AS-001 · 2018
Department store · USA
Sears — The Amazon of 1893, Strip-Mined by Its Own Hedge Fund
Walmart/Amazon + Lampert · Bankrupt
AS-002 · 2022
Discount store · USA
Kmart — The Blue Light Pioneer That Was Merged, Then Starved
Walmart/Target + neglect · Shuttered
AS-003 · 1997
Variety store · USA
Woolworth — The Original Five-and-Dime, Outrun by the Discounters It Inspired
discount stores + malls · Shuttered
AS-004 · 2001
Department store · USA
Montgomery Ward — The First Mail-Order Giant, Too Slow for the Discount Age
failed to adapt · Liquidated
AS-005 · 2008
Department store · USA
Mervyn’s — The Chain Sold Its Stores, Then Couldn’t Make Rent
LBO / real-estate strip · Liquidated
AS-006 · 2002
Catalog showroom · USA
Service Merchandise — The Conveyor-Belt Store That Big-Box Buried
big-box + online · Liquidated
AS-007 · 1990
Department store · USA
Bonwit Teller — The Luxury Name Handed From Owner to Owner Until It Was Gone
decline + ownership churn · Shuttered
AS-008 · 1987
Department store · USA
Gimbels — Macy’s Eternal Rival, Closed When Nobody Could Say Why
failed to modernize · Shuttered
AS-009 · 2001
Discount department store · USA
Bradlees — A New England Discounter Talked Upmarket, Then Out of Business
Walmart/Target + debt · Liquidated
AS-010 · 1999
Discount department store · USA
Caldor — The “Bloomingdale’s of Discounting,” Expanded Into a Grave
overexpansion + Walmart · Liquidated
AS-011 · 2002
Discount department store · USA
Ames — The Small-Town Discounter That Bought Its Way Broke
overexpansion (Hills) + Walmart · Liquidated
AS-012 · 2021
Department store · USA
Lord & Taylor — America’s Oldest Store, Sold to a Rental App
e-commerce + pandemic · Liquidated
AS-013 · 2009
Department store · USA
Gottschalks — The Western Anchor the Credit Freeze Foreclosed
the 2008–09 recession · Liquidated
AS-014 · 2011
Off-price store · USA
Filene’s Basement — The Bargain Pioneer That Outlived Its Parent, Then Died Anyway
debt + off-price competition · Liquidated
AS-015 · 2019
Luxury department store · USA
Barneys New York — The Tastemaker Priced Out of Its Own Address
rent spike + e-commerce · Liquidated