{
  "id": 9767012,
  "title": "A major women’s fashion retailer is closing 120 stores this year as shoppers feel the sting of higher prices",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/a-major-womens-fashion-retailer-is-closing-120-stores-this-year-as",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-25T12:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91613191/cato-fashions-closing-stores-2026-list-shuttered-locations-grows"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cato Fashions, a major women's fashion retailer, is set to close 120 stores this year due to the impact of higher prices on consumers. The Cato Corporation, which owns Cato Fashions and two other retailers, revealed the decision last week, upping the number from the initially announced 50 stores to be closed in 2026. The company reported a net income decline from $6.8 million to just $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, attributing the drop to persistent inflation, higher fuel prices, and elevated interest rates negatively affecting customers' discretionary income. CEO John Cato stated that the company expected marginal stores to improve in the past, but due to the current economic environment, it is closing more stores than anticipated. The company operates over 1,000 stores across 31 states, with its largest market in the southeastern United States. Since the announcement, Cato's stock price has seen a slight increase, but overall, it has struggled this year, with a 21% decline since the beginning of the year.",
  "summary": "This year has seen a number of retailers deciding to close a significant number of stores. As Fast Company reported last month, those closures have included hundreds of Eddie Bauer, Francesca’s, GameStop, and Walgreens locations. Now, another major retailer is joining that list. The Cato Corporation, parent company of Cato Fashions, which operates more than 1,000 women’s apparel and accessories…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}