{"id":300989,"date":"2025-11-23T04:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/300989\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T04:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:18:10","slug":"5-major-retailers-that-shutdown-this-year-as-experts-predict-2026-bankrupty-wave-with-at-least-3-chains-in-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/300989\/","title":{"rendered":"5 major retailers that shutdown this year as experts predict 2026 ‘bankrupty wave’ with at least 3 chains in danger"},"content":{"rendered":"

A BANKRUPTCY wave is set to continue into 2026, experts have warned American shoppers. <\/p>\n

This year has been a damaging one for many major companies, as Joann<\/a>, Forever 21 and Bargain Hunt closed all of their US locations. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Money newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Several brands have exited the US this year following bankruptcy filingsCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The outlet Forbes <\/a>recently reported its retail predictions for 2026, and a bankruptcy<\/a> wave has been forecast among speciality retailers.<\/p>\n

It said that the combination of high interest rates and AI disruptions will crate a challenging environment. <\/p>\n

Forbes thinks that three retailers will declare bankruptcy next year, and pointed out Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods and Best Buy<\/a> as ones that need to change their strategies. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s already too late for five retailers, who have faced tough times in 2025. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

POURED OUT<\/p>\n

Bankrupt brewery rescued at last minute as buyer snaps up seven closed locations<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

HATCH A PLAN<\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A wastes no time as it fills gap left by bankrupt chain<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

1. JOANN<\/p>\n

Joann filed for Chapter 11 <\/a>for the second time since March 2024 earlier this year. <\/p>\n

The first bankruptcy saw Joann emerge with a smaller footprint, but the second in May 2025 was the final nail in the coffin.<\/p>\n

Joann closed all of its stores<\/a> in the US after it took on $615 million in debt, with monthly costs of $26 million.<\/p>\n

Since then, chains like Burlington have been sweeping up old Joann locations<\/a> for themselves. <\/p>\n

Burlington bought 45 expiring leases<\/a>, while other chain like Hobby Lobby and Boot Barn took over some expiring\u00a0Joann\u00a0leases, too.<\/p>\n

2. FOREVER 21<\/p>\n

Forever 21 closed all of its stores<\/a> in the US back in May after a bankruptcy filing in March. <\/p>\n

The company searched for a buyer at the time<\/a>, but was unable to find one, as confirmed by Brad Sell, the CFO of F21 OpCo.<\/p>\n

Sell claimed that competition from fast fashion<\/a> brands like Shein<\/a> hurt Forever 21. <\/p>\n

Court<\/a> filings showed that its liabilities were between $1 billion and $10 billion. <\/p>\n

In September, a spokesperson for the parent company of Forever 21, Authentic Brands, told The US Sun that they were in discussions with an operator to bring back Forever 21<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tBRANDS HARD HIT BY BANKRUPTCIES\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMany chains have struggled to adapt to a post-Covid retail landscape, with several companies filing for bankruptcy\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

3. BARGAIN HUNT<\/p>\n

Bargain Hunt filed for Chapter 11 in February<\/a> and closed all of its 92 US stores shortly after. <\/p>\n

Around 300 employees lost their jobs<\/a> as a result of the mass closure.<\/p>\n

There was some confusion at the time over exactly what would close, as Bargain Hunt closed its main distribution center, too. <\/p>\n

This signaled to shoppers that the chain wouldn\u2019t be coming back.<\/p>\n

4. PARTY CITY<\/p>\n

Party City spent the early months of 2025 closing its corporate-owned stores<\/a> in the US. <\/p>\n

At the time, Party City\u2019s CEO Barry Litwin said that the company had done all it could to avoid the outcome. <\/p>\n

The chain had previously filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, and exited in the September, which canceled the nearly $1 billion in debt it had accrued. <\/p>\n

Party City closed more than 80 stores between the end of 2022 and August 2024.<\/p>\n

But the second bankruptcy proved that the party was over, but in October, Party City was bought by New Amscan PC LLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. CLAIRE\u2019S<\/p>\n

Finally, the mall favorite Claire\u2019s filed for bankruptcy over the summer<\/a>, and had all of its 1,300 US location put at risk. <\/p>\n

It came despite valuable deals with Macy\u2019s\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Walmart\u00a0<\/a>in recent years.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

CHILLING TWIST<\/p>\n

Teen suspect was ‘drinking on cruise before step-sister cheerleader’s death’<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

SPEED TRAP?<\/p>\n

New ‘automatic’ $340 speeding fine sparks major u-turn & drivers need take note<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

This saw mini Claire\u2019s opening in 21 Macy\u2019s stores.<\/p>\n

It was sold to a private equity firm that pledged to keep some of the chain\u2019s retail footprint.<\/p>\n

Joann filed for Chapter 11 for the second time since March 2024 earlier this yearCredit: Alamy<\/p>\n

Forever 21 closed all of its stores in the US back in May after a bankruptcy filing in MarchCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

Party City spent the early months of 2025 closing its corporate-owned stores in the USCredit: Getty\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A BANKRUPTCY wave is set to continue into 2026, experts have warned American shoppers. This year has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[19663,45,49,48,46,135130,135131,135132],"class_list":{"0":"post-300989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-bankruptcy","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-joann","14":"tag-money-us","15":"tag-store-closures"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}