Department store chains are beginning 2026 with significant clearance sales following a period of closures and restructuring. Retailers such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, and JC Penney are offering discounts between 30% and 80% in an effort to sustain consumer interest after the holiday season.
These moves come after a year marked by numerous store closures. Macy’s closed 66 stores in 2025, while Nordstrom shut down two locations in California and Missouri. JC Penney announced it would close eight stores by mid-2025, but its plan to sell 119 stores for $947 million fell through, according to Retail Dive.
A survey conducted for the 2026 Business of Fashion – McKinsey State of Fashion Executive Survey by McKinsey & Company indicates that nearly half (46%) of fashion executives expect industry conditions to worsen in the coming year, up from 39% last year. However, optimism has increased slightly: 25% believe conditions will improve, compared to just 20% in the previous year.
The report states: “‘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.”
Marshalls is among retailers making adjustments at the start of this year. The discount department store chain closed two metro area stores—one on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles and another on Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose—by January 5. Notices filed with California’s Employment Development Department indicate that these closures affected over sixty employees at each location.
A recorded message confirmed that Marshalls’ San Jose store had permanently closed as of January 5. Attempts to contact the Hollywood Boulevard location resulted in a busy signal; staff at another Los Angeles Marshalls confirmed that this typically indicates closure.
A spokesperson for Marshalls told Silicon Valley Business Journal: “We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies.”
Despite these closures, Marshalls opened fourteen new stores across thirteen states during October and November.
The Hollywood Boulevard Marshalls was located near Madame Tussauds Hollywood wax museum and TCL Chinese Theater, while the San Jose branch was situated along Stevens Creek Central shopping center near Santana Row.
