Also, even if a chain closes SOME of its stores, it doesn't necessarily mean much. Stores will often up new stores and close others as demographics change. Also, through mergers and acquisitions, stores find themselves with duplication of effort. When Filenes and Macy's merged, many stores closed because Filene's and Macy's were often in the same mall, or at least had stores so close to one another that they couldn't possibly do enough sales to sustain two locations.
