Retail has been hit hard by coronavirus, with thousands of stores closing across the country.
Plenty of national chains have filed for bankruptcy and held massive liquidation sales. While some of these companies have called it quits, others are reemerging as online retailers.
At a time when online shopping is at an all-time high, a number of brands are trying to find new life via e-commerce.
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Radio Shack
The home electronics giant of the ā80s and ā90s disappeared from the retail landscape in 2015, but in 2020, Retail Ecommerce Ventures, LLC purchased them and relaunched the Radio Shack website during Black Friday.
RadioShackās beloved store brands have returned (online-only), including Enercell batteries and Powerhorn speakers.
RELATED: RadioShack Is Making a Comeback in Time for Black Friday
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Payless
The shoe chain closed up shop in 2019, but theyāre back after bankruptcy ā with an all-new Payless.com.
They donāt have any physical stores at the moment, but theyāre planning to open up to 500 new stores over the next few years.
RELATED: Payless Is Back and Planning to Open New Shoe Stores
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Pier 1
Pier 1ās liquidation sales arenāt even over yet, but the home furnishings companyās new owners have indicated that the brandās future is in e-commerce. The new Pier1.com opened on Sept. 1, 2020.
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ToysāRāUs
The once-mighty toy store has gone from seller to curator, and their toysrus.com website presents a collection of featured products, linked to Amazon.
Theyāre still hoping for a brick-and-mortar revival at some point, though.
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Barneys New York
The luxury department store closed all 22 of their stores when they filed for bankruptcy in 2019, but theyāve reemerged as a store-within-a-store at Saks Fifth Avenue (their former rivals).
Not only is Barneys included in the Saks flagship store in New York City, but Barneys at Saks is represented on the Saks website.
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Linens ā n Things
Linens ān Things had nearly 600 stores before debt and bankruptcy shut all stores. Retail Ecommerce Ventures, LLC bought them in 2020 and relaunched the brand as an online-only retailer at LNT.com.
Theyāre selling decor, linens, pillows & cushions, lighting & candles, kitchen, outdoor, holidays and dining & entertainment goods.
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Modellās Sporting Goods
Another casualty of 2020, 130-year-old regional chain Modellās Sporting Goods went out of business and closed all stores before being purchased out of bankruptcy by Retail Ecommerce Ventures, LLC.
Although the chainās 150 stores wonāt return, Modells.com is back up and running, selling Nike, Adidas, Converse and more.
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DressBarn
They closed all of their locations in 2019, but DressBarn has continued on as a successful online-only retailer (with plenty of discounts) as of January 2020.
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Gymboree
The childrenās brand went bankrupt in early 2019 and was bought by competitor The Childrenās Place. They relaunched Gymboree as a successful online retailer with some branded displays inside TCP stores.
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Justice
Tween-focused apparel retailer Justice closed all of their stores this year, and owner Ascena sold them to Retail Ecommerce Ventures, LLC. ShopJustice.com was open for months after the sale, but as of January 2021 the site was āunder constructionā for a ānew chapterā as an online-only brand.
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American Apparel
When Gildan Activewear bought them in 2017, they closed all 110 U.S. stores, and now American Apparel operates exclusively online ā pointing all sales of their tops, shirts/tanks, skirts/shorts, and jeans/pants/leggings to their marketplace within Amazon.
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Bose
Even before COVID, Bose ā the maker of headphones and audio products ā decided to close down all of their physical stores, instead focusing on their growing e-commerce operations.
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Catherineās
As Ascena Retail Group closes all of the brick-and-mortar Catherineās plus-size womenās stores, the Catherineās website remains open. However, that could change, as the retailer is looking for a buyer.
RELATED: Ann Taylor & LOFTās Parent Company Has Filed Bankruptcy
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New York & Company
New York & Company liquidated as part of their bankruptcy filing this year, but their website will remain open. Sunrise Brands LLC just bought the department storeās e-commerce operations and plans to keep nyandcompany.com running. Physical stores are done, however.
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IZOD & Van Heusen
IZOD & Van Heusenās parent company will be closing all of these brandsā retail outlets, or converting them into Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger stores.
The IZOD & Van Heusen brands ā which are sold in many retail stores worldwide ā arenāt going anywhere, and so expect the IZOD/Van Heusen websites (which are currently interchangeable) to keep chugging along after the physical stores shut down.
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These stores are shifting to being āmostly onlineā retailers
Theyāve closed most of their stores, but not all of them. Still, these chains are now putting more emphasis on their e-commerce operations:
- Brooks Brothers
- Charlotte Russe
- Charming Charlie
- The Childrenās Place
- GameStop
- Joseph A. Bank
- Kmart
- Lane Bryant
- Lou & Grey (absorbed by LOFT)
- Menās Wearhouse
- Rue21
- Sears
- Sur La Table
- Tuesday Morning
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