All brick-and-mortar stores in North America, close! Sell! The premium chocolate maker suddenly announced that...

Belgian premium chocolate maker Goethe Van has announced it will close or sell 128 of its stores in North America by the end of March, and its North American operations will then shift to online sales, CNN reported on January 25.
statement, Mr. Goethe did not say how many jobs were expected to be affected, but said the company would continue its retail operations in the Middle East, Europe and Greater China.
has been hit hard by the new crown pneumonia outbreak, which has caused a sharp drop in shopping mall traffic across North America, as have other retail outlets.
, CNN also reported that sales at Goethe Van's North American brick-and-mortar stores had been weak long before the outbreak.
Goethe Van store sales rely heavily on department stores and shopping centers, but due to the rapid development of online shopping in recent years, the decline in shopping mall traffic has affected the Goethe Van store business.
the impact of this, Godifan's coffee shop expansion plans were thwarted before the outbreak.
2019, Goethe van has announced the opening of 400 coffee shops in North America, and plans to double the number of coffee shops in North America by 2025 and eventually reach its goal of opening 2,000 coffee shops worldwide.
, however, this expansion plan has not been possible.