What's Inside

Following a large number of bankruptcy filings in 2019, retail failures have continued apace in 2020, driven by the Covid-19 crisis. We examine notable US bankruptcies from last year and in year-to-date 2020 and the major factors behind these filings.

In this report, we cover the following key content:

• The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in driving US retail bankruptcies this year
• A summary of major US retail bankruptcies in 2020 so far
• Contributing factors to the spike in recent filings—including burgeoning e-commerce, debt overload and leveraged buyouts by private equity firms
• An in-depth review of selected post-Covid retail bankruptcies and each company’s recent financial metrics—including Ascena Retail Group, JCPenney, J.Crew and Neiman Marcus
• A comparison of US retail bankruptcies in 2019 versus year-to-date 2020
• An in-depth review of selected pre-Covid (2019) retail bankruptcies and each company’s recent financial metrics
• The impact on mall owners, some of which are looking to acquire bankrupt retailers
• Implications for retailers and real estate firms

Click here to read our US Store Closures 2020 Outlook.

Read our separate reports on US mall closures and our expectations of the acceleration of bankruptcy filings through the remainder of the year.

Click here to read Coresight Research’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, and visit our Coronavirus Tracker for more information on temporary store closures and key developments.