With lockdowns devastating retail and eating places — a lot of which that had been already in deep bother, dozens declared bankruptcy this yr.
Papyrus: The mall staple finest identified for promoting stationery and upscale greeting playing cards
went out of enterprise, ensuing in the closure of greater than 250 shops throughout the US and Canada. Papyrus blamed an overexpansion of shops, the downturn in brick-and-mortar buying and its incapacity to recuperate absolutely from the 2008 monetary disaster.
Bar Louie: It was
final name for about half of the 90 US areas of the informal restaurant chain, which is finest identified for its completely happy hour offers. The chain filed for Chapter 11 and got here to an settlement with its lenders to buy the chain via a bankruptcy sale.
Krystal: In its bankruptcy submitting, the
88-year-old quick meals chain blamed a number of contributing elements together with elevated competitors, shifting client tastes and the rise of on-line supply platforms. Krystal emerged from bankruptcy in May.
February
Pier 1 Imports: The
residence items retailer filed for bankruptcy, following years of decline due to on-line competitors and big-box chains. Pier 1, which as soon as had greater than 1,000 areas,
in the end closed all of its areas. In July, the model title was
bought by an funding agency and will relaunch it as an online-only retailer.
March
Modell’s Sporting Goods: The family-owned chain based in 1889, was identified finest for promoting native groups’ jerseys and gear for youth leagues. The
bankruptcy resulted in everlasting closure all of its 153 shops, primarily in the northeast. The identical firm that purchased Pier 1 additionally purchased Modell’s model title in August for a web-based retailer.
April
True Religion: Temporary retailer closures and the work-from-home development took its toll on the denim retailer. True Religion emerged from bankruptcy in October, and it managed to slashed its debt however closed dozens of areas.
May
J.Crew Group: The
preppy retailer, which operates the J.Crew and Madewell manufacturers, grew to become the primary nationwide US retailer to file for bankruptcy safety because the pandemic compelled a wave of momentary retailer closures. It exited bankruptcy in September with a smaller debt load and named a brand new CEO — its third in three years — in November.
Neiman Marcus: The
113-year-old upscale division retailer was hit particularly arduous by the nation working from residence. It emerged from bankruptcy in September with billions of {dollars} much less in debt and 5 fewer shops, together with its flashy Hudson Yards shops that opened in New York City in 2019.
JCPenney: The
pandemic was the ultimate blow to a 119-year-old firm struggling to beat a decade of unhealthy selections, govt instability and damaging market developments. JCPenney
shuttered a couple of third of its shops. The
firm was rescued in December by mall house owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, which purchased JCPenney out of bankruptcy.
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes: Covid-19 was a
brutal blow for all-you-can-eat buffets, particularly for this restaurant chain. It introduced the closure of all of its 97 US eating places and liquidated its property.
Tuesday Morning: Another
low cost residence items retailer filed for bankruptcy in the spring, saying that the extended retailer closures induced an “insurmountable financial hurdle.” The Dallas-based chain completely closed roughly 230 of its practically 700 US shops in cities the place “too many locations are in close proximity.”
June
GNC: The
85-year-old vitamin and dietary complement firm closed about 1,200 shops as a part of its bankruptcy. GNC has has been saddled with practically $1 billion of debt and has confronted declining gross sales at its brick-and-mortar areas since earlier than the pandemic. It’s in the method of promoting itself to a Chinese pharmaceutical firm.
CEC Entertainment: Prolonged closures and stay-at-home orders was significantly
damaging to Chuck E. Cheese’s father or mother firm. CEC, which additionally owns Peter Piper Pizza, is utilizing Chapter 11 safety to “achieve a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring that supports its re-opening and longer-term strategic plans.”
July
NPC International: The title of this large franchisee won’t sound acquainted, however the shops it operates definitely have title recognition: 1,200 Pizza Hut and 400 Wendy’s eating places all through the United States. The firm blamed its debt load of practically $1 billion in addition to
rising labor and meals prices for the bankruptcy. Weeks later, NPC introduced that as much as
300 of its Pizza Hut areas will shut.
Brooks Brothers: The 200-year-old menswear retailer, which has dressed 40 US presidents and unofficially grew to become the clothing store of Wall Street bankers,
filed for bankruptcy. The privately held firm had been struggling as enterprise apparel grew extra informal in latest years and was particularly broken by the pandemic, which despatched demand for fits plummeting. The model was purchased in September by Simon Property Group.
Sur La Table: The
50-year-old purveyor of upscale kitchenware filed for bankruptcy, ensuing in the closure of roughly half of its 120 US shops. Sur La Table was offered for $90 million August to an funding agency.
Muji USA: The US arm of the
Japanese retailer entered bankruptcy and closed a “small number” of its areas. Muji is utilizing the method to emerge with a renewed deal with on-line gross sales.
Lucky Brand: The once-trendy denim firm filed for bankruptcy, explaining in a launch that the pandemic has “severely impacted sales across all channels.” Lucky Brand will instantly shut 13 of its roughly 200 shops in North America, that are principally in malls. It offered itself to SPARC Group, the proprietor of Nautica and Aéropostale, in August.
RTW Retailwinds: The proprietor of ladies’s retailer New York & Co.
filed in mid-July. RTW Retailwinds, which has practically 400 shops and 5,000 staff, closed tons of of its areas. It blamed its collapse on the “challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the pandemic” that has induced “significant financial distress.”
Ascena Retail Group: The
proprietor of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and different ladies’s clothng shops additionally filed for bankruptcy. Ascena, which was in deep monetary bother even earlier than the pandemic, closed tons of of its shops together with all of its roughly 300 Catherines areas. It’s presently in the method of promoting itself to a personal fairness agency.
California Pizza Kitchen: The
35-year-old pizza chain filed for bankruptcy due to restrictions on indoor eating in a number of US states. It used the method to cut back its debt and closed a number of unprofitable areas. CPK exited bankruptcy in mid-November.
August
Lord & Taylor: The
once-snazzy upscale retailer filed for bankruptcy only a yr after it was purchased for $75 million. Hopes of protecting a few of its shops rapidly collapsed with the model saying a month later it was
shutting all of them down, ending a virtually 200-year run.
Tailored Brands: The model,
which owns Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, filed for bankruptcy to chop down its debt. The submitting adopted a earlier announcement that it was closing a 3rd of its shops and chopping 20% of company positions. Tailored emerged from bankruptcy with a lighter debt load in December.
Stein Mart: The
third main low cost retailer filed for bankruptcy and closed its 300 US shops. The 112-year-old firm blamed its failure on altering client habits and the pandemic, each of which “have caused significant financial distress on our business,” its CEO stated. The model
was purchased by an funding agency in December with plans to relaunch on-line.
September
Century 21: Beloved by New Yorkers, the
division retailer chain shuttered its 13 areas ending a 60-year-old run. The firm blamed the shortage of fee on its enterprise interruption insurance coverage as the reason for its demise.
Sizzler USA: The restaurant chain, which was one of many
nation’s first informal restaurant chains, filed for bankruptcy due to Covid-19 lockdowns that compelled it to quickly shut its eating places’ eating rooms. The 62-year-old firm stated that it is utilizing the bankruptcy course of to cut back debt and renegotiate its leases.
October
Ruby Tuesday: Another
informal eating chain blamed the pandemic for its bankruptcy.
Ruby Tuesday stated it is utilizing the method to cut back its debt and function as usually as potential. The privately held chain has closed roughly 200 areas inside the previous few years, with about 300 remaining globally.
November
Friendly’s: The
East Coast diner chain finest identified for its “Fribble” milkshakes and sandwiches, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in lower than a decade. It intends to “sell substantially all of its assets” to a personal hedge fund firm that owns different quick-service eating places, together with Red Mango and Souper Salad. Friendly’s has about 130 areas left, down from the 400 it operated a couple of decade in the past.
Guitar Center: The
61-year-old firm, the largest musical instrument retailer in the United States, had tried to remain afloat throughout the pandemic by providing digital music classes, however in the end filed for bankruptcy. Stores like Guitar Center rely upon folks making discretionary purchases have been among the many worst-hit retailers this yr.
December
Francesca’s: Malls had been dealt one other blow with the bankruptcy of this lady’s boutique. Francesca’s is closing a couple of quarter of its 700 shops, and it is utilizing the bankruptcy to acquire new financing and a potential sale.