The Big Apple saw a record one in seven nationally recognized chain-store branches close their doors this year as the pandemic sent consumers scurrying for cover, according to a new report.
Some 1,132 chain stores — including 70 Duane Reades, 54 Starbucks and 22 Papyruses — have waved the white flag over the past 12 months, according to the Center for an Urban Future’s annual “State of the Chains” report, set to be released Wednesday.
The 14.2 percent decline shatters all previous records reported by the nonprofit agency since it began tracking the data 13 years ago. Last year, just 3.7 percent of all chain outlets closed, up from 0.3 percent in 2018.
“If the national chains are scaling back like this, I have to imagine it’s twice as bad for mom-and-pop stores, who don’t have the same ability to weather a storm or get access to financing,” said the center’s executive director, Jonathan Bowles.
Manhattan absorbed the deepest cuts with 546 chain closures — almost half of the city total — due to the borough’s dependence on office workers, tourists and wealthy residents who have decamped to homes outside the city.
