Below is a list of notable defunct retailers of the United States.
Across the United States, a large number of local stores and store chains that started between the 1920s and 1950s have become defunct since the late 1960s, when many chains were either consolidated or liquidated. Some may have been lost due to mergers, while others were affected by a phenomenon of large store closings in the 2010s known as the retail apocalypse.
Al's Auto Supply – Chain that operated in Washington, California, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and Alaska; purchased by CSK Auto. Founded by Abe "Al" Wexler in Everett, Washington in the late 1950s;[1][2] sold 15 store chain to Paccar in 1987;[3] Paccar sold chain (along with Grand Auto) in 1999 to CSK Auto which eventually rebranded stores as Schucks.[4][5][6]
Auto Palace – A New England-based chain that had 112 stores in six states before it was acquired and rebranded by AutoZone in 1998[7][8][9]
Auto Works – Began in Michigan in 1976 by Perry Drug Stores and which grew mostly through acquisitions[10][11] prior to being sold to Northern Automotive in 1988.[12] In turn, Northern became CSK and CSK sold Auto Works to Hahn Automotive in 1993[13] before Hahn finally closed Auto Works in 1997.[14] At its height, there were 252 stores in eight states.
CSK Auto – (CSK = Checker, Schucks, Kragen) based in Phoenix, Arizona with stores nationwide; bought by O'Reilly Auto Parts in 2008[17][18]
Parts America – Sears created the Parts America store concept in 1995 and tried to convert full service Western Auto stores into the parts only Parts America brand until it sold the stores to Advance Auto Parts in 1998.[19][20][21] Upon merger, Parts America stores were rebranded Advance Auto Parts and the website partsamerica.com became a web only store for Advance Auto Parts. With financial backing from Sears, Advance Auto Parts decided to make the partsamerica.com into a portal for web purchasing of auto parts as part of a joint venture with CSK Auto.[22] The website appeared to have been deactivated by 2009.[23]
MC Sports – filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2017
Modell's Sporting Goods – first store opened in 1889. On March 11, 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy, and announced it would close all 115 stores. At the time of the announcement, Modell's was the world's oldest sporting goods chain
Olympia Sports – the company was founded in 1975, and on July 22, 2022, the company filed for bankruptcy and announced it would close all 35 stores by September 30th
Oshman's Sporting Goods – founded in Houston in 1933; acquired by Gart Sports in 2001; most stores rebranded as Sports Authority
Sportmart – merged with Gart Sports in 1998 and closed in 2000
Sports Authority – bankrupt in 2016 and liquidated. Brand was acquired by Dick's Sporting Goods
Sports Unlimited – First store in 1983. In 2008 closed all stores and moved online.
Sportswest – owned by Pay 'n Save and spun off in 1984; acquired by Big 5 Sporting Goods in 1988
Sunny's Surplus – went bankrupt in 2000 but emerged in 2001; filed for bankruptcy again in 2007 and closed most locations; three reopened in late 2007 but shut down again in 2008
Catalog showrooms
Best Products – filed for bankruptcy for the second time in September 1996[33][34] and closed all of its stores by the following February[35][36]
Abby Z. – plus size design label founded by Abby Zeichner in 2004.[45] The Abby Z flagship store opened in SoHo, New York at 57 Greene Street in 2008 and closed in 2009[46] when its parent company filed for bankruptcy.[47]
Anchor Blue – youth-oriented mall chain, founded in 1972 as Miller's Outpost. The brand had 150 stores at its peak, predominantly on the West Coast. Anchor Blue declared bankruptcy in 2009 and shuttered more than 50 stores, and gradually shrank to include stores solely in California. It went bankrupt once more in 2011, with the remaining stores closed before Easter of that year.[48]
Anderson-Little – men's specialty retailer originally associated with a large Massachusetts-based men's clothing manufacturer; also known as Anderson Little-Richman Brothers; owned for many years by F. W. Woolworth Company. Ceased operations in 1998,[49][50][51][52][53][54] revived as a small online retailer in 2008.[49]
Bob’s Stores-Suffered bankruptcy in 2024, closed all stores in July.
County Seat – founded in 1973, the denim-focused mall retailer expanded in the 1980s to nearly 500 stores. It filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and shuttered stores, and another bankruptcy in 1999 put the company out of business.[55]
Cygnet Shops – women's fashion store that closed in 1975
DEB – closed its stores in 2015, and returned later that year as an online-only retailer selling plus-size clothing
Delia's – founded in 1993 as a juniors' clothing catalog, Delia's (stylized as dELiA*s) expanded to more than 100 physical locations before cheaper competitors sent it to bankruptcy in 2014.[56] It was reopened in 2015 as an online retailer, but this was unsuccessful and has been licensed by online fashion company Dolls Kill since 2018.
Disney Store – owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Closed the majority of its retail stores in 2021 mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with merchandise moved online and to department stores such as Target and JCPenney.[57]
Edison Brothers Stores – operator of numerous shoe and clothing chains, including Bakers Shoes, Wild Pair, J. Riggings, Oaktree, Foxmoor and Fashion Conspiracy. Company was liquidated in 1999, though some chains it operated, including Bakers, have survived.
Fashion Bug – plus-size women's clothing retailer that once spanned more than 1000 stores. Parent company Charming Shoppes, which owned other plus-size retailers including Lane Bryant, shuttered the brand in early 2013.
Gadzooks – Founded in 1983 as a T-shirt store, Gadzooks grew to a 250-store mall fashion retailer before making an ill-advised decision to discontinue menswear. The company was purchased by competitor Forever 21 out of bankruptcy in 2005, with its stores either closed or converted to F21 formats.
Gantos – a women's specialty clothing retailer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In late 1993, the company announced bankruptcy reorganization, closing 50 stores between 1993 and 1994,[58] and the chain announced the liquidation of its remaining 114 stores by the end of the decade, ceasing operations in 2000.[59]
Gottschalks – Founded in 1904, this middle-market regional department store was once the largest independently owned, publicly traded department store in the United States. Bankruptcy claimed the brand in 2009.[60]
Hahn's Shoes (1876–1995) – Washington, D.C. region
Harold's – founded in 1948 in Norman, Oklahoma, and liquidated through bankruptcy in 2008[61]
J. Brannam – a unit of the F. W. Woolworth Company established in 1979 that operated primarily in the southern U.S.;[62] closed in 1985[63]
J. Byrons – Florida-based retailer, sold to Uptons, closed in 1996
Jay Jacobs – Seattle-based clothier; founded in 1941 and closed in 1999
Kids "R" Us – a division of Toys "R" Us, created in 1983 to sell children's and preteen clothing; folded in 2003
Kinney Shoes – manufacturer and retailer established in 1894 and purchased by F.W. Woolworth in 1963
Kleinhans – a men's clothier in Buffalo, New York that operated from 1893 until 1992
Klopfenstein's – a men's clothier in the Seattle-Tacoma area founded in 1918 and in operation until 1992[64]
The Limited – filed for bankruptcy and liquidated in 2017. Its products became available again online after the brand was acquired by Sycamore Properties.
Margo's LaMode – Dallas-based women's clothing store that closed in 1996 after corporate parent underwent bankruptcy reorganization
Martin + Osa – Established in 2006 as the more mature counterpart to American Eagle Outfitters, the chain grew to 28 stores before millions in losses forced its parent company to discontinue it. The brand's stores and e-commerce site disappeared in 2010.
Merry-Go-Round – Merry-Go-Round had more than 500 locations during its heyday in the 1980s. It went bankrupt in 1995.[65]
Mervyn's – a California-based regional department store founded in 1949. Mervyn's ill-fated expansion out of West Coast markets in the months before a recession sent the company into bankruptcy in 2008.[66][67]
Payless (footwear retailer) – Filed for bankruptcy twice and closed all stores in Canada and the US in 2019.
Raleigh's – also known as Raleigh Haberdasher; a men's and women's clothing store in Washington, D.C., 1911–1992
Robert Hall – clothing store that existed from 1938 to 1977. At its peak, the store had locations in both New York City and Los Angeles. In addition, the firm invented the big box concept where all non-clothing lines were leased by other retailers.[citation needed]
Rogers Peet – New York City based men's clothing retailer established in late 1874. Among the chain's innovations: Rogers Peet showed actual merchandise in their advertising, advertised fabric types on merchandise, and put price tags on merchandise. The chain went belly-up in 1981.[citation needed]
Roos/Atkins – a San Francisco menswear retailer formed in 1957 and expanded throughout the Bay Area in the 60s. The brand went into decline in the 1980s and ceased operations by 1995.
Ruehl No.925 – concept brand launched by Abercrombie & Fitch in 2004; poor sales and operating losses led to A&F ceasing operations of Ruehl in early 2010
The Sample – Western New York based retailer founded in Buffalo in 1928 when its founder brought a sample set of 48 dresses back from New York City. At its peak, the retailer was noted for its semi-annual clearance known as the Pup Sale. The demise of The Sample was in 1991 following the death of the chain's chairman a year earlier.[citation needed]
Sibley's Shoes – a show retailer founded by Harry Rosenfield in 1920; had locations in Michigan and Ohio and closed in 2003 when the company's executives decided to not save the company[citation needed]
Steve & Barry's – "extreme value" retail clothing chain that operated 276 stores in 39 states.
Sycamore Shops – an Indianapolis-based women's clothing retailer; spun off from L.S. Ayres; was later forced into bankruptcy and liquidated by early 1996[68]
Thom McAn – shoe retailer founded in 1922; had over 1,400 stores at its peak in the 1960s. In 1996, the parent company decided to close all remaining stores, but Thom McAn footwear is available in Kmart stores.[69]
Today's Man – a men's suiting store that began in the 1970s and expanded rapidly in the 1980s and 90s. Overexpansion brought the brand to bankruptcy in 1996.[70]
Warner Brothers Studio Store – Meant to be the WB answer to the rapidly growing Disney Store, the Warner Bros. Studio Stores sold collectibles and apparel based around WB properties including Looney Tunes and DC Comics. The Studio Stores were a victim of the AOL-Time Warner merger, and shuttered operations in 2001.[71]
Yellow Front Stores – Founded in the 1950s as an army surplus store, Yellow Front transitioned to become a camping gear retailer before going bankrupt in 1990.
Brooks Pharmacy – chain of more than 330 pharmacies located throughout New England and New York with corporate headquarters were located in Warwick, Rhode Island; was acquired by Rite Aid in 2007
Circuit City – filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and liquidated on March 8, 2009;[83][84][85] reopened online through Tiger Direct in April 2009; closed again in late December 2012; intellectual property was sold again to Circuit City Corp. in January 2016, which plans to open an online operation and retail stores
CompUSA – on November 2, 2012, it was announced that Systemax would drop both the CompUSA and Circuit City storefront brands; CompUSA was relaunched in 2018 as an online retailer.
Fry's Electronics – Closed permanently in 2021 after 35 years as a result of low sales, and potentially bankruptcy and liquidation due to online competition and the COVID-19 pandemic
Future Shop – Closed in the US 1999. Bought out by Best Buy 2001. March 28, 2015, Best Buy announced the dissolution of the Future Shop brand and the closure of 66 of its locations.
H. H. Gregg, Inc. Went bankrupt and closed in 2017; relaunched as an online retailer in 2017 and opened its first brick and mortar store in 2019 following bankruptcy.
Luskin's – Baltimore, Maryland-based appliance and electronics retailer[94][95]
Mars Music – Founded in 1996, over-expansion, a struggle to raise financial capital and a failed reorganization attempt led to Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2002.
Olson Electronics (currently a redirect that needs expansion) – a nationwide electronics store chain founded in 1927 by brothers Sidney, Philip and Irving Olsen in Akron, Ohio; at one time had more retail locations than Radio Shack; sold to Teledyne in 1968 and rebranded Teledyne Olson Electronics; later sold to 3 Chicago investors in August 1984 who later filed for bankruptcy just 15 months later; filed for bankruptcy in 1985[96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104]
TigerDirect – In 2015, TigerDirect phased out brick-and-mortar retail operations. Online operations continued until March 31, 2023 when parent company Insight officially retired the brand.
Tweeter – Went bankrupt in 2008; original company remains as a shell company.
Art Van Furniture – Founded in 1959 in Warren, MI, and operated over 300 stores and outlets in 7 states. On March 5, 2020, Art Van Furniture announced it would liquidate all of their company owned stores and file for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Barker Bros. – Los Angeles-based furniture store chain which was at one time the largest furniture store chain on the west coast for nearly a century before it filed for bankruptcy in 1992
365 by Whole Foods Market – convert to regular Whole Foods stores in 2019 after Amazon acquired Whole Foods
A&P – also known as The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company; filed for bankruptcy for the second time in July 2015 and closed its last store in November 2015[111]
Chatham Supermarkets – chain headquartered in Southeastern Michigan founded by Royal Supermarkets in the mid-1950s, bankrupt in 1987, acquired by Kroger after defunct
Clemens Markets – suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; acquired by Giant in 2006
Hughes Markets – a Southern California-based supermarket chain that was first acquired by QFC in 1996[114] and then merger into Ralphs the following year when the parent companies of both Hughes and Ralphs were simultaneously acquired by Fred Meyer[115]
Laneco – Eastern Pennsylvania/Western New Jersey; closed in 2001[119]
Loblaws – Northeastern Ohio, Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York. Stores in California sold in 1976.
Market Basket (California) – Former Kroger associated chain that operated in Southern California from 1930 to 1982. Not related to similar named chains in Texas, Louisiana, or New England.
Mars (supermarket) – Maryland grocery chain which operated from 1943 to 2016.
Shopping Bag Food Stores – Southern California chain that was founded in 1930 and later acquired by Vons and then Fazio's before it was rebranded and later sold to Albertsons in 1978
Twin Valu – hypermarket launched by SuperValu (owner of Cub Foods and ShopKo) in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in 1989 and Euclid, Ohio (1990); closed March 1995
Ukrop's – Richmond, Virginia chain acquired by Ahold and converted to Martin's in 2010; notable for pioneering ready-to-eat foods in the 1980s
Blockbuster Video – sold to Dish Network in 2011;[126] all company-owned stores were closed January 12, 2014, but 1 franchise store remains open in Bend, Oregon.[127]
Licorice Pizza – Southern California chain that was started in Long Beach by James Greenwood in 1969,[135] acquired by Record Bar in 1985, acquired by Musicland in 1986,[136] and rebranded Sam Goody.[137] In November 2021, director Paul Thomas Anderson released a movie with the same name loosely based on this chain.
Media Play – closed and dissolved in 2006; a media superstore (books, music, and video) concept created by Musicland in 1992[138][139]
MovieStop (purchased by Hastings Entertainment shortly before bankruptcy)
Music Plus – Southern California-based chain that was acquired by Blockbuster and converted
Musicland – founded in Minneapolis in 1955, acquired by American Can in 1977; Musicland Group acquired Sam Goody in 1978 while keeping brand separate[141] until 1997 when the Musicland Group decided to rebrand all existing Musicland stores as Sam Goody;[142][143] Musicland Group acquired by Best Buy in 2001[144] and eventually sold to Trans World Entertainment
Record World – company also operated The Record Shops at TSS; was purchased by W.H. Smith after declaring bankruptcy in 1992; rebranded The Wall the following year[151][152][153]
Sam Goody – most locations converted to FYE, but two locations continue to operate as Sam Goody
Tower Records – founded in 1960 in Sacramento, California; all retail stores were liquidated in 2006[156] and the name was purchased for use as an online-only retailer
Turtle's Records & Tapes – Atlanta, Georgia based chain with most stores located in Georgia and Florida; acquired by Blockbuster in 1993 and converted[150]
Virgin Megastores – all Megastores in the United States were closed in 2009[157] and the remaining airport stores closed a few years later
Waldenbooks – in 2011 the chain was liquidated after parent Borders filed for bankruptcy in 2011[158]
Wallichs Music City – the largest music retailer on the West Coast during the 1950s and 1960s; founded by Glenn Wallich, founder of Capitol Records; had stores in California and briefly in Arizona before it went bankrupt in 1977[159][160][161][162][163][164]
Disney Store – The Disney Store closed by the end of January 19, 2022 as the retail moves to Target stores.[177]
F.A.O. Schwarz – sold to Toys 'R Us after bankruptcy in 2009; all stores closed except original NYC flagship store, which closed in 2015.[178] The chain was bought out by ThreeSixty group and opened two new locations in Rockefeller Center, and LaGuardia airport, with plans to open up to 30 more in the future.
KB Toys – liquidated February 9, 2009, which closed all of the remaining stores;[179] sold to Toys "R" Us and then to Strategic Marks, LLC; although it planned to reopen stores in 2019, this never happened due to a lack of funding.
Toys "R" Us – liquidated most stores in 2018; still active in Canada and other countries. The company was bought and reformed by its lenders as a brand owned by TRU Kids. On November 27, 2019, Toys "R" Us re-entered the American market with a retail store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. On December 7, 2019, a second location was opened at The Galleria in Houston, Texas. Both stores were permanently closed in early 2021. A new stand alone location was later opened in the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. On August 19, 2021, Macy's bought Toys "R" Us and announced they will be opening store-within-a-store locations in 400 Macy's locations.
GEM – initially called Government Employees Mutual Stores, and later Government Employees Mart before settling on G. E. M. Membership Department Stores, a profit-making company that was aimed at the governmental employees market; first store was opened in Denver in 1956;[190] after several expansions, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1974[191]
Gemco – acquired by Lucky Stores in 1961;[192] closed in 1986 and the vacant buildings sold to Target;[193] known as Memco in the Chicago and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas
^"Mergers & acquisitions dominate, liquidations follow close behind". Discount Store News. Vol. 36, no. 13. July 7, 1997. pp. 66–68. ProQuest228399546. Witmark, a cataloger out of Grand Rapids, Mich., closed its last 10 showrooms.
^Bohman, Jim (December 12, 1995). "Sycamore Closing All 126 Stores – 9 Area Workers to Lose Jobs". Dayton Daily News. p. 7B. Sycamore Stores Inc., an Indianapolis-based retail chain, will close its 126 stores in the next few weeks, including two in the Dayton area. The chain of women's apparel stores filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Friday as a prelude to liquidation. The company will lay off nearly 650 employees within 10 weeks. About 50 of the shops are in Indiana. Other stores are in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.
^"Tandy Corp. Acquires Allied Radio, Chicago, From LTV Subsidiary: LTV Ling Altec Sells Business And Certain of Unit's Assets; Purchase Valued at $30 Million". The Wall Street Journal. April 15, 1970. p. 9. ProQuest133529692.
^Goldstein, Patrick (March 29, 1987). "Pop Eye". Los Angeles Times. And a fond farewell to Licorice Pizza, the popular Southland music and video stores which will undergo a name change at the end of the month as part of a corporate consolidation by new parent company, Musicland Group, Minneapolis. The chain has renamed its 35 area Licorice Pizza stores, which will now be called Sam Goody Music & Video.
^"Musicland Stores Corporation 1992 earnings up 205 percent". PR Newswire (Press release). January 19, 1993. ProQuest450085860.
^"National Record Mart Begins Going Out of Business Sales On November 23 At 113 Stores". Business Wire (Press release). November 21, 2001. p. 1. ProQuest445609416.
^"New Discount Setup For Government Help Is Opened in Denver". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 92, no. 114. June 12, 1956. p. 16. ProQuest1565279631. G.E.M., Government Employees Mutual, Denver's first large discount house, carrying both hard and soft lines opened here at 5200 Smith Road. Shopping at the new firm will be restricted to city, county, State and Federal employees and military personnel.
^Levy, Claudia (January 15, 1974). "7 Stores Of G.E.M. To Close: 1 in Richmond Also Included In Decision". The Washington Post. p. D7. ProQuest146251088. The parent Parkview-Gem, Inc., of Kansas City, Mo., is being reorganized under a section of the Bankruptcy Act. The nationwide discount chain has incurred loses for several years, and has closed 35 stores during the past year.
^Uzelac, Ellen (February 1, 1985). "Warehouse chain to open 8 PACE outlets in region". Baltimore Sun. p. 9B. ProQuest533457248. PACE opened its first warehouse in Denver in 1983 and added five others in Atlanta, Denver, Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., last fall.
^"PACE's Growth Strategies". Discount Merchandiser. Vol. 25, no. 1. January 1985. p. 72. ProQuest212703217. PACE Membership Warehouse (Denver, Colorado) opened its first warehouse club in the summer of 1983, and by the end of last year, 6 PACE units had opened.
