Retail store closures in the United States - statistics & facts
The retail trade industry in the United States is no stranger to companies going bankrupt and store branches closing permanently, resulting in mass reductions in retail employment. In fact, following the financial crisis of 2007-2008, U.S. retail saw a record number of bankruptcies and a degree of normalcy came about only after 2010. After a decade of relative stability and progress, the retail industry is once again at the forefront of economic disruption caused by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, with non-essential segments such as department stores and apparel bearing the brunt of containment measures and limited consumer activity. In 2020, the largest two bankruptcies in the industry happened for department store chains JCPenney and Neiman Marcus. Both companies had assets of over 7.5 billion U.S. dollars when they filed for Chapter 11 in mid-2020.
