Carter’s to close 150 ‘low-margin’ stores, cut staff

Features

Carter’s to close 150 ‘low-margin’ stores, cut staff
 
Published Friday, November 7, 2025 11:00 am
by Marianne Wilson

This is a summary

"Carter’s Inc. is upping its store closures and reducing staff as part of its ongoing effort to “right size” its cost structure and improve productivity as tariffs weighed on its profitability.

The nation’s largest apparel company dedicated to babies and young children now plans to close approximately 150 stores at lease expiration in North America during the next three years, an increase from its previously-disclosed target of approximately 100 locations. About 100 stores will go dark over the fiscal year 2025 and 2026 periods. The 150 stores collectively represent approximately $110 million in annual net sales on a last 12 months basis. "

Read the original on Chain Store Age

Carter’s to close 150 ‘low-margin’ stores, cut staff | Chain Store Age

Image credit to Chain Store Age


Send this page to a friend

Carter’s to close 150 ‘low-margin’ stores, cut staff | Chain Store Age

Recent News

How real estate intelligence is redefining retail growth

Retailers are expanding again—but with far more discipline. Today, it’s not about opening the most stores, but choosing locations that can truly win. Real estate intelligence is reshaping decisions by tying together customer movement, store performance and financial impact, allowing brands to validate formats faster, negotiate smarter and align real estate strategy with bottom-line results. The retailers who treat data as a daily habit—not a quarterly report—are the ones building portfolios that can flex with consumer behavior and stay future-proof.

Retail roulette: How Trump’s tariffs altered buying

Tariffs under the Trump administration have become so unpredictable that retailers are struggling to keep up, with costs shifting faster than buying teams can plan. Because orders are usually placed months—sometimes nearly a year—in advance, the on-again, off-again tariff changes have disrupted long-standing vendor relationships, forced last-minute capacity bets, and pushed buyers to reorder their entire sourcing strategies. Big names like Best Buy and Ikea have already shifted production away from China, while smaller retailers face far greater pressure as they juggle longer lead times, unreliable suppliers, and tighter holiday deadlines. As experts point out, this volatile trade environment is accelerating a major industry shift: retailers must evolve from lean, efficiency-focused supply chains to more flexible, resilient ones—or risk being left behind.

Ikea profits take a hit from tariffs, affordability effort

IKEA's net profit fell nearly one-third to 1.5 billion euros from 2.2 billion euros in fiscal year 2025, as the company absorbed the impact of U.S. tariffs and rising commodity prices while maintaining lower prices for franchisees and customers. Total revenues remained essentially flat at 26.3 billion euros, with total IKEA sales declining 1% to 44.6 billion euros due to lower wholesale prices introduced in 2024. Despite the profit decline, sales volumes grew 2.6% and store visits increased nearly 2%, reaching 915 million, as the company opened 66 new locations globally. IKEA plans to maintain current wholesale price levels in fiscal 2026 to ensure stability and affordability despite continued pressure on profitability.