DISTRESSED DAILY: Planned Retail Store Closures Hit Record High

2020 shattered records for retail real estate -- and not in a good way, according to CoStar Group.

Merchants announced plans to shut more than 12,000 stores last year, representing some 159 million square feet of expected vacancies, the real estate data company said. That surpasses the previous record for closings set in 2018.

The pain comes from the spate of retail bankruptcies last year, which included companies like Ann Taylor parent Ascena Retail Group Inc. which announced plans to close more than 1,000 locations. Even though retail sales bounced back from lows set early in the pandemic, businesses like ...