Department store chains like to begin the new year with a fresh start after the holiday season rush and feature some significant clearance sales.

Major retailers, including Macy’s, Nordstrom, and JCPenney, want to continue consumer traffic into January, as they advertised deep discount sales of 30% to 80% off during the week of Jan. 5-11.

Department store chains closed dozens of stores in 2025

All of these department store retailers are looking to ramp up sales and keep the doors open after a year of closures. Macy’s closed 66 stores in 2025, and Nordstrom closed two locations in California and Missouri.

After JCPenney revealed it would close eight stores by mid-2025, a planned sale of 119 stores to Onyx Partners for $947 million collapsed, Retail Dive reported.

Store closures by the numbers

  • Macy’s closed 66 stores in 2025.
  • JCPenney closed eight stores in 2025.
  • Nordstrom closed two locations in 2025.

Despite retailers’ attempts to increase revenue with clearance sales and cut costs by closing or selling off stores, 46% of fashion executives surveyed expect industry conditions to worsen in 2026, compared to 39% in 2025, according to the 2026 Business of Fashion — McKinsey State of Fashion Executive Survey released by consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

On the positive side, 25% of those surveyed believed industry conditions would improve, which was an improvement from 20% in 2025.

Tariffs are the number-one hurdle in 2026, report says

“’Challenging’ has overtaken ‘uncertainty’ as the word executives polled in the annual Business of Fashion-McKinsey State of Fashion Executive Survey used most frequently to describe the industry in 2026, with tariffs cited as the number-one hurdle,” the report said.

One popular discount retailer has already started the year eliminating stores, hoping to cut expenses and generate more profits.

Marshalls closed department store locations at 5507 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles and 5160 Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose, Calif.

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Marshalls closes Los Angeles and San Jose stores

Popular discount department store chain Marshalls began the new year closing two major metro area stores in Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif.

Marshalls revealed in October that it planned to close its Los Angeles location at 5507 Hollywood Blvd. and its San Jose store at 5160 Stevens Creek Blvd. by Jan. 5.

More closings:

  • Casual Mexican restaurant chain closes more locations
  • 79-year-old national trucking company closes down, no bankruptcy
  • 65-year-old Home Depot rival shutters business permanently

A recorded message from a call on Jan. 5 to the San Jose location said that the store had already permanently closed.

This caller received a busy signal when calling the Hollywood Boulevard Marshalls location phone number on Jan. 5.

A call to a worker at the 8480 Beverly Blvd. Marshalls location in Los Angeles on the same day confirmed that the Hollywood Boulevard store appears closed because of the busy signal.

Marshalls filed WARN notices in October 2025

Marshalls of CA LLC filed a WARN notice with the State of California on Oct. 17, 2025, notifying 62 employees at its Hollywood Boulevard location that it would permanently close the store on Jan. 5, 2026, according to a California Employment Development Department WARN Report Summary.

The discount department store chain also on Oct. 17 filed a WARN notice with the State of California, alerting 64 employees at its Stevens Creek Blvd. location that it would permanently close the store on Jan. 5, 2026.

“We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies,” a spokesperson told the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Marshalls store closings:

  • 7013 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
  • 5160 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose

The Hollywood Boulevard Marshalls was located on a prime piece of real estate, a block east of Madame Tussauds Hollywood wax museum and the legendary TCL Chinese Theater that features historic footprints in cement of Hollywood stars.

The San Jose Marshalls was located along the city’s main retail boulevard in the Stevens Creek Central shopping center, which is just down the street from Auto Row and the upscale shopping and dining district Santana Row.

While Marshalls closed two California stores in January, the department store chain also opened 14 new stores in 13 states in October and November.

Marshalls new store openings:

  • 1100 AZ-260 B, Cottonwood, Ariz.
  • 919 N. 14th St., Leesburg, Fla.
  • 1401 S. Federal Highway, Pompano Springs, Fla.
  • 3860 West US-10, Ludington, Mich.
  • 2150 US Highway 180E, Silver City, N.M.
  • 128 Home Depot Drive, Franklin, Pa.
  • 466 Highway 53 East, Calhoun, Ga.
  • 3840 E. Market St., Logansport, Ind.
  • 1480 US Highway 211W, Luray, Va.
  • 543 Whittington Drive, Madisonville, Ky.
  • 1375 Rocking West Drive, Bishop, Calif.
  • 925 West College St., Marshall, Mo.
  • 200 New Hartford Road, Unit 1, Winsted, Conn.
  • 2439 Fairview Ave. N., Roseville, Minn.

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