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)
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