Dillard’s is closing its department store at Citadel Mall in West Ashley, ending a 34-year run at one of the mall’s last big retail draws.

The Little Rock, Ark.-based chain posted notices at the store on Nov. 5 announcing the closure, The Post and Courier reported. “Thanks for the Memories. … This store will be Closing,” the signs said, according to the newspaper. They direct shoppers to Dillard’s website and to its Northwoods Mall store in North Charleston.

Dillard’s did not give a closing date and did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

WCIV ABC News 4 reported Nov. 6 that all of the store’s associates and workers will move to the Northwoods location. The store will not officially close until February, the station reported, and inventory will begin moving to Northwoods in the meantime. Merchandise that doesn’t make the move will be part of a sale after Thanksgiving, according to the station, which also said the official closing date has not been announced.

Once the West Ashley store closes, Northwoods will be the chain’s only remaining Lowcountry store, WCIV reported.

A mall in transition

The closure comes less than a year after the Medical University of South Carolina bought much of Citadel Mall.

MUSC Health finalized an $83.5 million purchase of five parcels and surrounding property at the mall in December 2025, WCIV reported. The deal covered 53.03 acres, including the MUSC Health West Ashley Pavilion, the vacant Sears building, the inline mall space and more than 2,000 parking spaces, WCSC Live 5 News reported at the time. The purchase included 126,000 square feet MUSC was already renting, The Post and Courier reported.

When the deal was announced, MUSC officials said Belk, Dillard’s and Target would keep their own buildings and parking rights, according to Live 5. The three anchors own their buildings, The Post and Courier reported. JC Penney and Sears left their big-box spaces at the mall in 2017 and 2018, respectively, according to the newspaper.

“This acquisition reflects MUSC Health’s unwavering commitment to reshape the future of health care in South Carolina,” Patrick Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health, said in December, according to Live 5.

MUSC told Live 5 then that the expansion would be a multi-phase, multi-year project, with decisions subject to approval by its Board of Trustees. Live 5 reported in March that several small businesses and community groups leasing space inside the mall had been told they had 90 days to move. Among them were the Charleston Area Model Railroad Club and the Charleston Planetarium.

What the mall says

Some shoppers have asked whether MUSC’s purchase is behind the Dillard’s closure. Citadel Mall did not say the purchase prompted it, WCIV reported. In a statement, the mall thanked Dillard’s for its partnership and said the retailer had been part of the community for many years.

“Citadel Mall is in an exciting period of transformation,” the statement said, according to WCIV. The mall said it is “evolving into a destination that better reflects what our community needs today, including expanded healthcare services, new retail, and property-wide improvements we look forward to sharing more about soon.”

The mall did not say what, if anything, would replace Dillard’s.

Three decades in Charleston

Dillard’s arrived in the Charleston market in February 1992, when it bought the Citadel Mall and Northwoods Mall stores of rival Thalhimers, The Post and Courier reported. It took the company a weekend to convert the stores and reopen them under its own name, according to the newspaper, citing news reports from the time. Dillard’s later built a larger store at Citadel Mall and expanded its North Charleston space.

Shoppers who spoke with WCIV said they would miss the West Ashley store.

“I think the selection here of clothes, it’s a bigger store, so they have a lot more options,” shopper Tammy Bankston told the station. “I like the store the best out, so I’m kind of bummed.”

The chain’s footprint

Dillard’s, founded in 1938 by William T. Dillard, operated 272 stores, including 28 clearance centers, plus an online store as of Aug. 1, according to its most recent quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It had seven stores in South Carolina as of Jan. 31, all of them owned, according to its annual report.

The company employed about 29,100 associates as of December 2025, the annual report said.

The chain has opened at least one store this year, at The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek, Ohio, according to the quarterly report. Earlier this week, Dillard’s also filed a layoff notice saying it would close a South Florida store after the holiday shopping season, The Post and Courier reported, citing The Palm Beach Post.