Burlington to close Rohnert Park location, becoming latest national retailer to close in Sonoma County

The past year has been a rough one for national retailers with locations in Sonoma County.

Bed Bath & Beyond shuttered the doors to its Santa Rosa location early last year with Forever 21 also announcing their departure from Sonoma County.

Throughout other parts of the county, Reading Cinemas in Rohnert Park closed abruptly after 25 years with clothing chain Soft Surroundings in Montgomery Village preparing to close after filing for bankruptcy.

So far, the new year hasn’t been much different with the Champs Sports announcement that it was closing its location at Santa Rosa Plaza.

Just this week it was learned that Burlington has plans to close its location on Rohnert Park Expressway.

The discount retail chain had showed signs of expanding and opening more stores across the country, even buying up former Bed Bath & Beyond locations.

Representatives with Burlington, which dropped “coat factory” from its name around 2009, were not immediately available for comment Tuesday.

A store employee at the Rohnert Park location did not provide a specific closing date but said it could be soon due to inventory.

There is another Burlington location in the Santa Rosa Marketplace on Santa Rosa Avenue, and that one is staying open.

So why are so many national retailers leaving the County?

Findings from research firm Coresight Research found that more than 4,600 stores have closed in 2023, an 80% increase from 2022, CBS News reported back in December.

Bed Bath & Beyond topped the list for most store closures after it filed for bankruptcy last April, the research found, though BedBathandBeyond.com was revived and relaunched after Overstock.com bought it.

Sonoma State University economics professor Robert Eyler said there are many factors that could be causing retailers to leaving the area such as the increasing regional cost of doing business and the struggle to find enough workers.

“When large businesses shut down branches and do some consolidation, they are usually thinking about it as demand versus cost to do business,” he said. “If you see a place close, that means they just couldn’t make the case versus other outlets.”

Eyler said more retailers could pull out of this area in attempts to further consolidate and that the high costs of doing business could slow opportunities for growth.

The Rohnert Park Burlington closure aside, Eyler said that the region could see an expansion of bargain stores like Burlington, as consumers continue to be cost cautious amid high prices.

In March 2023, Burlington Stores announced plans to open between 500 and 600 new locations over the next five years, according to reporting from Business Insider. Other stores are following suit, including discount retailers such as Ross and T.J. Maxx, the same article reported.

You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.