13 once-beloved companies that disappeared in the past decade
As a result of stagnating sales, dwindling foot traffic, and consumers' tastes in food changing within the last decade, brands of all kinds have had to close their doors.
Some brands and restaurant chains have gone bankrupt over the last 10 years causing them to shut down, while the future of others still remains unclear.
Source: Business Insider
Airline, Wow Air, known for its cheap flights from the United States to Europe, ceased operations in 2019.
Source: Business Insider
The budget airline struggled with profitability, likely because of a combination of rising fuel costs and a decrease in tourist visits to Iceland in recent years.
Source: Business Insider
In March 2019, Wow Air suddenly announced that it was ceasing all operations, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Source: Business Insider, CNBC
Henri Bendel founded his namesake store in 1895, and the brand became a pioneer in the world of luxury fashion. By 1985, the brand was acquired by L Brands.
Source: Business Insider
After a decline in sales and not staying relevant to customer needs, L Brands announced in 2018 it would be closing the brand including all 23 Henri Bendel stores.
Source: Business Insider
The beloved accessories chain, Charming Charlie, also went bankrupt in 2019.
Source: Business Insider
In 2017, the brand's CFO blamed the "continuing decline of physical consumer traffic," as the reason why Charming Charlie needed to file for bankruptcy and close its stores.
Source: Business Insider
The brand first went bankrupt in 2018 but had to file again in 2019 and close all of its 261 stores across 38 states.
Source: USA Today
Payless was once the largest family-owned footwear chain in the United States, and the company peaked in the 1990s, selling 250 million shoes a year.
Source: Business Insider, Wall Street Journal
Although Payless shoes were discounted compared to other retailers, the company didn't count on competition from retailers like Target and Walmart, which quickly rose in popularity throughout the 2000s.
Source: Business Insider
Finally, in 2017, Payless officially filed for bankruptcy. Then two years later, the company filed for bankruptcy again and announced that it would close all of its stores for good.
Source: Business Insider
Although it raised money from investors such as Tesla cofounders, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard, the company was unable to sustain itself.
Source: Business Insider
Gymboree, the popular high-end children's clothing brand, filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2017.
Source: Business Insider
After a private equity firm bought Gymboree for $1.8 billion, the brand opened 400 stores overseas. But the rapid expansion wasn't sustainable.
Source: Business Insider, CBS
Gymboree eventually filed for bankruptcy in June 2017 and closed 375 stores.
Source: Business Insider
Toys R Us began as a single store in 1948 and at its peak, controlled a quarter of the global toy market. During that time the company was selling 18,000 different toys in more than 1,000 stores.
Source: Business Insider
A combination of changing taste in toys, a failed buyout, its stores becoming dated, and the eventual rise of e-commerce, caused Toys R Us to struggle.
Source: Business Insider
Toys R Us also had growing debt. When it finally declared bankruptcy, the company owed more than $5 billion.
Source: Business Insider, USA Today
But we haven't seen the end of Toys R Us just yet. Tru Kids Brands purchased the company's assets in October 2018 and in November 2019, Toys R Us opened a new retail store in Paramus, New Jersey.
Source: Business Insider, The New York Times, NJ.com
Once-beloved restaurant chain, Ruby Tuesday, first closed more than 100 stores in 2016.
Source: Mashed
By 2017, Ruby Tuesday was sold to a private company, NRD Capital, which continued to close restaurants. By the end of the decade, the restaurant shut down around 400 locations due to low sales.
Source: Mashed
Sporting goods store, Sports Authority, said goodbye to its customers in 2016.
Source: Business Insider
Sports Authority couldn't keep up with the competition from the higher-end Dick's Sporting Goods and online purchases made on Amazon, or directly from sports leagues.
Source: Business Insider, CNN
In March 2016, Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores nationwide.
Source: Business Insider, CNN
A&P, once the largest grocery store chain in the United States, closed its doors for good in 2015.
Source: Business Insider
A&P got pushed out by specialty grocery brands like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which began to dominate the grocery market.
Source: Business Insider/Kelton Global
Aside from other food retailer competitors, A&P failed to keep up with new trends and it was known to have poor customer service.
Source: Business Insider
In 2010, the chain filed for bankruptcy, and then again in 2015 before officially closing its doors the same year.
Source: Business Insider, USA Today
Beloved restaurant chain, Old Country Buffet, filed for bankruptcy in 2012 for the second time.
Source: Business Insider
As a result of the ongoing bankruptcy, the brand closed 81 restaurants throughout the country and now, there are just 18 Old Country Buffet locations remaining.
Source: Business Insider
In the early 2000s, with more than 9,000 locations globally, Blockbuster was worth about $5 billion.
Source: Business Insider
As popular as it was, a mix of poor leadership and competition from Netflix, Redbox, and on-demand video was a recipe for disaster for Blockbuster.
Source: Business Insider
In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy with $1 billion in debt. At the time, it was the last remaining video-rental chain in the United States.
Source: Business Insider
In 2011, Dish Network acquired Blockbuster's remaining assets for about $320 million, and two years later, Dish began closing all remaining stores in the United States.
Source: Business Insider
Although the bookstore had locations in airports, outlet malls, and shopping plazas, the retailer failed at prioritizing its online presence and instead focused on just expanding its stores.
Source: Business Insider
Borders also didn't have an e-reader like Barnes & Noble's Nook or Amazon's Kindle to keep the company competitive in the digital age.
Source: Business Insider, Yahoo! News
Unable to keep up with competition, Borders eventually filed for bankruptcy and closed permanently in 2011.
Source: Business Insider, Wall Street Journal
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