maple Leafs / Bruins game. Shell seems to be a sponsor as there is a very large Shell pectin on the ice. What is Shell’s tie to Boston (unless it’s just retail stations)?

Target perfectly fits the description of a company experiencing culture rot. Bad leaders that are more interested in promoting their own careers than they are developing teams. A working environment that feels competitive, not collaborative. Increasingly confusing “shared” values internally and externally. An in-store experience that is confusing and disjointed. Items out of stock or locked up. Nothing feels unique about Target. The company continues to alienate its key consumers. Target is a company rotting from the inside out. It is impossible to change the direction the company is going without acknowledging its current failings.

They will be reducing the corporate retail store footprint. Some stores will be converting to indirects. With that being said they will be offering Voluntary VSP’s and then eventually layoffs with severence packages. 100% accurate info. Announcements coming November 19th/20th

Since Amazon's leadership took over Walmart, the first thing they did was undermine the Walmart culture. Furthermore, they have become deeply entrenched, leading to frequent layoffs both in the past and present. No projects are progressing; everything appears to be at a standstill. It seems as though Amazon's board of directors has dispatched these individuals to Walmart as part of a covert operation to dismantle it, rendering Walmart internally ineffective. This strategy appears designed to ensure that Amazon can thrive exclusively in the retail market. The IT department at Walmart has been significantly disrupted for the past couple of years, making it challenging to regain its footing.

I work in a part of the country that has stores very widely stretched out.. some of our store are 30-60 miles from each other. What do we think the likelihood of those stores being closed? There is a big city near us that has 13 stores of the 20 in our state... I would think the store closures are going to more impact where we have a high concentration of stores...

MW region here
Is it true that TMs that are capped out will no longer receive a bonus when their annual JD happens?

Mostly higher ranking, left on their own. I'm guessing this is a sure sign that we're closing?

Just curious if anyone other flex employees are being told they must work a minimum of 15hr a week for the Holidays?

Belk has received the dubious distinction of being one of the top 100 worst companies to work for in the United States by retail world magazine. Enough said.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mohamedamer_retailstrategy-organizationaltransformation-activity-7392217719959396353-hAdx?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAAgtY3sBYDFnclM5iLdHkOCfHOYJbmAQVAQ&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link

Can’t wait to see that

https://www.androidauthority.com/verizon-shutting-down-stores-3613951/

The cuts were probably done to fund the sales they are having this year for Early Black Friday deals to draw traffic back into stores

Rumors are swirling about the pending layoffs in store. I'm hoping that the cuts will not involve the customer service areas of our organization. If anything, we should be cutting the fat at the top. How many Market Presidents are there in the retail channel and what exact value do they bring? Our guy comes to Wisconsin, makes a big deal of his dinner plans and that's about all. As I said before - too much fat at the top.

Link to the List: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/11/06/saks-off-5th-closing-stores/87130773007/
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONe7-2bJ6WM

Or do we not make enough money to be considered "cutting costs?"

9 more off 5th gone... That chain is looked at as weak..just like our last call was .meanwhile Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's increasing outlets .credit customers. and locations..
Slowly but surely it and the debt gonna eat us allive

Nearly 6 years ago when the pandemic began, it looked like Sears and Kmart were going to go under... so how are they still in business almost 6 years later??

Just curious what’s the average pay for a Merchandising Team Manager or a Sales Team Manager if anyone knows? Like how much are these assistant store managers making when most of them just sit around and do nothing all day!

Rent a center has shifted its collection processes for the worst. How you ask? They have taken the attitude that it's better to get something other than nothing at all. Here is an example, customer gets a brand new 85"tv. Makes a $10 online transaction and comes due. Never pays, never communicates with the store. Now the customer is 40 days past due. They are sent an email or text, apologizing for us bothering them ,but wanting to help them. The company then offers a payout settlement of $300 , for a brand new $1000 TV mind you. Customer takes the deal , and can reapply and do it all over again. Now think of that on a scale company wide. Why has profit dropped off, why are collections higher year over year? That process right there. And don't think for a minute that customers don't encourage others to follow this process. Get a brand new ps5 for $150!!!
All the while store staff stays till 8pm everyday trying to hit collection numbers that are now impossible to hit. Thanks to the ivory tower think tank!

The South Windsor Warehouse is closing does that mean the off price backstage going away? Personally I find Backstage a distraction. Macy’s should make “Last Act” sections a major markdown to get product out of the stores asap.

WWD EXCLUSIVE: Saks Off 5th Sets Nine Store Closings
The off-price retailer within Saks Global did an extensive review of its store fleet, examining market dynamics, lease expirations and customer behavior, among other factors.
By
DAVID MOIN
Plus Icon
NOVEMBER 5, 2025, 4:43PM

Saks Off 5th, the off-price retailer within Saks Global, will close nine of its 79 locations beginning in January, WWD has learned.

• [ ] The decision to close stores follows an extensive analysis of the fleet, including market dynamics, lease expirations, customer behavior and long-term business potential, to focus more on high-performing and high-potential locations.
  “We have identified opportunities to optimize our Saks Off 5th store presence, through both initiatives to drive performance and elevate the customer experience, enabling us to place greater attention to our high-performing and high-potential store locations, and refinements across our store footprint,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of our ongoing and comprehensive strategy, we have taken a critical eye to our store footprint and will be closing select store locations in early 2026. We are confident this will better position the Saks Off 5th business for long-term success and look forward to continuing to deliver for our customers.”

Saks Off 5th is also vacating its 57th Street location in Manhattan, located in an office tower at 125 East 57th Street near Lexington Avenue, as previously reported. The property was sold to a new owner, who plans to create residences on the site, meaning there will be construction disrupting business at the store. One source said that due to the impending construction, which is seen occurring over at least two years, Saks Off 5th decided to vacate the space. It’s not clear whether other factors were involved in the decision. However, the store will continue to be open for business through the holiday season.

Asked if there will be more Saks Off 5th closings beyond the 10, the company indicated in a statement, “Through the regular course of business, we continually evaluate store performance and, from time to time, may determine it necessary to reformat or close a store.”
However, while closing certain Off 5th stores, Saks Global said that it is making some investments in better-performing Off 5th stores. “We have been piloting new initiatives, including initiating capital enhancements in certain stores, elevating our selling model and enhancing our in-store assortment. We look forward to extending our learnings across our top locations,” the company indicated in its statement.

The nine Saks Off 5th closing next year are on State Street in Chicago, and in Austin; East Hanover, N.J.; Philadelphia Mills, Pa.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Pittsburgh North, Pa.; Plymouth Meeting, Pa.; Washington, DC, and West Hartford, Conn.
Saks Off 5th is providing for those impacted by the closings with transfer opportunities to nearby Saks Off 5th locations where possible, and eligible full-time colleagues will be offered separation packages consistent with the company’s severance plan.
As part of a management shakeup at Saks Global disclosed last month, Kim Miller, who was president of Saks Off 5th, shifted to chief customer officer, a new corporate position. Genny Siller, who was vice president of merchandise planning at Saks Off 5th, became senior vice president and general manager of Saks Off 5th, reporting to Marc Metrick, chief executive officer of Saks Global. These and other management changes at Saks Global were triggered by the departure of Emily Essner, who was president and chief commercial officer.