2020 was the worst year for bankruptcies in a decade, when the aftermath of the financial crisis tanked Blockbuster and Hummer. As of September, upwards of 80 companies had already filed for Chapter 11 as a result of the pandemic and its impact on our erratic, cash-strapped shopping habits and the global supply chain. Sectors like retail, restaurants, entertainment, real estate gas and oil were hit harder than most. Around 35 of those were major chains with over 25 locations. Few of these companies have completely shuttered (though several, like Pier 1 Imports and Stein Mart, have) but many sold to new owners, restructured their businesses and closed hundreds or even thousands of stores.
The carnage slowed but didn’t stop in the fourth quarter and the beginnings of 2021. Most of the financially rocky and hardest hit companies had already gone under. But over ten new companies have joined the bankruptcy list since Labor Day.
Here are all the companies that have gone bankrupt since the pandemic began.
2021
1. Paper Source
People didn’t send many cards in 2020. The greeting cards, stationary and paper goods company filed for Chapter 11 on March 2, after a year of plummeting sales. Greeting card sales were declining before the pandemic hit, around 3% a year. Drug and grocery stores have been shrinking their greeting card sections, as people use text and email to catch up instead. The Zoom boom was the last straw for a retailer like Paper Source, which has around $100 million in debt. The store is selling itself to lenders, closing a dozen of its 160 stores and working to pay off its 2021 orders from suppliers.
2. Belk
Department store Belk exited their bankruptcy just 24 hours after filing on February 24. The chain’s lenders approved its restructuring agreement, allowing it to shed $450 million of the debt that’s become endemic to old school retailers, and including $225 million in new capital. Remarkably, the plan will keep the company’s 291 store footprint across the southeast completely intact.
3. Country Fresh
Eventually, retailers' struggles made their way down to the suppliers. Country Fresh, a Houston-based company that supplies ready-made meals, salads, soups and snacks to grocery and convenience stores, filed for Chapter 11 on February 16. Executives chalked it up to “pandemic-related supply chain and business disruptions.” Most of the company’s debt came from packaging, logistics, shipping and marketing contracts.
4. Knotel
In March of 2020, Knotel, a WeWork competitor that designs and runs bespoke workspaces, had a valuation of $1.6 billion. Falling revenue as a result of the pandemic was made even worse by multiple lawsuits from landlords who accused Knotel of breaking profit-sharing agreements. They furloughed or laid off 50% of their employees over the course of the year, before filing for bankruptcy on February 5 and agreeing to sell its assets to a real estate brokerage firm for a mere 70 million.
5. Alamo Drafthouse
Movie theaters struggled for obvious reasons over the past year. While AMC miraculously shed debt thanks to its brief tenure as a popular Reddit meme “stonk” and secured new funding, dine-in theatre chain popular with movie nerds Alamo Drafthouse hasn’t been so lucky. Although many states have reopened theaters, the Texas-based chain filed for bankruptcy on March 3, announcing plans to be purchased by Altamont Capital Partners. The theatre continue business as usual under new owners but will close the least profitable of its 40 locations.
6. Loves Furniture
Loves Furniture was only a year old when it filed for bankruptcy on January 11, having been created in 2019 to take over the stores vacated by Art Van Furniture after their bankruptcy and liquidation. With too much furniture on hand and not enough cash, the Northeast furniture retailer will be restructuring, liquidating some inventory and shuttering all but 12 stores.
7. L’Occitane
Beauty fared well overall during the pandemic, especially skin and self-care products. But while L’Occitane, the French skincare maker’s e-commerce sales did rise 72% in the last three quarters of 2020, it wasn’t enough to keep sales up overall, which dropped 9% total in the same period. With the company's fleet of high-rent locations, bankruptcy was inevitable. The brand’s American arm filed for Chapter 11 on January 27, thanks to unpaid rent and “burdensome lease obligations.” The company is restructuring and shuttering 23 of their 166 American stores.
8. Christopher & Banks
Women’s formal and professional wear was a bad business to be in in 2020. After Ascena’s mall-core trove of women’s fashion sent them into bankruptcy, it wasn’t a huge surprise when Christoper & Banks followed. After defaulting on various payments in January, the Minnesota-based brand filed for bankruptcy on January 14, with plans to wind down its brick and mortar fleet and sell off its e-commerce shop to run as a digital-only brand. This was a winning strategy: the company exited bankruptcy last week after Hilco Merchant Resources bought its online brand. With nearly 450 stores, the bankruptcy put hundreds of retail workers out of a job.
9. Cici's
The delivery food boom had consequences. Buffet restaurants like Cici's, famous for its $5 all-you-can-eat selection of pizza including a mac and cheese pizza and dessert pizza, don’t translate well to takeout dining. The chain filed for bankruptcy on January 26, to sell itself, along with its $82 million in debt to D&G Investors. Cici's had been trying to adapt in recent years, scaling down its store count and turning restaurants over to a franchise model — last year there were only 318 stores, down from a peak of 650. Cici's emerged from fillings last week with new owners who purchased it from D&G, and for now, will continue to operate business as usual.
10. Solstice
Solstice, the second largest sunglasses retailer in the U.S. filed for Chapter 11 on February 18 after 2020 sales dropped 50%, thanks to shuttered stores. The mall favorite accessories chain will reorganize with hopes of making its 66 stores and e-commerce business more profitable.
11. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative
The pandemic has been rough for the energy sector, but it was Texas’ devastating storm that sent Brazos Electric, the largest and oldest power non-profit co-op in Texas which provides wholesale electricity for to 16 other distributors. Texans that kept power during the storms were met with massive bills. So was Brazos. “This action... was necessary to protect its member cooperatives and their more than 1.5 million retail members from unaffordable electric bills as we continue to provide electric service throughout the court-supervised process,” said Clifton Karnei, executive VP.
2020
- Francesca’s
- Guitar Center
- Furniture Factory Outlet
- True Religion
- Stein Mart
- Tailored Brands (Jos A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse)
- Sur La Table
- Century 21
- Lord & Taylor
- Lucky Brand
- Brooks Brothers
- Ascena Retail Group (Loft, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant)
- Muji
- Pier 1 Imports
- Cirque Du Soleil
- GNC
- Maison Kayser
- Le Pain Quotidien
- JC Penney
- Neiman Marcus
- Hertz
- Dean & Deluca
- J. Crew
- ALDO
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Modell’s Sporting Goods
- G-Star Raw
- Apex Parks
- FoodFirst Global Holdings (Bravo Cucina Italiano and Brio Tuscan Grille)
- CMX Cinemas
- Gold’s Gym
- Rubie’s Costume COmpany
- Sage Stores (Bealls, Goody’s Palais Royal, Peebles, Gordmans, Stag Parent)
- Tuesday Morning
- Hour Fitness
- CEC Entertainment (Chuck E. Cheese)
- RTW Retailwinds (New York & Company)
- Town Sports International (New York Sports Club, Boston Sports Club)
- Advantage Rent A Car
- Aeromexico
- Art Van Furniture
- Avianca
- Bar Louis
- Mood Media
- NPC International
- BJ Services
- Bluestem Brands
- Borden Dairy
- Briggs & Stratton
- Centric Brands (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein)
- Chesapeake Energy
- CraftWorks
- DavidsTea
- Earth Fare
- Fairway Market
- McDermott International
- Figs & Olive
- Helios and Matheson
- J. Hilburn
- Krystal
- Cosi
- Latam Airlines
- Libbey
- Lucky’s Market
- Maines Paper & Food Store
- Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
- McClatchy
- Nygard Entities
- Old Time Pottery
- One Web
- The Paper Store
- Peterson-Dean
- Pyxus International
- Quorum Health
- Remington Outdoor Company
- entPath
- Skillsoft
- Speedcast International
- Techniplas
- Vision Group Holdings
- Worldstrides
- Sizzler
- Remington Outdoor Company
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
