Sarah Jacobs/Business Insider
- Stores don’t always last forever.
- 1990s favorites like Claire’s and Blockbuster were gems of their time. But changing fads and the rise of e-commerce have thrown many of these brands from their once-lofty perch.
- Some stores that thrived in the ’90s have survived to this decade. But some have gone bankrupt since their heyday.
- From Payless to Delia’s, here are 10 chains that peaked in the ’90s but have gone downhill since then.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Some stores aren’t what they used to be.
Many chains like Blockbuster and Claire’s enjoyed great success in the 1990s. But in many cases, the good times came to a screeching halt at the start of the 21st century.
Streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu sent Blockbuster into a death spiral. Declining mall traffic and the rise of e-commerce had a similar effect on other retailers that couldn’t quite compete.
Read more: 5 fast-food chains that went extinct in the US but survived internationally
However, some stores have managed to hang on tight, even if by the skin of their teeth.
Toys R Us, the beloved toy store chain, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017 and then liquidated several months later, but it was revived this year in a new entity called Tru Kids. Payless had 3,295 stores in 1991, but it is currently in the process of closing all its US stores.
We took a trip down memory lane to find 10 brands that peaked in the ’90s. Many of them have spiraled downwards since their prime, but some stores, like Hot Topic and Claire’s, still exist.
Limited Too
Sarah Jacobs/Business Insider
This clothing retailer was a staple for any tween or young girl growing up in the ’90s. It launched as the kid’s store of The Limited in 1987 and had 600 stores at its peak.
Famous for its colorful, glitter-infused clothes, many Limited Too locations were rebranded as Justice stores in the early 2000s.
Toys R Us
AP/Alan Diaz
The toy retailer experienced many ups and downs, from filing for bankruptcy protection in 2017 and liquidating in 2018 to its planned revival this year.
But at its peak, Toys R Us was a wonderland for kids in the ’90s — a toy heaven, so to speak. The toy chain’s ultimate downward spiral left many kids who grew up in the ’90s filled with nostalgia. The chain is opening new stores in 2019.
Blockbuster
Blockbuster/Neal T.
Before the age of Netflix and Hulu, there was Blockbuster, the movie rental store that practically defined the ’90s zeitgeist.
Blockbuster was founded in 1985 and thrived throughout the ’90s. In one of the more tragic company death spirals, the store ultimately petered into irrelevance and filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
Interestingly, one Blockbuster store has survived in Bend, Oregon.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- We shopped at Avenue the day after it announced it would close its remaining 222 stores and saw why the plus-size chain has been struggling
- Plus-size clothing chain Avenue is closing all 222 locations. Here’s the full list.
- More than 8,000 stores are closing in 2019 as the retail apocalypse drags on — here’s the full list
SEE ALSO: 6 international companies that failed to make it in the US, from Suzuki to Tesco
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Shoshy Ciment)