Looking Back
Fashion moves fast, and sometimes a brand disappears because it gets acquired, renamed, or fully shut down. The names below are no longer operating as active clothing retailers under their original brands, even if some of the buildings, trademarks, or parent companies live on in other forms. If you like vintage shopping, old mall photos, or retail history, you’ll probably recognize more than a few of these brands.
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1. Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel operated for more than a century before its owner, L Brands, announced the brand would end, and stores would close in early 2019. The final store closures and website shutdown marked the end of the “Bendel” name for good.
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2. Casual Corner
Casual Corner was a women’s apparel chain that grew nationwide and later ran related banners like Petite Sophisticate. In 2005, the company went into liquidation, and the chain became defunct. Working women everywhere had to find a new place to shop after this spot closed down.
3. Merry-Go-Round
Merry-Go-Round was a mall-based clothing retailer that expanded widely before it fell into bankruptcy. The chain ultimately ceased operations in 1996 after liquidation plans moved forward. The brand was well known for its fast-fashion fads throughout the 70s and 80s.
4. Chess King
Chess King built its name on bold young men’s fashion and a store concept aimed at teen shoppers. After years of expansion and then decline, the chain officially shut all of its stores by 1996.
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5. Gadzooks
Gadzooks leaned hard into teen apparel, especially during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2004. It was acquired by Forever 21 a year later, but still ended up shutting down.
6. Anchor Blue
Anchor Blue, formerly known as Miller’s Outpost, was a youth-oriented denim and casualwear chain right out of California. The company ceased corporate operations in 2011 and closed its stores, ending the retailer as an operating chain. The brand name later changed hands, but the original retail presence did not continue.
7. B. Altman
B. Altman was a New York luxury department store known for upscale clothing and its Fifth Avenue location. Its flagship closed at the end of 1989, and the remaining branches were shuttered by early 1990. The building did receive a landmark designation and currently holds the science, industry, and business sections of the New York Public Library, as well as a graduate center for the City University of New York.
8. Gimbels
Gimbels was a major American department store chain and a long-running competitor in big-city retail, operating for over 100 years. The company ultimately closed in 1987, ending the chain under the Gimbels name. This store is the running force behind the oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has since been taken over by Macy’s.
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9. Ohrbach’s
Ohrbach’s was your standard department store, operating from 1923 to 1987, originating in New York City. The company was acquired in 1962 and was absorbed into the Steinbach family by 1987.
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10. Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus, often called A&S, was a major New York department store brand rooted in Brooklyn. It was founded in 1865, operating on its own until it was absorbed by Federated Department Stores in 1929. After Federated’s changes in the mid-1990s, the A&S name was eliminated, and stores were converted to Macy’s or Stern’s. The brand became defunct on April 30, 1995.
11. The Broadway
Broadway was a large regional department store chain centered in Southern California as well as the Southwest. It was also acquired by Federated, eventually being forced to close or convert storefronts into Macy’s and Bloomingdale's. The brand officially went defunct in 1996.
12. Robinsons-May
Robinsons-May was created through a merger and operated as a midrange department store chain in the West. The brand ceased operating in 2006 after stores were converted into Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, with the official sign change occurring on September 9, 2006. While the trademark has been owned separately since then, the retail chain itself did not continue under that name.
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13. Hecht’s
Hecht served the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southern United States. After it was, you guessed it, acquired by Federated Department Stores, the Hecht’s name was phased out in favor of Macy’s in 2006. The brand is now treated as a defunct department store chain.
14. Foley’s
Foley’s was a major regional department store name across the Southwest, originally based in Houston. It was officially phased out and rebranded as Macy’s on September 9, 2006. Once the conversion happened, the Foleys’ name no longer operated as an active clothing retailer.
15. Strawbridge’s
Strawbridge’s, also known as Strawbridge & Clothier, operated across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware for over 50 years. The brand was acquired and later converted, officially ceasing to exist in favor of the Macy’s brand.
16. Marshall Field’s
Marshall Field’s was a Chicago institution that opened all the way back in 1852. In 2006, the chain was converted to Macy’s, retiring the Marshall Field’s name for good. The brand’s end is still widely discussed locally due to the deep love Chicagoans shared for the store.
17. Filene’s
Filene’s was founded in 1881 in the city of Boston, before expanding across New England. The name was acquired by The May Department Stores company in 1988, but went under several ownership changes before the store officially closed down in 2011.
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18. Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh was one of Boston’s best-known department store names, with a long history in New England retail. Federated dissolved the Jordan Marsh brand and converted stores to Macy’s in 1996.
19. Burdines
Burdines was a Florida-centered department store chain that was founded back in 1898. It became part of Federated and later transitioned into a co-branded format in 1956. The Burdines brand was dissolved with its full conversion to Macy’s in 2005.
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20. Rich’s
Rich’s was an Atlanta-based department store chain that became a major Southern retail presence. The brand was dissolved in favor of Macy’s in 2005, ending the chain’s nameplate after almost 150 years. Even today, it’s commonly cited as one of the most significant regional brand retirements in the South.
