After Chapter 11 bankruptcy, iconic retail chain has 8 stores left
Only a handful of stores remain of a chain that once dominated American retail.
It's a pretty challenging time to be a consumer in the U.S.
Over the years, the way we've shopped has transformed.
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The beginning of the 2020s was marked by the rise of Covid, which shuttered many of our favorite stores and forced us to stay at home.
But we still needed to procure key consumer goods and staples. So we shifted our shopping habits online, broadly speaking, and retailers adjusted. Suddenly, almost everything we needed, from groceries to formalwear, became widely available online.
And while the pandemic has ebbed, our shopping habits have stayed the same since the onset of the pandemic. Many of us still prefer to shop online, which saves time and, often enough, money. Shutterstock
Shopping habits changed and some retailers struggle
Since many of us now prefer to shop differently, many legacy retailers that once enjoyed supremacy prior to the 2020s are struggling.
Many of these retailers are located within indoor shopping malls.
Shopping malls, which once represented the pinnacle of the U.S. shopping experience, have been largely traded out as the American consumer prefers to shop differently now.
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In many cases shoppers are finding better deals at outlet malls. Or they're visiting discount retailers like Ross or TJ Maxx, which typically are located more conveniently to many suburban areas and offer deep discounts on brand names.
And, yes, many of us are shopping online.
In 2017, for example, an estimated 10% of all worldwide sales were made online. That figure is estimated to rise to 25% this year.
Top mall retailer has only a few stores left
One retailer that has been hurt by these changing consumer habits is Sears.
The once iconic mall retailer, which used to sell everything from clothing to furniture, anchored many malls nationwide.
But it's fallen out of favor as fewer of us visit malls regularly. And it's been largely outdone by other retailers with pricing power, like Costco, or a convenience factor, like Amazon.
Now, Sears has just eight locations left after closing hundreds of stores in the past several years. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018; at the time it had about 700 stores remianing.
The remaining locations are:
- Burbank, Calif.
- Concord, Calif.
- Whittier, Calif.
- Miami
- Orlando, Fla.
- Braintree, Mass.
- El Paso, Texas
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
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