RadioShack
Ceased March 1, 2017 · Returned November 19, 2020 · Successor company
What happened
Filed a second Chapter 11 in March 2017 and closed the large majority of its US corporate stores.
How it came back
Retail Ecommerce Ventures bought the brand in November 2020 and relaunched it as an e-commerce site; the Unicomer Group acquired the worldwide RadioShack business in May 2023.
Current state
Operates today as radioshack.com and through third-party retailers, under Unicomer Group ownership; no RadioShack physical stores remain.
Nine West Holdings
Ceased April 1, 2018 · Returned July 1, 2018 · Brand or IP revived
What happened
Nine West Holdings closed all its own US and Canadian retail stores in April 2018 after filing Chapter 11.
How it came back
Authentic Brands Group bought the Nine West and Bandolino brands for $340 million in mid-2018 and continues licensing them to other retailers.
Current state
As of the 2018 sale, Nine West and Bandolino were owned by Authentic Brands Group and licensed to other retailers; no standalone Nine West store has operated since.
rue21
Ceased May 3, 2024 · Returned September 1, 2024 · Successor company
What happened
Filed its third bankruptcy in May 2024 and closed all 540-plus stores after failing to find a going-concern buyer.
How it came back
YM Inc. bought the brand and intellectual property for about $4 million and began reopening stores in late 2024; as of November 2025 it operates about 60 outlet locations plus e-commerce.
Current state
Operated today by YM Inc., which also owns Charlotte Russe.
The Limited
Ceased January 1, 2017 · Returned October 20, 2017 · Brand or IP revived
What happened
Closed all of its own stores in January 2017 and filed for bankruptcy.
How it came back
Sycamore Partners bought the e-commerce business and brand for $26.8 million at auction and relaunched thelimited.com in October 2017.
Current state
As of its October 2017 relaunch, sold exclusively as a private-label brand through Belk stores and belk.com, not as an independent retailer.
Gymboree
Ceased January 1, 2019 · Returned January 1, 2020 · Brand or IP revived
What happened
Gymboree Group liquidated all roughly 800 Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores after a January 2019 bankruptcy filing.
How it came back
The Children's Place bought the Gymboree and Crazy 8 intellectual property for $76 million in March 2019 and relaunched Gymboree in January 2020 as a website and in-store area within its own stores.
Current state
Operated as a brand within The Children's Place; no standalone Gymboree store exists.
Payless ShoeSource
Ceased June 1, 2019 · Returned January 16, 2020 · Same company reorganized
What happened
Closed all approximately 2,300 US, Puerto Rico and Canada stores by June 2019 in the largest store-count liquidation in US retail history.
How it came back
The reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy in January 2020, dropped "ShoeSource" from its name and relaunched e-commerce and physical stores starting later that year.
Current state
At its January 2020 relaunch, ownership was a group of investors led by Alden Global Capital and Axar Capital Management, operating internationally; no more recent ownership change has been found.
Charlotte Russe
Ceased March 1, 2019 · Returned March 1, 2019 · Successor company
What happened
Liquidated all 500-plus stores after a February 2019 Chapter 11 filing.
How it came back
YM Inc., a Toronto retailer, bought the brand and intellectual property for $6.4 million in March 2019 and has since reopened more than 135 stores plus e-commerce.
Current state
As of a November 2019 report, operated by YM Inc.
Shopko
Ceased June 23, 2019 · Returned June 23, 2019 · Part of the business continued
What happened
Shopko Stores liquidated all general-merchandise stores by June 23, 2019, after a January 2019 bankruptcy filing.
How it came back
Monarch Alternative Capital bought 80 of Shopko's in-store optical units during the bankruptcy and relaunched them as standalone Shopko Optical stores.
Current state
Shopko Optical was sold to Fielmann Group AG in 2024 and continues operating; no general-merchandise Shopko store remains.
Remington Arms
Ceased July 27, 2020 · Returned May 1, 2021 · Successor company
What happened
Remington Outdoor Company filed Chapter 11 on July 27, 2020, and was broken up at auction, sold in pieces to seven separate buyers.
How it came back
Roundhill Group bought the firearms manufacturing assets and formed RemArms, which returned 230 employees to the Ilion, New York plant in May 2021 to resume production.
Current state
Remington ammunition is now owned by CSG's Kinetic Group, bought from Vista Outdoor in November 2024; RemArms continues firearms manufacturing separately.
G/O Media (Deadspin)
Ceased March 11, 2024 · Returned May 13, 2024 · Successor company
What happened
G/O Media sold Deadspin to Lineup Publishing on March 11, 2024, laid off its entire editorial staff, and the site published nothing new for about two months.
How it came back
Lineup Publishing resumed publishing on May 13, 2024, with an entirely new, previously unannounced staff.
Current state
Owned and operated by Lineup Publishing, a Malta-based media company unrelated to G/O Media.
Toys "R" Us
Ceased June 29, 2018 · Returned March 15, 2021 · Successor company
What happened
Liquidated all US, UK and Australian stores in 2018 after a 2017 Chapter 11 filing.
How it came back
A new entity, Tru Kids Brands, bought the intellectual property in 2019; brand manager WHP Global took a controlling stake in 2021 and has reopened stores since 2022, including shop-in-shops inside Macy's.
Current state
As of WHP Global's March 2021 controlling stake and the Macy's shop-in-shop rollout that followed, operated by WHP Global through Tru Kids Inc., a company distinct from the original retailer.
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