New opening activity of chain stores maintains historical lows, not the same for independents

Per legal filings, 115 new chain stores opened in the month of June, an all time low. Now averaging approximately a 90% decrease since the pandemic began. Pre-pandemic monthly averages were more than 1200 new chain store openings per month.

On the other hand, Independents have steadied their growth trajectory for over a year, averaging 1950 new independent openings per month. See weekly chart dating from the beginning of the pandemic in March, 2020:

WEEKLY	NEW Openings Chain Locations VS. Independent Locations
	Chain stores	Independent stores
6/30/2022	26	398
6/23/2022	11	384
6/16/2022	27	421
6/9/2022	22	351
6/2/2022	30	388
5/26/2022	28	431
5/19/2022	19	358
5/12/2022	16	357
5/5/2022	30	340
4/28/2022	21	373
4/21/2022	28	389
4/14/2022	21	343
4/7/2022	20	430
3/31/2022	36	374
3/25/2022	21	318
3/17/2022	27	387
3/10/2022	37	407
3/3/2022	26	386
2/24/2022	45	398
2/17/2022	22	324
2/10/2022	15	343
2/3/2022	32	333
1/27/2022	44	344
1/20/2022	31	292
1/13/2022	24	291
1/6/2022	28	363
12/30/2021	41	340
12/16/2021	33	360
12/9/2021	34	385
12/2/2021	46	411
11/18/2021	24	364
11/11/2021	41	434
11/4/2021	42	351
10/28/2021	34	405
10/22/2021	45	338
10/15/2021	36	399
10/7/2021	29	334
9/30/2021	28	351
9/23/2021	47	340
9/16/2021	53	386
9/9/2021	41	371
9/2/2021	33	315
8/26/2021	47	437
8/19/2021	46	249
8/12/2021	23	414
8/5/2021	36	443
7/29/2021	38	474
7/22/2021	49	465
7/15/2021	44	415
7/1/2021	32	406
6/24/2021	33	477
6/17/2021	55	413
6/10/2021	35	401
6/3/2021	32	431
5/27/2021	36	431
5/20/2021	31	412
5/13/2021	24	416
5/6/2021	33	459
4/29/2021	44	395
4/22/2021	24	382
4/15/2021	31	435
4/8/2021	28	426
4/1/2021	18	367
3/25/2021	22	386
3/18/2021	65	267
3/11/2021	54	421
3/4/2021	37	388
2/25/2021	33	399
2/18/2021	36	360
2/11/2021	79	589
2/4/2021	23	251
1/28/2021	21	294
1/21/2021	21	255
1/14/2021	46	441
1/7/2021	46	311
12/31/2020	45	322
12/17/2020	25	354
12/10/2020	42	369
12/3/2020	49	406
11/19/2020	41	389
11/12/2020	36	477
11/5/2020	43	472
10/29/2020	34	383
10/22/2020	56	482
10/15/2020	47	470
10/8/2020	40	489
10/1/2020	51	382
9/24/2020	61	452
9/17/2020	40	381
9/10/2020	38	359
9/3/2020	33	356
8/27/2020	60	430
8/20/2020	46	372
8/13/2020	63	422
8/6/2020	48	397
7/30/2020	53	439
7/23/2020	32	315
7/16/2020	47	409
7/9/2020	81	476
6/25/2020	36	308
6/18/2020	29	359
6/11/2020	42	212
6/4/2020	57	274
5/28/2020	40	258
5/21/2020	23	257
5/14/2020	50	288
5/7/2020	28	268
4/30/2020	44	280
4/23/2020	48	315
4/16/2020	50	475
4/9/2020	20	172
4/2/2020	43	284
3/26/2020	25	249

TOTALS	Legal Filings Week ending 6/30/2022
WEEKLY	Total Raw Filings	Total Net New (Post Vetting)
6/30/2022	1067	431
6/23/2022	902	412
6/16/2022	1039	462
6/9/2022	1085	387
6/2/2022	951	430
5/26/2022	1047	476
5/19/2022	874	400
5/12/2022	891	381
5/5/2022	941	378
4/28/2022	1032	406
4/21/2022	939	428
4/14/2022	955	373
4/7/2022	1053	458
3/31/2022	755	422
3/25/2022	1045	356
3/17/2022	896	439
3/10/2022	960	462
3/3/2022	962	436
2/24/2022	941	462
2/17/2022	977	356
2/10/2022	647	372
2/3/2022	650	383
1/27/2022	828	401
1/20/2022	935	335
1/13/2022	699	338
1/6/2022	812	407
12/30/2021	797	411
12/16/2021	854	410
12/9/2021	938	433
12/2/2021	867	471
11/18/2021	678	409
11/11/2021	808	493
11/4/2021	870	409
10/28/2021	850	454
10/22/2021	812	399
10/15/2021	970	453
10/7/2021	713	380
9/30/2021	75	399
9/23/2021	670	403
9/16/2021	825	455
9/9/2021	807	437
9/2/2021	714	359
8/26/2021	913	493
8/12/2021	889	453
8/5/2021	1132	490
7/29/2021	1152	523
7/22/2021	948	528
7/15/2021	1050	478
7/1/2021	819	452
6/24/2021	975	538
6/17/2021	837	481
6/10/2021	880	446
6/3/2021	1417	479
5/27/2021	1322	504
5/20/2021	1103	452
5/13/2021	1294	454
5/6/2021	1303	508
4/29/2021	1250	456
4/22/2021	1130	414
4/15/2021	1332	483
4/8/2021	1474	490
4/1/2021	1085	400
3/25/2021	1251	431
3/18/2021	368	344
3/11/2021	1525	495
3/4/2021	1216	435
2/25/2021	1006	460
2/18/2021	1002	410
2/11/2021	1851	685
2/4/2021	624	281
1/28/2021	736	322
1/21/2021	484	283
1/14/2021	880	509
1/7/2021	1061	389
12/31/2020	1264	381
12/17/2020	1226	392
12/10/2020	771	419
12/3/2020	1264	469
11/19/2020	1003	446
11/12/2020	957	526
11/5/2020	971	533
10/29/2020	965	430
10/22/2020	1080	550
10/15/2020	1129	530
10/8/2020	1237	548
10/1/2020	924	450
9/24/2020	1006	525
9/17/2020	1022	433
9/10/2020	1002	406
9/3/2020	1056	400
8/27/2020	1050	503
8/20/2020	978	433
8/13/2020	1066	502
8/6/2020	1158	462
7/30/2020	992	503
7/23/2020	724	358
7/16/2020	958	474
7/9/2020	1368	582
6/25/2020	711	354
6/18/2020	815	396
6/11/2020	497	264
6/4/2020	762	358
5/28/2020	691	316
5/21/2020	776	304
5/14/2020	801	356
5/7/2020	679	316
4/30/2020	678	324
4/23/2020	970	385
4/16/2020	839	532
4/9/2020	691	192
4/2/2020	639	327
3/26/2020	844	301