Factbox-Biggest US retail collapses in recent years as Saks Global files for bankruptcy

Jan 14 (Reuters) – Saks Global filed for bankruptcy late on Tuesday, adding to a long list of high-profile retail collapses in the United States in the past decade as they struggled to stay alive amid cut-throat competition from big-box and online retailers.

Saks Global is a conglomerate of department stores created after then parent, Hudson’s Bay, acquired rival Neiman Marcus in 2024. Saks Global owns luxury chains Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Listed below are some of the biggest bankruptcies among American department stores:

Company Filing date Details

The high-end

Saks Global January 2026 department store

conglomerate

filed for

bankruptcy protection,

marking one of the biggest

retail collapses since the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord & August 2020 The storied department store

Taylor chain filed for Chapter 11

bankruptcy during the

coronavirus outbreak.

Neiman May 2020 The luxury department store

Marcus chain filed for bankruptcy

protection and completed its

Chapter 11 process in

September that year.

J.C. Penney May 2020 The department store chain

filed for bankruptcy

protection.

In December 2020, the

company said its retail and

operating assets would exit

Chapter 11 after two of its

biggest landlords, Simon

Property Group and

Brookfield Asset Management,

acquired nearly all such

assets.

Barneys New August 2019 The New York retail icon

York filed for bankruptcy

protection and put itself up

for sale.

A bankruptcy judge approved

the sale of Barneys’ brands

and other intellectual

property to licensing firm

Authentic Brands, and the

deal closed in November that

year.

Sears October 2018 The parent of Sears, Roebuck

Holdings and Co and Kmart Corp filed

for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

following a decade of

revenue declines, hundreds

of store closures.

The company’s chairman,

Eddie Lampert, prevailed in

a bankruptcy auction for the

store chain in January 2019,

with an improved takeover

bid of roughly $5.2 billion,

allowing the retailer to

keep its doors open.

Here are some of the other big American retailers that also faced bankruptcy in recent years:

Company Filing date Details

Claire’s August 2025 The fashion jewelry

Stores retailer filed for

bankruptcy protection for

the second time, with a

plan to close hundreds of

stores and find a buyer

for about 800 remaining

locations.

Rite Aid May 2025 The pharmacy retailer

filed for bankruptcy for

the second time in less

than two years after a

previous restructuring

reduced its debt but

failed to address its

long-term business

challenges.

Joann January The craft retailer filed

Fabrics 2025 for Chapter 11 protection

in Delaware on Wednesday,

saying that inventory

shortages had forced it to

back into bankruptcy for

the second time in less

than a year.

Party City December The retailer, which had

Holdco 2024 been struggling since the

pandemic, filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy

protection in the United

States for the second time

in two years.

Lugano November The jeweler filed for

Diamonds 2025 Chapter 11 to facilitate a

sale of the business.

The company reached an

agreement with investment

firm Enhanced Retail

Funding to become a

stalking horse bidder,

while it seeks additional

bids amid the

court-supervised sale

process

Bed Bath & April 2023 The home goods retailer

Beyond filed for bankruptcy

protection after it failed

to secure funds to stay

afloat.

Christmas May 2023 The home-decor retailer

Tree Shops that was spun off from Bed

Bath & Beyond in 2020

filed for bankruptcy

protection.

A U.S. judge in August

2023 converted the

bankruptcy to a Chapter 7

liquidation.

Tailored August 2020 The Men’s Wearhouse owner

Brands filed for bankruptcy

following the economic

fallout from the COVID-19

crisis. In December 2020,

Tailored Brands emerged

from bankruptcy

protection.

Ascena July 2020 The owner of Ann Taylor

Retail and Lane Bryant filed for

Group Chapter 11 protection,

succumbing to the economic

fallout of the pandemic.

Brooks July 2020 The men’s apparel brand

Brothers filed for Chapter 11 as

the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 200-year-old firm was

acquired by Authentic

Brands Group and Simon

Property Group for $325

million in August 2020.

J.Crew May 2020 The apparel chain filed

Group for bankruptcy protection

with an agreement to

eliminate $1.65 billion of

debt in exchange for

ceding ownership to

lenders.

Forever 21 September The fast-fashion retailer

2019 filed for bankruptcy as

the rise of competition

from online sellers and

the changing fashion

trends dictated by

millennial shoppers pulled

down sales.

The retailer’s U.S.

operating company filed

for second bankruptcy in

March 2025 and said it

would wind down its

domestic operations.

Nine West April 2018 The footwear and apparel

Holdings company emerged from

bankruptcy process a year

after it filed Chapter 11,

reducing its

pre-bankruptcy debt

obligations by more than

$1 billion and selling its

Nine West and Bandolino

footwear and handbag

businesses to Authentic

Brands Group for $340

million.

Toys ‘R’ Us Sep 2017 The then-largest U.S. toy

store chain and owner of

Babies “R” Us filed for

bankruptcy protection in

late 2017, straining under

a $2.5 billion debt pile.

At the time, its

bankruptcy was the biggest

collapse of a U.S.

retailer by assets since

Kmart in 2002.

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Janane Venkatraman)