These Popular Store Chains Are On The Hook For Bankruptcy In 2025

They're companies you know by name. Perhaps you have fond memories of shopping there for years, or previously relied on them for prescriptions. These popular store chains seemed as though they would be around indefinitely. However, thanks to an ongoing economic downturn and changes in how Americans are shopping, these recognizable brands have been hit especially hard.

According to Fortune, American consumers have entered a "budget shopping era." People across the country are increasingly more choosy about where they shop and how much they spend. If there were ever a time when these troubled national chains needed enthusiastic shoppers, it's certainly now. Retailers once considered mainstays in American shopping culture now face bankruptcy, numerous store closures, and perhaps even the end of their existence. The moves made now may be enough to keep some well-known chains around, but only time will tell which companies can set things right this year. Curious to know which store chains are potentially the hook for bankruptcy in 2025? Here's a list of once-popular retail brands that could be exiting the American market for good, and for reasons that just might surprise you.

For many little girls and young teens, Claire's was practically a rite of passage. The teen fashion brand boasts thousands of stores across the United States and the United Kingdom, offering a wide range of products, from colorful jewelry to flavorful lip gloss. It was also the place to get your ears pierced. But the nostalgia of girlhood soon gave way to a troubling new reality, where Claire's found itself struggling to compete with a wave of new companies vying for the teen girl market. Before long, the wear began to show. In 2018, Claire's filed for bankruptcy. The retailer would do so a second time in August 2025, with CNBC reporting its intention to sell off the majority of its North American operations to the private equity firm Ames Watson. 

Thanks to finding a buyer, Claire's situation isn't as grim as it was in the days following the second bankruptcy filing. The teen jewelry retailer was initially headed into a liquidation process that could have seen as many as 950 stores shuttered by the end of 2025. While 18 locations are still expected to close, Claire's has reportedly paused the complete liquidation of North American stores. It's possible Claire's stores could turn things around under new ownership. But competition for young shoppers remains fierce, and nostalgia might not be enough to overcome ongoing issues.

Big Lots is a well-known box store that sells a wide range of products, from lawn furniture to kitchen appliances. The brand, which was first established in 1967, has developed a reputation for convenient pricing and discounts, which helped it to quickly garner strong support among American shoppers. At its peak, Big Lots had over 1,400 locations. However, competition from Walmart and Amazon, along with rising inflation, caused Big Lots to struggle. The owners would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024. 

According to CBS News, Big Lots was expected to completely liquidate its assets and close all stores by the end of 2025. In January 2025, Variety Wholesalers, Inc. agreed to purchase between 200 and 400 Big Lots locations. Variety Wholesalers shared that it intends to operate some stores under the Big Lots name, but may convert other locations to different brands that it also owns. As USA Today reports, about 600 stores remain available for purchase. The situation with Big Lots remains somewhat volatile, with tens of thousands of jobs hanging in the balance. Though it's possible Big Lots will continue to exist in a diminished capacity, it remains just as likely that the sale and store closures won't be enough to protect Big Lots from closing down for good.

Macy's is an iconic institution, a department store that many Americans associate with its annual Thanksgiving Day parade or even the beloved Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street." While the brand may have once been the place to go for holiday shopping, it's no secret that the retailer has experienced a significant downturn in shopper spending in recent years. In Macy's own words, it was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and forced to restructure.

While Macy's has yet to file for bankruptcy, the department store chain is taking drastic measures to get ahead of financial difficulties. Macy's announced its  "Bold New Chapter" strategy in February 2024, which it hopes will "return the company to sustainable, profitable sales growth." Part of this strategy includes closing upward of 150 underperforming stores over three years. It's expected that 66 stores will close in 2025 alone. The good news is that Macy's is expected to balance out its closures by stepping up investment in the remaining 350 stores. More importantly, Macy's seems to be aware that it cannot afford to fall behind with online shoppers, stepping up its efforts to bridge digital and brick-and-mortar shopping experiences, making it easier for customers to find what they need either online or in person. If this "bold" strategy pays off, Macy's could manage to sidestep bankruptcy-related woes. 

Forever21 was once at the forefront of the "fast fashion" boom. Based in California, the trendy brand was further boosted by a seemingly unstoppable two-prong approach: In-person shopping in malls across America and a popular online store, easily accessible through a downloadable app. But not everything was as promising as it seemed. In 2019, Forever21 surprised brand fans by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While its products were easily accessible online, it wasn't prepared for the stiff competition it experienced from rising stars like SHEIN and Temu. These rivals offered trendy looks for even lower prices and rock-bottom shipping fees. 

Forever21 struggled to keep up. Despite its best hopes to turn things around, the company would file for bankruptcy again in March 2025. In an effort to be transparent with customers, Forever21 posted an open letter on its website about its recent bankruptcy filing and its plans to honor gift cards and store credit through April 2025. That said, it would no longer accept returns or exchanges. Despite Forever21's best efforts to remain positive, a buyer is essential to the brand's survival. Without any significant changes, we may see this once influential fashion brand close its doors forever.

Rite Aid is one of the most popular drug store chains in America, at one time boasting thousands of locations across the country. However, as time passed, it began to fall behind rival chains. In 2017, Walgreens successfully acquired 2,186 Rite Aid locations and over $5.1 billion in related assets. Despite this move, Rite Aid would continue to experience financial woes, including the fallout from a series of lawsuits. Eventually, the drug store chain submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2023. Despite Rite Aid's best hopes to navigate legal issues and an economic downturn, the company would file for bankruptcy again in May 2025. The goal now, per the filing, is "to pursue a sale of its prescriptions, pharmacy and front-end inventory, and other assets." 

Though initially it was expected that only a few hundred stores would shutter to save the brand, Rite Aid now anticipates the closure of more than 1,000 stores or roughly 75% of its locations nationwide. The outlook becomes even more grim as the loss of Rite Aid not only represents the closing of a once popular store chain, but also a destination that many people relied on to get prescriptions filled. Amid the uncertainty of the brand's future, many thousands of customers are scrambling to find a new place to obtain their medicine.

Walgreens is another major drug store retailer that has found itself facing serious financial uncertainty in recent years. This may come as a surprise to those who witnessed the level of dominance that not only allowed it to buy up thousands of Rite Aid locations, but also acquire smaller brands. For instance, Walgreens acquired the Delaware-based Happy Harry's chain in 2006, converting dozens of stores soon after. Thanks to its aggressive expansion, Walgreens was briefly America's largest drug store chain. Beyond the United States, the company owned drug stores in Mexico, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Thailand.

Its acquisition of rivals, big and small, may have worked in a time when the economy was booming, but things have since changed. According to Fortune, drug stores nationwide are suffering the consequences of losing customers and questionable insurance company practices. The shifting drug store landscape has devastated major chains, and though Walgreens hasn't been as negatively impacted as Rite Aid, the wear is showing. Walgreens Boot Alliance experienced an 81% drop in stock value, with CNN reporting a loss of 71% in just the last four years. This continued devaluation was simply unsustainable; following a sale to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, Walgreens' stock has ceased to be publicly traded for the first time in nearly a century. Although Walgreens hasn't filed for bankruptcy just yet, in late 2024, the company announced plans to shutter 1,200 locations over a period of three years.

While there was once a time when dollar and 99-cent stores were considered by many observers to be recession-proof, Family Dollar's ongoing crisis signals a new era when even the most affordable shopping destinations are not immune to the consequences of inflation, recent tariffs, and changes in customer shopping behaviors. 

 Things had become untenable enough that parent company Dollar Tree closed over 700 stores in 2024. Then in March 2025, it announced its intention to sell ownership of the Family Dollar brand to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management. The purchase was a success, wrapping up in July 2025 for about $1 billion. It's worth noting that Dollar Tree had purchased the discount store chain a decade earlier for $8.5 billion. Even with the sale, it's expected that at least 370 more locations will shut down by the end of 2025. Despite these massive and unfortunate changes, Family Dollar can at least say it has yet to file for bankruptcy. That said, if these ongoing changes are not enough to help the brand pivot onto a more profitable path, bankruptcy filings could be in the company's very near future.

GameStop exists in a bizarre, almost uncanny valley of financial uncertainty. It was previously considered a popular destination for video games and consoles, or trading in games after you've grown tired of playing them. But thanks to the rise in PC and mobile gaming and a drop in customer foot traffic, GameStop found itself spiraling. Then in 2021, the company found itself earning Reddit "meme stock" status. At one point, GameStop's stock valuation soared over 1,500%. 

The seemingly miraculous turn of events became the subject of a Hollywood movie, but it was not enough to help GameStop completely sidestep its money troubles. According to CNN, the video game retailer reportedly closed over 960 stores throughout its 2024 fiscal year. Locations continued to close across 2025. In addition to shutting down hundreds of stores, GameStop also hopes to benefit from sensible Bitcoin investment; it reportedly purchased over 4,170 bitcoins, an investment equal to about half a billion dollars at the time. Though the value of Bitcoin has changed significantly over the last decade, it will take some time to determine whether this particular risk will benefit GameStop's overall survival strategy. The good news for GameStop is that its flexibility in navigating meme stock investments and cryptocurrency may represent a level of creativity that can keep the game retailer going. The bad news is that despite its best efforts, a dip in bitcoin value combined with a lack of profitability might not be enough to stave off bankruptcy.

Many continue to think of Foot Locker as the first name in footwear, especially for trendy sneakers. The company is operated globally, with 2,000 of 3,000 stores existing in the United States alone. Foot Locker enjoyed a profit of $2 billion as recently as 2022, and while it hasn't been quite as troubled as many other popular retail chains on the list, that doesn't mean it hasn't had to make some tough choices to avoid a severe financial spiral.

In 2023, ABC reported Foot Locker's decision to close down 400 underperforming mall stores through 2026. The strategy is ongoing, alongside plans to revitalize about 300 stores. Foot Locker hopes that these proactive measures will help it to avoid the fate of Payless, a well-known discount footwear chain. Payless filed for multiple bankruptcies before closing its physical store operations in 2019, shifting instead to e-commerce sales. While it will be a couple of years before it becomes apparent how well Foot Locker's preventative measures have worked, at least for now, it appears it's taken solid steps to keep it off the path to closing its own doors for good.

The 7-Eleven situation is somewhat ironic when compared to the other popular chains listed. Known as "the first convenience store," 7-Eleven expanded by leaps and bounds from the 1960s through the 1980s. The "Big Gulp" brand ran into trouble not long after, and it was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1990. What could have been a death knell for 7-Eleven instead became a massive opportunity. Two Japanese firms, Southland by Ito Yokado Co. and Seven-Eleven Japan Co., purchased the struggling company for $430 million in early 1991, the LA Times reported. They would go on to take the brand to even higher heights internationally. For example, it's estimated that in Japan alone, there are a mind-boggling 21,533 stores. 

While the company is doing very well outside of America, it seems that there is just too much domestic competition within the United States for 7-Eleven to repeat its era of convenience store dominance. In addition to inflation, poor business was blamed on a notable downturn in cigarette purchases. The financial issues led to a decision to close 444 underperforming stores across North America, beginning in late 2024 and likely continuing through 2025. The good news for the 7-Eleven brand overall is that this probably won't create much of a dent in its global presence. However, the situation signifies in a bittersweet way that sometimes the best way to survive an ultra-competitive market and avoid succumbing to bankruptcy woes is to seek success elsewhere.

Torrid felt like a revolution when it rose to prominence in the early 2000s. Before, a trendy fashion brand with sizes aimed solely at plus-sized young women was practically unheard of. Torrid even held the special distinction of being the first plus-size brand to show at New York Fashion Week. The fashion brand offered a variety of styles for a demographic that was previously ostracized, and so seemed to have a lot to celebrate for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately for Torrid, the decline in mall shoppers has strongly impacted their bottom line, as about 65% of its stores are found in these locations. Moreover, the company increasingly moved to pivot its priorities away from brick-and-mortar stores and focus its efforts on online sales. While a sensible strategy, it's important to remember that they are up against strong competition in this space from Amazon, SHEIN, and Temu. Although Torrid has yet to file for bankruptcy, the brand has been forced to make some tough choices, including moving to shutter nearly 200 of its 630 locations. Adding insult to injury, most of the Torrid workers impacted by the closings learned of the unfortunate situation via a social media announcement. Such circumstances can't be comforting to the retailer workers at remaining locations, who likewise might be kept in the dark about similar future closings. The best that can be hoped for is that Torrid's aggressive strategy is enough to hold off the need for shutting down additional stores beyond 2025.