Retail bankruptcies may hit a painful high-water mark in 2020. Multiple analysts have noted filings are likely to reach their highest number in a decade. Some weeks during the summer brought multiple filings by major names in the industry.
In a kind of chorus, the cohort of filers have pointed to the tribulations brought by COVID-19 in explaining their predicaments, citing massive revenue drops from store closures, pressure from landlords, and white-hot cash burn.
Many of them, though, entered the year in a vulnerable state and may have filed anyway. Filings have been elevated since 2016, when declines in mall traffic, e-commerce penetration, market share theft by discounters and mass merchants, and a host of other issues began combining to tip into Chapter 11 those retailers with the highest debt levels and worst sales trends.
Source: Retail Dive
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 