The following retailers have all either closed or announced plans to close large numbers of retail locations, since 2010, during a time period labelled a "retail apocalypse" by media, accelerated by both the increase in online shopping and then by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] [2]
Kmart, formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department store chain, and an online retailer in the United States and operates six remaining Kmart big-box department stores — 3 in the US Virgin Islands and one each in Kendale Lakes, Florida ; Bridgehampton, New York; and Tamuning, Guam.
Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as a mail ordering catalog company migrating to opening retail locations in 1925, the first in Chicago. In 2005, the company was bought by the management of the American big box discount chain Kmart, which upon completion of the merger, formed Sears Holdings. Through the 1980s, Sears was the largest retailer in the United States. In 2018, it was the 31st-largest. After several years of declining sales, Sears's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018. It announced on January 16, 2019, that it had won its bankruptcy auction, and that a reduced number of 425 stores would remain open, including 223 Sears stores.
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.
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is an American department store chain that operates 659 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.
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids and various others. The company was founded in 1948; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.
Bed Bath & Beyond was an American big-box retail chain specializing in housewares, furniture, and specialty items. Headquartered in Union, New Jersey, the chain operated stores in the United States and Canada, and was once counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes Global 2000. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023 and liquidated all of its remaining stores, with the last closing on July 30, 2023. Following the retail chain's liquidation, its name was adopted by online retailer Overstock.com, which acquired the company's trademarks in a bankruptcy auction. The name is also still used by the chain's former Mexican division, which is now independent.
Big Lots Stores, Inc. is an American discount retail chain headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Eastern Mountain Sports is an outdoor clothing and equipment retailer in the Northeastern United States headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut.
Tuesday Morning Corporation was an American household merchandise discount home goods store headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1974, Tuesday Morning once had over 700 locations across the country and advertised itself as having high quality products at low prices.
Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. It is the third-largest drugstore chain in the United States, with nearly 1,400 stores in 16 U.S. states, primarily on the East and West coasts.
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.
Goody's Family Clothing Inc. was an American chain of department stores, owned and operated by Stage Stores and headquartered in Houston, TX. It specialized in retailing on-trend apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares.
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.
Rego Center is a shopping mall bordered by the Long Island Expressway, Junction Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, 63rd Drive, and 99th Street in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens in New York City.
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.
Z Gallerie is an American chain of home furnishing, art and decor retail stores founded by siblings Joe Zeiden, Mike Zeiden, and Carole Malfatti in Sherman Oaks, California in 1979. The operation began as a small poster shop and started opening combined retail locations in 1982. The retailer was acquired by Brentwood Associates Private Equity V LP in 2014. Karat Home Inc. acquired Z Gallerie on Jan 19, 2024.
Gander Mountain, later known as Gander Outdoors and Gander RV, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, was a retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, and other outdoor recreation products and services.
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.
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.
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(help)Quebec-founded lingerie and underwear retailer La Senza will permanently close about 30 of its 100 Canadian storefronts.