Mervyn's was an American middle-scale department store chain based in Hayward, California, and founded by Mervin G. Morris (1920–2021). It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, bath products, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, toys, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were opened in shopping malls; however, some locations were operated independently. Based on 2005 revenue, Mervyn's was the 83rd largest retailer in the United States.
Tully's Coffee is an American specialty coffee manufacturing brand owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which acquired Tully's brand and wholesale business in 2009.
Payless ShoeSource Worldwide, LLC, is an American multinational discount footwear chain. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez, Payless was a privately held company owned by Blum Capital, and Golden Gate Capital. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation, which merged with The May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the U.S. for its Pro Wings line of discount sneakers, which often had Velcro straps instead of laces. In 1996, Payless became an independent publicly held company. In 2004, Payless announced it would exit the Parade chain and would close 100 Payless Shoe outlets. On August 17, 2007, the company acquired the Stride Rite Corporation and changed its name to Collective Brands, Inc. As of 2020, Payless is owned by a group of investors led by Alden Global Capital and Axar Capital Management.
Fortunoff is a New York–based retailer of outdoor furniture and jewelry.
Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. The former York, Pennsylvania-based company BonTon filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, operating an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.
Gymboree is a sub brand of The Children's Place. Gymboree began with operating retail stores between the early 1970s and the later 2010s. It was founded by Joan Barnes.
The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company that ran Musicland, Sam Goody, Discount Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, On Cue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. The Musicland Group was purchased by Best Buy in 2001 at the height of Musicland's success, which ultimately led to its demise. Jack Eugster was the CEO of The Musicland Group, from 1980, until February 2001. Its headquarters were in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Stage Stores was a department store company specializing in retailing off-price brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares throughout the United States. Stores were usually located in shopping malls and centers or in standalone locations. The corporate office was located in Houston, Texas.
Modell's Sporting Goods Online, Inc. is an online sporting goods and related apparel retailer. Modell's began with operating retail stores between the late 1980s and the late 2010s. In 2020, Modell’s became a brand owned by the private equity firm Retail Ecommerce Ventures.
Value City Department Stores was an American department store chain with 113 locations. It was founded in 1917 by Ephraim Schottenstein, a travelling salesman in central Ohio. The store was an off-price retailer that sold clothing, jewelry, and home goods below the manufacturer suggested retail price. The chain focused on buyout and closeout merchandise, and occasionally irregular apparel and factory seconds. The stores were branded Schottenstein's in the Columbus, Ohio, market. The Schottenstein name was dropped in 2008. Also, three stores in Metro Detroit were co-branded as Crowley's Value City. From 1984 to 1995, Schottenstein also owned Shifrin-Willens, a jewelry store.
Stein Mart is an American discount men's and women's online retailer & former department store chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Stein Mart had locations primarily in the Southeast, Texas, and California. Stein Mart stores sold recent trends in clothing for both men and women. Additionally, home decor, accessories, and shoes were all available at discounted prices.
Donaldson's, previously known as the L. S. Donaldson Company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a defunct department store company.
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states before liquidating throughout 2008 and 2009.
Gordmans was a retailer founded in Omaha, Nebraska. The chain is owned by BrandX as of May 2022. In 2019, Stage Stores began converting other retail chains it owned into Gordmans stores, with the goal of having 700 Gordmans stores in 42 states by the end of 2020. In May 2020, Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and began liquidating its stores. Although a buyer for Stage could have prevented liquidation, Stage later announced that they would proceed with going out of business sales at all locations. There is one store in the town of Algonquin, Illinois.
Art Van Furniture Inc. was an American furniture retail store chain, with stores across the Midwestern United States. Founded in 1959, the company was headquartered in Warren, Michigan, and claimed to be the largest furniture retailer in the Midwest at its peak. In 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.
Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-largest retailing company in the United States in 2015. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, and sold its assets to ESL Investments in 2019. The new owner moved Sears assets to its newly formed subsidiary Transformco and after that, Sears Holdings Corporation was closed.
Scotch & Soda, sometimes branded as Scotch & Soda Amsterdam, is a Dutch fashion retail company founded in 1985 by Laurent Hompes and currently owned by brand management firm Bluestar Alliance. In 2023, Scotch & Soda filed for bankruptcy in the Netherlands, followed by its European and German divisions in 2024.
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.
