Growing up in the ’80s, going to a department store was a ritual that felt important. Whether my family needed to buy a new set of dishes or an Easter dress for me to wear to an event, it was likely we would all pile into the car and head to JCPenney or Macy’s.
While it’s hard to say what exactly changed the department store from an event the whole family enjoyed to something not even on the radar, it’s likely that the advent of online shopping slowly lured people away over the years.
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While Amazon started off as a bookstore that ex-CEO Jeff Bezos started in his garage, by 2002 it had started to carry a lot more, slowly introducing a new reality to consumers where they didn’t need to leave home to shop.
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Today, many once-iconic department stores have already closed their doors, such as Lord & Taylor, Sears, Mervyn’s, and Barney’s New York. Others, such as JCPenney, have declared bankruptcy, yet — despite still closing stores as of 2025 — managed to find a second lease on life.
Now another iconic department store has announced that it will be closing for good, but not before taking a jab at the person it believes is responsible for its downfall.
Beales department store windows are plastered with sale signs as it winds down its 144-year business.
Image source: Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images
The ‘Rachel Reeves’ closing-down sale
Originally founded as The Fancy Fair by John Elmes Beale in 1881 and run by multiple generations of family members since, Beales is a UK-based department store chain that has been in business for 144 years.
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Before closing its doors permanently, the chain is advertising what it calls the “Rachel Reeves” closing-down sale, which is named after Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a British politician whom Beales owner Tony Brown blames for the closure, thanks to what he calls “a tax-killing budget.”
Brown paid for the advertisements, which depict Reeves holding a red budget box, out of pocket, saying, “I’m giving the government a poke in the ribs for everyone who is affected by this.”
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Brown also named upcoming increases to employers’ National Insurance contributions and minimum wage announced in Labour’s first fiscal Budget last year as reasons Beales could not continue to operate, calling it “unviable.”
Beales said earlier this year it had been working with the Dolphin Centre, along with its investors, to ensure an orderly exit. The last remaining store location is Poole’s Dolphin Center, which plans to close its doors in May 2025.
Other department stores in danger
With the shopping climate having changed so much over the decades, many other department stores struggle to stay afloat.
Macy’s announced its plans to shutter 150 underperforming locations by the end of 2026 as part of a “Bold New Chapter” strategy, which it announced in Feb. 2024. Sixty-six of those stores will be closed by the end of 2025.
JCPenney is still running, but as mentioned before, declared bankruptcy in 2020 before being acquired by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in December 2020. The chain plans to close eight of its locations in 2025.
Saks Fifth Avenue has also been rumored to be next for bankruptcy, with many of its vendors reporting that they were not being paid on time. These complaints were addressed when Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick sent out a memo offering payment terms for past-due invoices, but said that they would not begin until July and would be paid back in 12 installments.
Considering looming fears of a recession and worries over President Trump’s tariffs, it looks like all these retailers could be facing an even rockier road ahead.
