Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.
Banana Republic is an American upscale clothing and accessories retailer owned by The Gap. It was founded in 1978 by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, who originally called the company "Banana Republic Travel & Safari Clothing Company". In 1983, Gap purchased the company, changed the name to "Banana Republic," and rebranded the stores to achieve a more upscale image. In the 2020s, VP of design Nicole Wiesmann has re-envisioned the brand with ad editorial campaigns that evoke luxury brands, and higher-end garments that have been compared favorably with names such as Ralph Lauren and The Row.
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is an American department store chain that operates 663 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Men's, Women's, Boys', Girls', Baby, Bedding, Home, Fine Jewelry, Shoes, Lingerie, JCPenney Salon, JCPenney Beauty, as well as leased departments such as Seattle's Best Coffee, US Vision optical centers, and Lifetouch portrait studios.
Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a Fortune 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. Its stores are supported by a nationwide logistics network of 24 distribution centers. Additionally, the company operates stores under the name of Dollar Bills, as well as a multi-price-point variety chain under the Family Dollar banner.
Boscov's Inc. is a family-owned department store with fifty locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Connecticut, West Virginia and Rhode Island. Twenty-six of these stores are located in Pennsylvania.
EB Games is an American computer and video games retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the King of Prussia mall near Philadelphia, the company has grown into an international corporation. EB Games's parent company, GameStop, has its headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. When Electronics Boutique was an independent company, its headquarters was in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, near West Chester.
Game Retail Limited is a British video game retailer, owned by Frasers Group since June 2019.
Ben Franklin is a chain of five and dime and arts and crafts stores found primarily in small towns throughout the United States, currently owned by Promotions Unlimited of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. They are organized using a franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. It was perhaps the first retail franchise, starting in 1927. They are named after Benjamin Franklin, taking a cue in their merchandise offerings from Franklin's saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned."
The Michaels Companies is an American retail holding company, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It was formed as a parent company of Michaels in 2014. As of 2021, The Michaels Companies operates its flagship brand, Michaels, and Artistree, a manufacturer of custom and specialty framing merchandise. There are over 1,252 arts and crafts stores located in the United States and Canada.
Buena Park Downtown, formerly Buena Park Mall, is an enclosed shopping mall located on La Palma Avenue in Buena Park, California, United States, near Knott's Berry Farm. As of 2007 it is the 20th largest mall in Orange County, with around 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of retail space.
Forever 21 is a multinational fast-fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984, it is currently operated by Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group, with about 540 outlets.
Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States and China. It was founded as a mail-order business in 1965, when it started selling items, such as dental clamps and other specialty tools. Its first physical location opened in 1973 in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The company's headquarters are currently located in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Jo-Ann Stores, LLC, more commonly known as Jo-Ann, is an American fabric and crafts retail company based in Hudson, Ohio. It operates the retail chains JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and Jo-Ann Etc.
Hobbycraft is an arts and crafts superstore retail chain in the United Kingdom. It is currently owned by investment group Bridgepoint.
Columbia Colonnade was a shopping mall located just outside Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It was anchored by EFO Furniture, Planet Fitness, Dunham's Sports, MVP Clubhouse, and a VA Clinic. The mall was next to Interstate 80 and PA 42. It also served the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, as well as several surrounding communities, such as Bloomsburg and Buckhorn, Pennsylvania.
Retail apocalypse refers to the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010 and accelerating due to the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of American and Canadian arts and crafts stores. It is North America's largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourself home decorators. The company is part of The Michaels Companies, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Irving, Texas. In addition to Michaels stores, The Michaels Companies operates Aaron Brothers Custom Framing store-within-a-store, and Artistree, a manufacturer of custom and specialty framing merchandise. The company also develops over a dozen private brands sold in Michaels stores, including Recollections, Studio Décor, Bead Landing, Creatology, and Ashland. As of January 2021, there were 1,252 Michaels stores in 49 out of 50 states in the U.S., and Canada, with approximately $5.362 billion in sales for fiscal 2020.
Transform SR Brands LLC is an American privately held company formed on February 11, 2019, to acquire some of the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation. The new company is owned by ESL Investments. Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Sears Holdings on October 15, 2018, Transformco purchased the surviving assets owned by Sears Holdings for $5.2 billion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a sharp economic toll on the retail industry worldwide as many retailers and shopping centers were forced to shut down for months due to mandated stay-at-home orders. As a result of these closures, online retailers received a major boost in sales as customers looked for alternative ways to shop and the effects of the retail apocalypse were exacerbated. A number of notable retailers filed for bankruptcy including Ascena Retail Group, Debenhams, Arcadia Group, Brooks Brothers, GNC, J. C. Penney, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus.
