A walk through your local mall just isn’t what it used to be.
If you’ve gone to one lately, you may have noticed that things feel deserted. There’s lots of stores you don’t recognize that look, frankly, like cheap imitations of the chains we all know.
People still shop, but the days of the super-crowded mall seem to be more or less a thing of the past.
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That’s because a lot of stores have had to shutter over the past few years, whether due to downsizing or bankruptcy.
It was the latter case with fast fashion company Forever 21, which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice before finally completely closing down in May, citing both online shopping and similar competition as its reasons for ceasing to operate.
While neither is gone from malls just yet, both GameStop and Claire’s are struggling to stay afloat.
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Claire’s already filed for bankruptcy once in March 2018 and has since emerged from it, but new reports claim that the chain is considering doing so again, which would likely lead to its extinction after a 64-year run.
GameStop has grappled with the consumer shift to buying games digitally, and in the last decade, has closed more than half of its stores. While it recently unveiled a plan to lean into cryptocurrency investments to save itself, things don’t look good for the retailer.
Another classic brand shows signs of struggle
Now another retailer known for both its celebrity founder and its classic, high-quality clothing may be next to be forced to file for bankruptcy.
That company is Sundance Living, which was founded by actor Robert Redford back in 1989 as a small general store at the base of Sundance Village in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.
Since then, the chain became known for its print catalog as well as featuring high-quality brands such as Frye, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Old Gringo, Quoddy, and Bed-Stu.
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The brand recently celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019 with a sweepstakes to win an all-expense-paid trip for two to the award-winning Sundance Mountain Resort. While Redford sold the Sundance Catalog in 2004, it seemed to still be performing well.
But in the years since, the retail market has taken a turn that’s clearly affected the well-loved brand in a way it can’t recover from.
Sundance announces closing sale
The retailer suddenly announced a closing sale in both its stores and on its website this week, per a report from The Salt Lake Tribune.
The website is advertising discounts up to 80% and features a yellow banner stating “everything must go.”
Subscribers to the company’s email list also got an email stating that the sale applied to all of its brick-and-mortar locations, per the report. The chain has 16 stores in states such as Georgia, Oregon, Connecticut, Ohio, Arizona, and others.
Five of the manufacturers that provide goods for the Sundance Living catalog filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the company earlier this month.
According to court papers, Sundance owes its senior secured creditors about $134.5 million, plus interest and fees.
The court papers also report that Sundance Catalog transferred its assets to Corbin Liquidation LLC on June 25, making the LLC its assignee, and “entered into a general assignment for the benefit of creditors.”
Attorneys working on the case wrote in a document filed Tuesday that the company’s decision to take this step came after “an extended period of economic distress and unsuccessful attempts to obtain additional financing or a purchaser of its business as a going concern.”