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Europe must invoke ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran, US lawmakers say, as Trump resumes ‘maximum pressure’

FIRST ON FOX: Europe must reinstate harsh United Nations sanctions on Iran, U.S. lawmakers insisted in a new resolution that accused Tehran of repeated violations of the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration.

The bipartisan legislation calls on the U.K., France and Germany to invoke “snapback” sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council immediately – and follow the U.S.’s lead under President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” executive order to isolate Iran over its nuclear activity.

“Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and their actions have led to the murder of American servicemembers,” said Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., the number two Republican on Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill, which has 11 cosponsors in the Senate.

“Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon would threaten our security and the security of our allies. Snapback sanctions are key to ensuring that President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign is successful.”

IRAN’S COVERT NUCLEAR AGENCY FOUND OPERATING OUT OF TOP SPACE PROGRAM LAUNCH SITES

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visits the defense achievements exhibition in Tehran, Iran, February 12, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/ Handout via Reuters )

Reps. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., issued companion legislation in the House.

Under the 2015 Iran deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran evaded U.N., U.S. and E.U. sanctions in exchange for promises not to pursue a nuclear weapon. But Iran eventually cut off independent inspectors’ access to its sites and resumed nuclear activities.

A “snapback” provision of the agreement said that any of the nations privy to the deal – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, U.S. or Germany – could demand the export controls, travel bans and asset freezes be reimposed.

But the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal entirely under President Donald Trump’s first administration and imposed its own “maximum pressure” sanctions regime. The Biden administration subsequently issued sanctions waivers and toyed with the idea of returning to a nuclear deal with Iran, but ultimately those efforts faltered.

Tenney urged the European nations to invoke the snapback sanctions before the deal expires in October 2025.

“Invoking snapback sanctions will restore all the UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the Obama administration’s failed Iran nuclear deal,” she said.

Iran is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, below the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon, according to U.N. nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi. Western states have said there is no civilian use for 60% uranium.

TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN

“Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and their actions have led to the murder of American servicemembers,” Senator Pete Ricketts, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill, said. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Britain, France and Germany told the U.N. Security Council in December they were ready to trigger the snapback of all international sanctions on Iran if necessary.

Trump himself said he was “torn” over a recent executive order that triggered harsh sanctions on Iran’s oil sector, adding that he was “unhappy to do it.”

“Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump told reporters.

But he reiterated, “We’re not going to let them get a nuclear weapon.”

Trump suggested first trying a “verified nuclear peace agreement” over military escalation. “I would much rather do a deal that’s not gonna hurt them,” the president told Fox News on Monday, adding that “I’d love to make a deal with them without bombing them.”

”No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” said Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni, citing past “experience.”

Iran viewed the president’s remarks as a threat and took negotiations off the table.

”No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” said Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni, citing past “experience.”

He called for the country to further develop its military capabilities.

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“We cannot be satisfied,” Khamenei said. “Say that we previously set a limit for the accuracy of our missiles, but we now feel this limit is no longer enough. We have to go forward.”

“Today, our defensive power is well known, our enemies are afraid of this. This is very important for our country,” he said.

February 13, 2025
Honeywell to split in three after pressure from activist investor Elliott Management
‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists react to Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’ experiments in space travel.
- Industrial and aerospace giant Honeywell said on Thursday it will split into three independently listed companies.
- Honeywell said it will separate its aerospace and automation businesses into separate entities, alongside its previously announced spin-off of the advanced materials unit.
- Honeywell said it intends to complete the separation in the second half of 2026, which would be tax-free for its shareholders.
Honeywell said on Thursday it will split into three independently listed companies, breaking up one of America’s last standing conglomerates just months after activist investor Elliott Management took a $5 billion stake in the industrial giant.

Honeywell’s shares, however, fell nearly 2.5% in premarket trade, reversing course from early gains after the company forecast downbeat sales and profit for 2025.

The company said it will separate its aerospace and automation businesses into separate entities, alongside its previously announced spin-off of the advanced materials unit.

SPACE RACE IS ON: HERE’S WHO WILL CHALLENGE SPACEX

With Honeywell’s decision, the ranks of the nation’s leading industrial conglomerates have dwindled even further, following similar choices in recent years by 3M, General Electric and United Technologies to split off major divisions.

The industrial and aerospace giant has been on a deal-making spree under CEO Vimal Kapur, shedding assets that are not focused on the aviation, automation and energy sectors.

Despite several smaller moves, Elliott, whose stake in Honeywell is its largest single investment, argued the company needed to split.

An aircraft engine is tested at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 6, 2016. Honeywell announced that it will split into three separate companies. (Reuters/Alwyn Scott/File Photo / Reuters)

Honeywell attracted Elliott’s attention as its stock price underperformed the market. Its shares had risen 7.7% in 2024 until November 11, a day before Elliott disclosed its position, while the broader market had gained 26.6% in the same period.

Analysts had previously estimated Honeywell’s high-margin aerospace business could be worth between $90 billion and $120 billion, including debt.

The airline industry, faced with a shortage of new jets, has had to resort to flying older, more maintenance-intensive planes during a travel boom, pushing up sales for players such as Honeywell that provide aftermarket services and parts.

The aerospace unit is Honeywell’s biggest revenue generator, accounting for about 40% of the company’s total revenue in 2024, and counts Boeing and Airbus among its customers. It also has contracts with the U.S. government, providing communication and navigation systems, among other services.

Honeywell said it will separate its aerospace, automation and advanced materials units into three distinct entities. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse/File Photo / Reuters)

Honeywell had announced plans to spin off its advanced materials unit into a publicly traded company in October. It said in December it was considering a spinoff of its aerospace business, after Elliott’s push.

The company said it intends to complete the separation in the second half of 2026, which would be tax-free for its shareholders.

Elliott’s push is not the first time Honeywell has faced activist pressure to break up the company. In 2017, it managed to shrug off Daniel Loeb’s Third Point, which urged the company to spin off its aerospace division.

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The industrial giant has been pruning its portfolio through a string of divestments and acquisitions, but such a large break-up would be a first for the more than 100-year-old company.

It separately forecast an adjusted profit per share of between $10.10 and $10.50 for 2025, falling short of analysts’ average estimate of $10.93 according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its sales expectations of between $39.6 billion and $40.6 billion for the year also fell short of Wall Street expectations of $41.22 billion.
February 6, 2025
Iran’s foreign minister responds to Trump ‘maximum pressure’ campaign amid regime panic

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JERUSALEM—President Donald Trump’s decision to restore his maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic of Iran jolted the clerical regime in Tehran and established a clean break with the Biden administration’s concessionary policy toward the rogue nation, according to Mideast experts.

Trump also warned the regime on Tuesday that if it carries out his assassination, advisers will ensure that the country is “obliterated.”

Trump’s message to the Iranians seemingly got their attention. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that “If the main issue is ensuring that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter.” He also added that “maximum pressure is a failed experiment, and trying it again will only lead to another failure.” He did not respond Trump’s sanction order targeting Iranian oil exports and Tehran’s support for jihadi terrorist organizations.

IRAN’S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS

Yossi Mansharof, an Iran analyst at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Israel, told Fox News Digital, “Despite oil sanctions on Iran, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that Iran’s oil revenue surged to $144 billion in the first three years of Biden’s presidency (January 2021–January 2024), $100 billion more than during the last two years of the Trump administration. “

Mansharof continued, “While Biden tightened sanctions, he did not enforce them, allowing Iran to continue profiting from oil exports, providing critical support to its economy. This approach reflects a flawed strategy of attempting to engage Ali Khamenei [the supreme leader of Iran] diplomatically while ignoring Iran’s oil smuggling.”

Fox News Digital also reported extensively on Biden’s decision to extend sanctions waivers that enabled repeated payments of $10 billion to be delivered into Iran’s coffers.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mansharof welcomed the reinstatement of the maximum economic pressure campaign. He warned, however, that in light of Iran’s progress on building a nuclear weapon “it is unclear whether this strategy is sufficient.” He said, “Military pressure on Iran is needed to disrupt its activities, send a clear message on its nuclear ambitions, and prevent further destabilizing actions.”

Both the Republican and Democratic administrations have classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. Trump’s Tuesday signing of the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) restoring maximum pressure on Iran states its aims are to deny “Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran’s malign influence abroad.” Iran’s regime funds the U.S.-designated terrorist movements Hamas and Hezbollah.

Demonstrators in Iran protesting the regime in 2022. (Credit: NCRI)

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs President Dan Diker told Fox News Digital, “President Donald Trump’s reimposed maximum pressure campaign to cripple the Iranian regime is another differentiator from the former Biden administration’s defensive and even conciliatory approach to the Iranian regime.”

He added, “The first Trump administration maximum pressure that came in parallel with canceling its participation in the ill-fated JCPOA had essentially bankrupted the regime and Trump’s continuation of economic warfare against the regime underscores his commitment to U.S. primacy and power projection in the terror-ridden Middle East short of direct military intervention.”

TRUMP’S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) National Aerospace Park in western Tehran, Oct. 11, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The JCPOA, an acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was former President Obama’s signature foreign policy deal. It was supposed to slow down Iran’s drive to build an atomic bomb in exchange for massive economic benefits for Iran. In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA and famously termed it “the worst deal in history.” Trump said at the time of the withdrawal, “At the heart of the Iran deal was a giant fiction that a murderous regime desired only a peaceful nuclear energy program.”

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According to the Trump administration, the JCPOA did not prevent Iran from securing a nuclear weapons device and allowed Tehran to finance global terrorism.

Diker said, “Trump will face an Iranian regime octopus that is still extending its terror tentacles across the region, particularly in the Israeli controlled Judea and Samaria (West Bank) while prosecuting charm offensive with European and other powers to fend off the US initiative to strangle the Iranian regime.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this story.

February 5, 2025
Trump reinstates ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran

President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order reinstating a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran on Tuesday, coinciding with a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

Trump voiced that he was “torn” on signing the order and admitted he was “unhappy to do it,” noting that that the executive order was very tough on Iran.

“Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.

The order instructs the Treasury Department to execute “maximum economic pressure” upon Iran through a series of sanctions aimed at sinking Iran’s oil exports.

His first administration also adopted a “maximum pressure” initiative against Tehran, issuing greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations.

TRUMP’S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with advisers ahead of his meeting with President Trump on Tuesday, February 4th, 2025. (GPO)

Lawmakers are also interested in exerting more pressure on Iran. For example, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Fetterman, D-Penn., along with lawmakers in the House, introduced a resolution on Thursday that affirms that all options should remain on the table in dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat.

Graham said in a statement Thursday that should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, it would prove “one of the most destabilizing and dangerous events in world history.”

Additionally, Graham said ahead of Netanyahu’s visit that the moment is right to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat now, and that the U.S. should back Israel if it chooses to “decimate” Iran’s nuclear program.

IRAN’S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 31, 2024 in Washington, DC.. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

“Israel is strong. Iran is weak. Hezbollah, Hamas have been decimated,” Graham said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. “They’re not finished off, but they’ve been weakened. And there’s an opportunity to hit the Iran nuclear program in a fashion I haven’t seen in decades. And I think it would be in the world’s interest for us to decimate the Iranian nuclear threat while we can. If we don’t, we will regret it later.”

Strict sanctions were reimposed upon Iran after Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018. The 2015 agreement brokered under the Obama administration had lifted sanctions on Iran, in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Trump signaled in January some optimism about securing a nuclear deal with Iran, when asked if he backed Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

TRUMP’S NEW UKRAINE ENVOY ISSUES WARNING TO IRAN, SAYS ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE MUST BE REINSTATED’

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they pose for a photo within their meeting at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on July 26, 2024. (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 24. “We’ll see, but hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it.”

“Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK, too,” Trump said.

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Other executive orders that Trump signed on Tuesday include pulling the U.S. out of the United Nations Human Rights Council and cutting funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

February 4, 2025
Trump-aligned group putting pressure on Republican senators in push to confirm RFK Jr.

A newly formed outside group aligned with President Donald Trump says it’s taking aim at Republican senators who remain undecided on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as it pushes to confirm Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.

Patient First Coalition (PFC), a nonprofit advocacy group launched last week, says it’s now beginning what it describes as a “massive grassroots effort” to encourage Republican senators to support Kennedy, the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.

Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings last week, where Trump’s nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation’s food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR. SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The move by PFC, which says it’s a collective group of organizations committed to advancing Kennedy’s so-called “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, comes ahead of Tuesday’s key confirmation vote by the Senate Finance Committee.

“All uncommitted Republican Senators will be targeted in this grassroots effort,” PFC highlighted.

Shannon Burns, the group’s senior advisor, shared that “our grassroots phase will include television, radio and podcast interviews with our advisory board members, as well as guest columns in newspapers across the country.”

RFK’S CONFIRMATION HEARING QUICK GOES OFF THE RAILS

“We will enable thousands of calls and emails into Senate offices from millions of Americans who support this agenda. We want to organize them, mobilize them, and make sure their voices are heard before the Senate votes,” Burns added.

PFC pointed out that it will initially give “special focus” to GOP senators in Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks with Sen. Bill Cassidy following his testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Those states are home to Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are often at odds with Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former longtime Senate Republican leader, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

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“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Cassidy told Kennedy at the end of Thursday’s confirmation hearing.

PFC is one of a handful of outside groups targeting GOP senators in the fight to confirm Trump’s nominees.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. (Getty Images)

A source in Trump’s political orbit tells Fox News that those groups could “exact consequences” on Republican senators who don’t support the president’s Cabinet nominees.

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And Trump on Sunday took to social media to demand that Senate Republicans ‘GET TOUGH VERY FAST” in confirming the rest of his Cabinet.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

February 3, 2025
Major companies sticking with DEI programs despite pressure

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., reacts to Pete Hegseth’s push to end DEI programs and initiatives in the military as well as discusses President Trump’s border agenda.

A slew of American companies have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives over the past year amid pressure from activists and concerns over legal risks, but many are standing firm despite pushback.

Significant brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Amazon, Ford and Lowe’s have all begun rolling back DEI initiatives in response to a cultural shift that included customer backlash, pressure from conservative-leaning groups and activists, and possible legal ramifications.

President Trump made promises during the campaign to scale back federal DEI programs. In his first week back in office, Trump signed an executive order ending DEI offices and initiatives across the federal workforce.

President Donald Trump speaks about the mid-air crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter in Washington, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Trump even slammed DEI initiatives at the FAA during a press conference related to the deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

All 64 passengers aboard the plane and the three crew members aboard the helicopter were killed.

With the investigation at such an early stage, information publicly available at this time does not suggest DEI initiatives at the FAA played any part in the crash. Still, it didn’t stop the president from signing a memorandum to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in the aviation sector.

WHAT CAUSED THE REVOLT AGAINST DEI IN AMERICA?

Despite the rollback put in place by a number of companies and the political pressure under President Trump, some companies are holding fast and maintaining their DEI policies.

Here are 5 of the biggest companies that have doubled down on DEI:

Apple

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

AAPL APPLE INC. 237.59 -1.77 -0.74%

In a proxy filing ahead of Apple’s upcoming annual meeting, the company’s board of directors urged shareholders to reject a proposal that would require the company to end its DEI programs, arguing the move would be “unnecessary.”

TARGET FACING RETRIBUTION AT HOME FOR ROLLING BACK DEI INITIATIVES

Costco

Customers enter a Costco Wholesale Corp. warehouse store in Hawthorne, California, on June 12, 2024. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

COST COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. 979.01 +14.99 +1.55%

Costco’s board of directors came out unanimously against a proposal calling for a report on the risks associated with keeping its DEI efforts in place, and shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the measure.

Goldman Sachs

A sign is displayed in the reception of Goldman Sachs in Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo (REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

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GS THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. 645.42 +8.08 +1.27%

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in response to being targeted by anti-DEI proposals from activist shareholders, “A Goldman spokeswoman said the bank strongly believes that organizations benefit from diverse perspectives and that it is committed to operating its programs and policies in compliance with the law.”

COSTCO BOARD MEMBERS DONATED HEAVILY TO DEMOCRATS IN 2024 ELECTION CYCLE

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in a CNBC interview from the World Economic Forum that the bank will “continue to stay focused on talking to our clients and doing the things we’ve always done.”

“They think about decarbonization, they think about climate transition,” he said. “They think about their businesses, how they find talent, the diversity of the talent they find all over the world.”

JPMorgan Chase

The JPMorgan Chase logo is seen at their headquarters building on May 26, 2023 in New York City. ( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

JPM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 268.23 +1.65 +0.62%

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also defended his bank’s DEI programs in a separate CNBC interview from the WEF.

When asked about the anti-DEI push, Dimon said, “Bring them on,” adding, “We’re going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community…”

Microsoft

Ticker Security Last Change Change %

MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 414.99 -27.34 -6.18%

Microsoft doubled down on its commitment to DEI in its diversity and inclusion report in October, with Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre writing “We continue to believe it’s the business of Microsoft to be diverse and inclusive so we can build products, services, and a workforce that empowers the world.”

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McIntyre reiterated in a blog post last month that “Microsoft’s diversity and inclusion work is more important than ever.”

January 31, 2025
Pressure from Shein, Temu accelerate retail closures

Coresight Research estimates there will be another wave of retail closures in 2025 as legacy companies face relentless competition.

An ongoing surge of U.S. retail closures is expected to persist in 2025 as legacy companies face relentless competition from eCommerce platforms Shein and Temu.

Coresight Research, a firm specializing in retail and technology, estimates that closures will rise to 15,000 in 2025. The firm also projects about 5,800 store openings nationwide this year, but results in a net loss.

With a wave of bankruptcies and closures announced in 2024 from major brands such as Big Lots, Party City, and recent announcements from Kohl’s and Macy’s extending into 2025, Coresight Research estimated that over 1,900 store closures are expected by the second week of 2025.

To put this in perspective, 7,323 stores closed in 2024, marking the highest number of closures since 2020, when nearly 10,000 stores shut down, according to Coresight Research.

It was a nearly 60% increase compared to the same 52-week period in 2023.

US RETAIL CLOSURES HIT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE PANDEMIC

John Mercer, Coresight’s head of global research, told FOX Business that the same issues plaguing the industry in 2024 will persist, “specifically the competitive pressures” from the fast fashion platforms that have risen in prominence in recent years as inflationary consumers leveraged their cheap prices.

Shein and Temu offer a range of products and clothing at low prices. The companies face criticism over labor practices, environmental concerns, and business ethics such as intellectual property infringement.

Sale and store closing signs at a Macy’s store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Still, people continue to shop at the platforms, making them a threat to U.S. based retailers.

“We think Temu and Shein together worldwide are a $100 billion threat effectively to retailers,” Mercer said. “We reckon they made about $100 billion in global sales last year. The vast majority of that will be peeled away from legacy retailers… taking sales, taking market share at their expense,” Mercer continued.

Coresight believes the “threat from Temu and Shein is an under-recognized pressure on many retailers” and that “there’s little prospect of that competitive pressure easing up,” according to Mercer.

Another factor contributing to their estimate is the upcoming period of “policy disruption,” according to Mercer.

WHY NEIGHBORHOOD PHARMACIES ARE CLOSING

“We’re not sure yet what’s going to happen with tariffs. We’re not sure how tariffs would flow through to costs on retailers, internal consumers and how consumers would react to that,” he said.

Mercer said the risk with tariffs is that “you end up with escalating inflation.”

A shopper enters a Party City store in Richmond, California, US, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We saw how badly U.S. consumers reacted last time there was increased inflation. The risk is we get more inflation and consumers respond likewise again,” he added.

Putting tariffs aside, positive trends in Coresight Research’s consumer sentiment metrics and upbeat macroeconomic indicators suggest that consumer demand could be reasonably strong, according to Mercer. But even if demand is strong, the “risk to legacy retailers is that, as I mentioned, consumer demand, increasingly goes to newer players.”

MACY’S ACCELERATES STORE CLOSURES THIS YEAR

Coresight Research CEO Deborah Weinswig said in a statement that inflation coupled with a “growing preference among consumers to shop online to find the cheapest deals” took a toll on many brick-and-mortar retailers last year.

Sale signage outside a Macy’s store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Several brands fell victim including American Freight, which announced it was shutting all 329 of its locations as part of its parent company’s bankruptcy proceedings, and Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September to help facilitate the sale of “substantially all” of its assets to its “stalking horse bidder” Nexus Capital Management. It also announced plans to permanently close dozens of stores.

Macy’s also began shuttering locations as part of a turnaround strategy announced in February 2024. It’s CEO, Tony Spring, told analysts during a recent earnings call that the company now expects to close about 65 locations this year, up from its previous forecast of 50 announced at the start of the year.

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Party City, with 738 expected closures, and Big Lots, with about 661 expected closures, is leading the pack for closures so far this year. 7-Eleven isn’t far behind with 333 expected closures.

Coresight also tracked expected closures for Aldi, CVS Health, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Five Below, JD Sports, Kohl’s, Macy’s, The TJX Companies and Walgreens Boots Alliance.

However, the majority of companies that are mentioned are simultaneously opening up locations throughout the year.

Mercer said it’s important to recognize that there are three categories of retail closure activity. In one case, retailers may be closing all stores because they are liquidating their assets. There are also distressed retailers who are restructuring and closing large swathes of stores, but not necessarily all of them.

The third kind of closure is when legacy retailers recognize that they need to reshape their estates to better cater to changing consumer preferences.

January 24, 2025