USA - The fall of the Toys “R” Us chain, with more than 700 US stores, shows how much retail real estate has changed in just the last decade. While it’s not going out of business like the toy seller, J Crew Group Inc, which leases its locations, says it’s closing a net of nine stores this fiscal year, after shuttering a net 41 in 2017. Walmart Inc's Sam’s Club in January said it will close 63 locations, about 10 percent of its total. At last count, US store closures announced this year reached a staggering 77 million square feet, according to data on national and regional chains compiled by CoStar Group Inc. That means retailers are well on their way to surpassing the record 105 million square feet announced for closure in all of 2017.