Things change over the decades. Though I've seen insanity in which locations that are performing well, do get shut down. In fairness, not every company is run by those who necessarily know what they are doing.
Like K-Mart. I saw a page showing the closing of the first K-Mart that was opened as a K-Mart rather than Kresge's previous stores that were converted to K-Mart.
It had photos taken of the grand opening and photos taken during its final days. Aside from updated cash registers and some alteration to the front of the store to make shopping cart storage, *nothing had been changed* in more than 50 years. All the shelves, signage, even the fluorescent light fixtures were all the originals from when the store opened. They'd moved things around but as many have said, "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic".
Not updating the looks of their stores was just one major part of K-Mart's failure. They were slow to get on the web. They didn't land big name exclusive brand deals. Martha Stewart Living and Joe Boxer weren't enough. Too much Made in China.
The stores needed to be on a 5 or 6 year update or remodel cycle, interspersed with quick replacements of any fixture showing wear.
A much smaller company that self imploded was King's Variety Store. Founded in 1915, at its peak there were 27 locations in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. In some cases new stores were opened to replace older, smaller stores. In Weiser, ID they built a new building that was just for King's, moving out of a building downtown that was shared with other stores. But when they did it they took all the signage and old fixtures to put into the new building. They even pulled out the basement stairs with their white rubber treads and the handrails to install in the new building. New, narrower stairs were constructed in the old building for access to the basement area.
Nothing hurts a company going for a fresh start like filling the shiny new building with tired 1960's vintage signage and fixtures. Moving the stairs just added to the WTH? factor. King's Variety went under in 2017.
Another company skewering itself by letting stores "go to seed" is Carl's Jr. Some locations have not been updated ever. The one in Ontario, OR was built sometime between 2006 and 2009. (Historical images on Google Earth show it not there in 2006, and there in 2009.) When it opened I remarked on the ugly, bare, concrete floor with the giant star logo. The employee said they were going to get a remodel in 5 years. It's been at least 14 years, no remodel. Should be on makeover #3. The floor now really looks like crap with the logo being heavily worn and try as they might, they can't get the stains out of the bare concrete. If they'd at least acid etch the floor then lay down ceramic tile it would help a lot.
McDonalds regularly remodels, refreshes, and updates its restaurants. I've lost track of how many times the one here has been reworked. One of the two in Ontario, OR got completely razed and a new one built because it was cheaper than remodeling. Unfortunately their current building style looks like a different color knockoff of Carl's Jr. cuboid stlye circa 15 years ago, and the way they set up the drive through and parking at that location is the stupidest thing ever. The parking is split into two sections, which drivers have to navigate like a U shaped cow milking barn. Vehicles for both parking and dive through enter at the back side to that half of the parking, then people leaving that parking have to merge into a single lane around the end of the building with drive through traffic. If the back parking is full, people have to mix with drive through traffic to get around to the front parking lot. The building should have been at the back of the space with just room for a drive through and all the parking in front. Backing out of the angled spots as drive through traffic zips through is not a fun thing.
www.cnbc.com
This cost-cutting is getting really annoying! 
