For roughly eight decades the Las Vegas Strip has been an iconic global hub for gambling, nightlife, and entertainment. It was also among the most-visited destinations in the United States. However, the latest data signal a change.
Visitor volume for the full year 2025 amounted to 38.55 million, marking a year-over-year decline of 7.5%, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. This marked 12 straight months of declining visitation.
Moreover, in 2025 the Las Vegas Strip saw its profits decline significantly, with net income dropping to $154.2 million, a staggering 81% drop from fiscal year 2024, according to official data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. While total revenue was a solid $21.1 billion, it still declined by 3.7% from the record set in 2024.
“This gap between revenue and profit shows how sensitive casinos have become to even small shifts in visitor behavior. The ongoing decline in Las Vegas tourism has made it harder for operators to maintain margins, especially as costs continue to rise,” writes Action Network.
Over the past few years, the Las Vegas Strip has gone through a retail shakeup as high costs forced out everyday shopping and casual dining options. Iconic landmarks like Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Carlos ’n Charlie’s have both closed down to make way for more expensive luxury and entertainment venues.
Now, another Las Vegas Strip retail giant is addressing challenges by closing more than two dozen of its fashion stores.
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Marshall Rousso, Misura owner, quietly closes 26 stores on the Las Vegas Strip
In 2019, WH Smith North America, a division of a British global travel retail giant, WH Smith, acquired one of America’s biggest specialty retailers for airports, casino resorts, and rail stations, Marshall Retail Group, for $400 million.
WH Smith is a recognized global travel retailer with over 230 years of retail experience, operating more than 1,200 stores across 30 countries, of which more than 360 are located in North America, according to its official website.
In a regulatory filing on June 10, 2026, WH Smith disclosed underperformance in its resorts segments. The company reported like-for-like (LFL) revenue drop of 11% in the last seven weeks, “driven by the continued reduction in Las Vegas visitor numbers.”
“Further action has been taken in the Resorts segment to address underperformance, with 14 uneconomic fashion stores now either closed or with agreed closure dates. The remaining 12 fashion stores are likely to be exited in the balance of the year,” WH Smith wrote in the filing.
The retail giant also noted it is “considering strategic options for its Welcome to Las Vegas business.”
The company didn’t specify which stores are affected by these closures, and TheStreet reached out to the company for more details, but WH Smith declined to comment.
WH Smith’s fashion brands:
- Marshall Rousso: offers its collection of women’s lifestyle fashion apparel including handbags, jewelry and shoes.
- Misura: a contemporary men’s apparel and lifestyle boutique with shops located inside luxury casino resorts in Las Vegas.
- Bella Scarpa: Italian for “Beautiful Shoe,” Bella Scarpa is “an elegant boutique catering to women who seek a feminine, sexy style with bold panache.”
- The Dean: includes men’s fashion and other products from popular brands such as Boss, Herschel, Kiehl’s, Mizzen + Main, Shinola, Tumi and Vince Camuto.
- @ ease: athleisure apparel and accessories with collections from Puma, Prana, DYI, Shape and Marmot.
- Aka: offers men’s apparel spanning lifestyle brands from Rock Revival and Hugo Boss to Tommy Bahama and Bugatchi.
- Carina: chic apparel featuring designers such as Joseph Ribkoff,Miss Me, and Alberto Makal.
- Paradiso: a luxurious fashion chain offering “most glamorous women’s wear, shoes and accessories from an enviable list of designers.”
- O Man: a lifestyle boutique for men.
Source: WH Smith North America
Of the full WH Smith/MRG fashion portfolio on the Strip, the main apparel brands include: Marshall Rousso, Paradiso, Misura, and Carina.
Visitor spending trends in Las Vegas
Recent tourism data reveals a new trend: fewer people are visiting the city; however, those who visit are spending more, according to the 2025 Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study.
More importantly, because basic travel costs like hotel rooms and flights have gone up, these same visitors are cutting back on outside spending to protect their money. The report shows that average expenditures per visitor for dining and shopping went down to $582 and $222, respectively, after going up for two straight years.
This drop in retail shopping is directly tied to growing customer frustration over high resort prices. The data shows that complaints about the cost of basic amenities have hit multi-year highs, noting that “complaints about pricing have increased every year from 14% in 2022 to 22% last year,” writes iGB, citing data from Visitor Profile Study.
This price friction is one of the reasons why mid-tier clothing stores are struggling to survive on the Strip; when visitors slash retail budgets to deal with inflation, legacy hotel-lobby fashion boutiques are among the cutbacks.
