If you ask a retailer about the hardest thing regarding business right now, they’d probably tell you it’s changing customer shopping habits.
And if you asked a customer to share the most difficult thing about shopping, they’d probably say it’s finding a new store after their old favorite one closed down.
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The fact of the matter is that retail is a difficult landscape, no matter which side of it you’re on.
On the business side of things, retailers have had to grapple with a tough past several years.
Covid brought uncertainty, and with it, an unprecedented amount of closures. The American Bankruptcy Institute estimates that approximately 60% of businesses that closed during Covid did so permanently.
That’s largely because it became too hard to stay open when foot traffic went down to nothing in a matter of days.
Plunging profits soon followed, and with no money coming in, keeping the lights on and moving inventory became a herculean task.
So customers shifted their habits, too.
With many of our favorite brick-and-mortar stores closed, most of us went online to find everything we needed. And now, five years later, many of us would still rather save the trip and order our stuff from easy and cheap e-commerce sites.
Image source: Getty Images
Commerce is changing
This has created something of a difficult problem for many retailers.
Most legacy retailers are native to the in-person world. They got their start the old-fashioned way, using brick-and-mortar stores to bring in customers and get to know them better.
More closings:
- Popular Mexican chain closing all restaurants, no bankruptcy
- Iconic mall chain shuttering more stores forever
- Major gym closing multiple locations after franchisee bankruptcy
- After Chapter 11 bankruptcy, beloved retailer closes all stores
When large, digitally-native sites like Amazon began to grow in size and scope, many had to adapt their operations quickly or get left behind.
Some, though, were able to continue as before if they were a local favorite or if their customers weren’t swayed by online convenience.
Still others tried to do two things at once: shift online and maintain a physical presence, which is expensive and complicated, even in the best of times.
Top outdoor retailer suddenly closes
And in some cases, a retailer simply decides to hang up its hat, seemingly out of the blue.
Such is the case for Next Adventure, a popular outdoor gear and apparel outfitter based in the Pacific Northwest.
Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Next Adventure has been in business since 1997 when it was founded by Deek Heykamp and Bryan Knudsen.
Related: After bankruptcy, mall anchor begins going-out-of-business sales
But both founders are looking ahead to retirement, and they made the decision to shutter all Next Adventure stores in the very near future.
It will close the following locations:
- Central Eastside Portland flagship store
- Sandy store
- Portland paddle center
- Warren paddle center
Each of the four stores will put its entire inventory on sale in an “everything-must-go bonanza” beginning on May 28, 2025.
“It has been the joy of my life to be part of such a great industry and work with our wonderful customers,” Deek Heykamp said of the closures. “While retirement sounds pretty amazing right now, I will truly miss the camaraderie and community that we have built together.”
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The surrounding Portland area continues to lose retailers as the high cost of operation, rising crime, and homelessness plague the region.
Other retailers nearby, including REI and Andy and Bax, have also left in recent years.
REI left the Pearl District in 2023, saying it “had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite actions to provide extra security.”
It added it had spent over $800,000 on security measures in 2022 alone, “yet, we still experienced 10 burglaries, including one event that shut down our 14th street entrance for more than two months,” the company said.
