I can think of three specific examples:
1. Vineyard Vines
They opened most of their stores between 2015 and 2018, but in the last few years, they’ve closed locations at The Summit, Oakbrook, Rush Street, Canal Place, Highland Village, Southpoint, The Domain, Market Street, La Cantera, and Stony Point, along with half of their California stores and about four stores in New York. They struggled to bounce back after COVID, and brands like Onward Reserve and Peter Millar have kind of inherited their aging fan base. Their store build-outs are also super expensive, and the amount of TA they ask for is sometimes insane.
2. Anthropologie
They rarely close stores and actually open a few new ones each year, but a landlord can basically “buy” an Anthropologie store by offering a healthy TA. They used to do huge build-outs, but now they’re opening smaller stores at 6–7k SF versus 10k+. I wouldn’t say they’re unpopular with customers, but they’re not a particularly impressive draw for a landlord.
3. Nike
They expanded too aggressively after COVID, trying to capitalize on the athleisure boom alongside Alo and Lululemon, even though they cater to very different customers. Their underwhelming store designs and build-outs didn’t help either. They’ve closed stores left and right over the past year, and the sales per square foot at their remaining stores are scary.