- At least 16 Hallmark stores are closing in the first half of 2020.
- "It's just not a viable business any longer," one Hallmark store owner told the Forest Park Review. "People used to buy and send cards all the time. It's all online now. Everyone celebrates their birthdays on social media."
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It's a tough time to be in the greeting-card business.
Papyrus is closing all 254 of its stores in the US and Canada after its parent company, Schurman Fine Papers, filed for bankruptcy citing "the general downturn in the brick-and-mortar retail industry."
Meanwhile, at least 16 Hallmark-branded stores in the US are also closing, according to local media reports and posts to Facebook by store owners.
Rich Schauer, who is closing his Hallmark store in Forest Park, Illinois, said social media is crushing the card business.
"It's just not a viable business any longer," he told the Forest Park Review. "People used to buy and send cards all the time. It's all online now. Everyone celebrates their birthdays on social media."
Chris Cleveland, who is closing his Hallmark store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also cited pressures from e-commerce in an interview.
"We just don't know how to combat the online sales," Cleveland told KJRH.
Most of Hallmark's roughly 2,000 stores are privately owned, and "owners make business decisions based on their own circumstances," according to a statement by the company in 2018.
"Difficult lease negotiations, slowing sales during economic slumps, and changes in the trade area can challenge profitability and lead to a decision to sell or close any store, independent or corporately owned," the statement said.
Hallmark did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Here's the list of closing stores:
- 2940 E. 2nd Ave., Denver, CO
- 2730 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO
- 265 E Eau Gallie Blvd., Indian Harbour Beach, FL
- 7443 Madison St, Forest Park, IL
- 2451 Sycamore Rd, DeKalb, IL
- 6105 Merle Hay Road, Johnston, IA
- 641 Belmont St Shaws Plaza, Brockton, MA
- Skaket Corners, 9 West Rd Ste. 10, Orleans, MA
- Holiday Center, 207 W Superior St #214, Duluth, MN
- 271 Greece Ridge Center Dr, Rochester, NY
- Dayton Mall, 2700 Miamisburg Centerville Rd., Dayton, OH
- Tulsa Promenade, 4107 S Yale Ave Suite 205, Tulsa, OK
- 6101 Calhoun Memorial Hwy, Easley, SC
- Myrtle Beach Mall, 10177 N Kings Hwy Unit 5, Myrtle Beach, SC
- 3112 TX-35 Loop, Alvin, TX
- 95 N. Moorland Rd, Square Suite B20, Brookfield, WI