You’ve probably noticed the Carter’s or OshKosh B’gosh store at your mall feels a little quieter than it used to, or maybe it’s not there anymore at all. That’s not just a feeling — the company has closed 29 more stores so far this year, even while its actual sales keep climbing.
29 stores closed, sales still up 5.1%
Carter’s closed 29 stores in the first two quarters of fiscal 2026 and opened just four, according to TheStreet’s reporting on the company’s second-quarter results, drawn from Carter’s own investor release. Comparable U.S. sales rose 5.1% in the quarter — the fifth straight quarter of growth. Those two facts sitting together is the actual story: this isn’t a struggling retailer shrinking because customers stopped buying.
The company still operates 1,042 stores across North America as of early July, part of a broader plan to close about 150 locations through 2028, announced last year.
Where the growth is actually coming from
Operating income jumped to $139.8 million from $4.0 million a year earlier — but most of that swing came from a one-time win, not day-to-day retail performance. Carter’s received a $128 million refund of previously paid import tariffs this quarter. Strip that out, and adjusted operating income still grew, from $11.8 million to $18.1 million — real, but far more modest than the headline number.
That distinction matters if you’re trying to read whether the brand is genuinely thriving or just had a good quarter on paper.
Big-box stores are winning the everyday basket
Parents are increasingly buying kids’ basics — onesies, socks, the stuff you replace every few months — at Target and Walmart instead of a dedicated children’s retailer, which is the trend behind store closures even at a brand with growing sales. A specialty store still makes sense for a specific outfit or gift; it’s losing the routine restock trip to wherever the parent is already shopping for groceries.
That’s not unique to Carter’s — it’s the same pressure reshaping mall retail broadly, and it’s why “sales are up” and “stores are closing” aren’t actually a contradiction.
What this means if you shop there
Check before you drive to a specific location — if your usual Carter’s has closed, the brand’s online store and its presence inside Target and other big-box retailers likely still carry the same products. Outlet locations tend to survive longer than mall stores in a rationalization like this one, since they carry different margins.
If you’ve got store credit or a return sitting on a gift receipt from a location that’s since closed, Carter’s typically still honors it online or at another nearby store — worth a call before assuming it’s lost.
Reading a “growing but shrinking” retailer correctly
A company can be closing stores and doing well at the same time — the two facts aren’t in tension once you separate physical footprint from actual sales performance. What’s shrinking is the number of places you can walk into; what’s growing is how much people are still spending with the brand overall, just increasingly online or through other retailers.
It’s worth remembering the next time a familiar mall storefront goes dark — “closing stores” doesn’t automatically mean “in trouble,” and this quarter’s numbers are the clearest example of that split you’re likely to see this year.
This content was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Womens Overview editors prior to publication.