Stores that bid farewell in 2019

The Kmart in Boca Raton is no more. Office Depot shut two stores, in Boca Raton and Pembroke Pines. And several women’s clothing and children’s clothing stores bit the dust in 2019.

But it was fewer stores than we said goodbye to in 2018, when there were many Sears.

This year retailers have announced more than 9,000 store closures and more than

4,000 store openings, according to Coresight Research, which tracks retail stores nationally and internationally.

■ Kmart, at 1401 W. Palmetto Park Road, in Boca Raton, closed Oct. 31. The Palmetto Park Square store has not yet been replaced.

■ Office Depot closed two local stores in May: Office Depot at 650 N. University Dr., in Pembroke Pines, and OfficeMax store at 20455 State Road

7 in Boca Raton. The Boca Raton-based office supply retailer is closing its less profitable stores.

■ Charming Charlie shut its doors nationwide in July, including all seven of it’s locations in South Florida.

■ Avenue store chain closed starting in August, with the company company filing for bankruptcy reorganization. The plus-size retailer shuttered more than 220 locations in

33 states, including seven stores in South Florida. The retailer continues to operate online at Avenue.com.

■ Charlotte Russe filed for bankruptcy organization and closed all its stores in early

2019.

■ Payless ShoeSource closed all its stores in the U.S. in May. The shoe store had multiple locations in South Florida.

■ Dressbarn shuttered its 650 stores in May, after 60 years in business. The women’s clothing store was owned by Ascena Retail Group, which wanted to focus on its more profitable brands that include Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant.

■ Children’s clothes retailer Gymboree filed for bankruptcy organization. Among the stores closed during the year were 13 Gymboree and four Crazy 8 stores in South Florida.

RYAN KNELLER/THE MORNING CALL Charming Charlie fashion jewelry stores were among the stores that closed in 2019.