Although energy companies grabbed the biggest bankruptcy headlines in 2016, the number of bankruptcy filings by U.S. retailers nearly doubled, and 2017 looks bleak for the industry, according to The Deal yesterday. The number of bankruptcy filings by U.S. retailers with at least $250 million in liabilities nearly doubled in 2016 (7 from 4). Of the seven big retail filings in 2016, three chains suffered through large-scale closures (golf retailer Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., mall-based clothing retailer Aeropostale Inc. and casual dining chain Roadhouse Holdings Inc.). A fourth, clothing retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., closed hundreds of stores in the months before its bankruptcy, but only shuttered 10 while in chapter 11. A fifth, Sports Authority Holdings Inc., liquidated everything and a sixth, American Apparel LLC, will likely suffer the same fate after it failed to find a buyer for its retail business at auction.
