Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (2024)

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Retail

Joey Hadden and Dominick Reuter

Updated

2024-05-10T15:27:06Z

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (1)

Declining foot traffic and rising e-commerce have led thousands of stores to permanently close.
Former household names like Borders, Circuit City, and Blockbuster are now just retail history.
Here are 49 once-beloved stores that no longer have a meaningful brick-and-mortar presence.

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Brick-and-mortar retail is a tough business.

One day, your favorite brand can be riding high and enjoying strong sales from loyal customers, while the next it's fighting for survival and fending off creditors.

The only constant is change, especially as emerging trends, shopping patterns, and e-commerce players take larger pieces of the pie.

Here's a look back at some of the retail brands whose stores once greeted thousands of people each day, but are now consigned to retail's history books — or exist only online or as a tiny fraction of what they once were.

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Blockbuster

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (5)

Blockbuster got its start in 1985, and acquired the Sound Warehouse and Music Plus music chains to create Blockbuster Music in 1992. The music division was sold to Wherehouse Entertainment in 1998 before closing for good, but there remains one single Blockbuster video rental store in Bend, Oregon.

Thom McAn

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Thom McAn was a chain of shoe stores that peaked in the 1960's and closed up shop by 1996. The brand's shoes continued to be available at Sears and Kmart.

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Kinney Shoes

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (7)

First opened in 1894, Kinney Shoes had 467 stores at its peak, all of which shuttered in 1998.

Warner Bros. Studio Store

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (8)

Warner Bros. Studio Store competed with the Disney store until the company closed all of its locations in 2001.

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Zany Brainy

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (9)

Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and closed all locations in 2003. The educational toy retailer's founder, David Schlessinger, co-founded the discount company Five Below.

Ames Department Store

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (10)

Debt and poor sales forced Ames Department Store into bankruptcy twice., and in 2002, the remaining Ames stores closed.

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Imaginarium was an educational toy store in the 1980s. Stores started closing in the 1990s, and by 2003, its parent company, Toys R Us, had closed them all.

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (11)

Imaginarium was an educational toy store in the 1980s. Stores started closing in the 1990s, and by 2003, parent company Toys R Us closed all remaining locations.

Hecht's Department Store

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (12)

Hecht's was purchased by Macy's in 2005 and all locations were either turned into Macy's stores or closed.

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Marshall Fields

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (13)

Federated Department Stores bought Marshall Fields in 2005 and converted the stores to the company's more recognizable flagship brand, Macy's.

Gadzooks

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (14)

Gadzooks was a teen clothing store that was around from 1983 to 2005. It filed for bankruptcy in its final year and was purchased by Forever 21, which then closed all of the stores.

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Kaufmann's

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (15)

In 2006, Macy's retired the Kaufmann's name, and the brand disappeared.

Tower Records

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (16)

Tower Records couldn't keep up with the rise of digital music, and all stores in the US were closed in 2006.

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Media Play

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (17)

Media Play was a big box store selling books, movies, software, toys and video games. It closed for good in 2006.

Discovery Channel

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (18)

Discovery Channel's 103 stand-alone stores closed in 2007.

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KB Toys

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (19)

KB Toys announced it would be going out of business in 2008, and by early 2009 all locations were closed.

Sharper Image declared bankruptcy in 2008. But the company still sells merchandise through its website, catalog, and third-party retail partners.

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (20)

Sharper Image declared bankruptcy and wound down its physical retail operation in 2008.

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Levitz Furniture

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (21)

Levitz Furniture declared bankruptcy twice — first in 1997, and then in 2005. It closed all of its stores in 2008.

Linens 'n Things had over 500 stores in 2006, but by the end of 2008, they were all closed. The company still does business online.

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (22)

Linens 'n Things had over 500 stores in 2006, but by the end of 2008, they were all closed.

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Mervyn's

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (23)

Mervyn's once had almost 200 locations in the western US. In 2008, the company declared bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.

Limited Too

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (24)

Limited Too's success began dwindling in the early 2000s, and all stores were eventually rebranded as Justice by 2008.

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Tweeter

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (25)

Tweeter filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and all of its stores were closed by the end of the year.

Circuit City

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (26)

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and shuttered all stores the following Spring.

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Steve & Barry's

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (27)

Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and closed all of its stores in 2009.

Filene's and Filene's Basem*nt

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (28)

Filene's Basem*nt's parent company went bankrupt in 2009, and by 2011 all of its stores were closed.

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B. Dalton Books

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (29)

B. Dalton was acquired by Barnes & Noble in 1987, which officially closed the bookstore in January 2010, except for a single location in Oviedo, Florida.

Waldenbooks

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (30)

Waldenbooks merged with Borders in 1994, and all Waldenbooks stores closed when Borders Group liquidated in 2011.

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Borders Books & Music

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (31)

Borders Books & Music stores closed shortly after the company was forced to liquidate in 2011.

CompUSA

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (32)

CompUSA started in 1984, but by 2007, Best Buy and other superstores had taken over, and the last CompUSA closed in 2012.

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Sam Goody

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (33)

Sam Goody music stores suffered from the rise of digital media, and most Sam Goody stores were either ultimately shuttered or converted into other brands like FYE by 2012. Two locations remain: one in Clairsville, Ohio, and one in Medford, Oregon.

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A&P

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (34)

A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 and again in 2015, closing its stores that year.

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Sports Authority

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (35)

Competition drove Sports Authority into bankruptcy in 2016, when it closed all its stores and sold its website to Dick's Sporting Goods.

Sport Chalet

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (36)

Sport Chalet, which first opened in 1959, abruptly closed all of its stores in 2016.

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Wet Seal

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (37)

Wet Seal, a teen clothing store, filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and closed for good in 2017.

Virgin Megastores

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (38)

Virgin Megastores stopped operating in the US in 2017, but the brand continues online and in select international markets.

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The Limited

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (39)

The Limited abruptly shut down all of its stores in 2017, and the brand is now sold exclusively through Belk.

Teavana's 379 locations were closed by its parent company, Starbucks. in 2018.

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (40)

Starbucks closed Teavana's 379 locations in 2018.

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Bon-Ton Stores

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (41)

The Bon-Ton stores included its namesake brand, as well as Bergner's, Boston Store, Elder-Beerman, and Younkers.

Toys R Us

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (42)

Toys R Us and its subsidiaries closed in 2018, but in 2021 Macy's announced that it would open Toys R Us sections in hundreds of its stores, while Babies R Us is opening within Kohl's stores across the US.

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Henri Bendel

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (43)

After 123 years of business, luxury retailer Henri Bendel closed all of its stores in 2019.

Dress Barn

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (44)

Dress Barn shut down in 2019 after 50 years in business.

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Papyrus

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (45)

At its peak in 2009, Papyrus had 500 stores across the US and Canada, but the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy and closed its 254 stores in 2020.

Lord & Taylor

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (46)

Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy in 2020, leading to the closure of its 38 stores. An attempt at reviving the brand as a "digital collective" was unsuccessful.

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Century 21

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (47)

Century 21 closed its 13 locations after going bankrupt in 2020. The company reopened its New York flagship store in 2023 with a greater focus on e-commerce.

Olympia Sports

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (48)

After a slow decline and a tumultuous stint with private equity owners, Maine-based Olympia Sports shut down its remaining stores in 2022.

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Bed Bath & Beyond

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (49)

and closed its 896 remaining stores in 2023, though the brand was sold and relaunched online.

Tuesday Morning

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (50)

The Dallas-based home goods company shut down all of its stores in 2023 after it had only planned to close half of its storesamid bankruptcy proceedings.

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Christmas Tree Shops

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (51)

The Massachusetts-based seasonal specialty retailerfiled for bankruptcy in 2023,winding down the remaining 72 locations across 20 states.

Moosejaw

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (52)

Just months after buying Moosejaw from Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods closed most of the brand's locations and formed one team that would handle both the Public Lands and Moosejaw brands moving forward. Only three Moosejaw locations remain open.

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Foxtrot

Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore (53)

Chicago-based Foxtrot abruptly shuttered its 33 locations in April 2024 after it came up $35 million short of its 2023 sales goal.