Claire's has filed for bankruptcy multiple times over the past 7 years.

Although the retailer may have failed financially speaking, some argue that longevity in itself is a success—the brand operated for over 130 years before that bankruptcy filing, after all.

While there are multiple types of bankruptcies, Chapter 11 is probably the one you've heard about the most. Technically speaking, Chapter 11 bankruptcy involves a reorganization of a business's assets and debts under court supervision. Companies such as Red Lobster, WeWork, and Party City have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent years. Learn more about it here.

Chapter 7 is for liquidating personal assets to clear debts, Chapter 13 allows a repayment plan for individuals, and Chapter 11 lets businesses reorganize to stay afloat.

For years before that filing, the restaurant group had been operated by two different companies: one owned by private equity, and the other that includes the original founders.

Publicly traded companies don’t file for bankruptcy out of nowhere—there are typically warning signs in a stock’s performance, quarterly earnings calls, and US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Those who file for Chapter 7 must wait 10 years before the bankruptcy is removed from their credit report. For Chapter 13, the wait time is seven years.

At its peak, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, making elite objects accessible to the middle class. But in 2018, the company officially filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt and losses.

Debtors must know whether their liabilities are secured or unsecured and what type of assets they have. They also need to know what a filing can and can’t help them with.

However, there are actually six types in practice today. These less-common options can be lifelines for foreign businesses operating in the US, local governments, and farms and fisheries.

Chapter 7 is the most popular type of filing for individuals needing relief. However, to be eligible, debtors must pass an income means test. At the most basic level, they must prove that their average monthly income over six months is below their state’s median. But there are exceptions.

There’s no shortage of potential culprits for Sears’ death, from hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, to Amazon, to the 2008 stock market crash.

It has done just that since 1800. This legislation, which outlines the various types of bankruptcy filings, has evolved over time. The most recent iteration is the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, which introduced Chapter 11 filings in an effort to make the process easier for businesses and individuals.

Nearly all of its 26,000 employees immediately lost their jobs. But in London, a few hundred remained tucked away, working for another decade to wind down the bank’s European business.

This podcast episode chronicles the complete rise and fall of WeWork—from its founding in 2010 to its eventual 2023 bankruptcy.

However, the bankruptcy process does not apply to several types of common debt, including money owed toward child support or alimony payments. Most debtors also do not qualify for relief from student loan payments.

Specifically, as mall foot traffic declined, Macy’s sought to grow elsewhere (as did many other retailers around the same time).

After being acquired by two private equity firms and a real estate company for more than $6B in 2005, Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Many point to the $400M a year the company had to pay to service its debt, as well as increased competition from online retailers like Amazon, for draining its profits and ultimately dragging it under.

If a debtor is considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it may be tempting to take a do-it-yourself approach to avoid attorney or preparer fees. However, experts caution that this could come back to bite filers. A quiz can help would-be filers explore whether their cases are complex enough to necessitate a lawyer.

Golden Gate Capital, a PE firm, bought Red Lobster in 2014 for $2.1B. Golden Gate then sold Red Lobster's real estate, more than 500 storefronts, which generated $1.5B in revenue and helped finance the PE firm's acquisition of the company. Analysts say increased debt, high rent costs, and low equity put Red Lobster in an impossible position, leading to its 2024 bankruptcy filing—although the shrimp bill probably didn't help.

The COVID-19 pandemic and increased competition post-2020 are just two factors plaguing the designer clothing rental company.

In 1787, this founding document gave Congress the right to establish nationwide bankruptcy laws. Legislators took advantage of that power in 1800 when they passed the Bankruptcy Act of 1800, the first comprehensive bankruptcy law at the federal level.

In the 2010s, dozens of female founders were celebrated on the covers of business magazines like Inc. for their recent startup success, from Emily Weiss’s Glossier makeup brand to Steph Korey’s Away luggage company. But many of these companies were also the subject of large takedown articles around the year 2020.

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started an eBay shop that would later transform into the clothing company Nasty Gal. However, Amoruso’s rags-to-riches success with Nasty Gal didn’t last. After multiple rounds of layoffs and employee complaints, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2016.

In a 2024 earnings call, Macy’s noted that while it’s remodeling and investing in some of its brick-and-mortar locations, it seeks to shutter other stores in lower-performing locations. It’s estimated that Macy's will close 150 locations through 2026.

That's according to a recent report from Bain & Company that dives into consumer sentiment around department store shopping and explores a potential reset for the industry.

Curie's upbringing in a family that lost its fortune when participating in failed uprisings for Polish independence instilled frugality in her. Much of the clothing she purchased, including for special occasions like her wedding, was repurposed for lab use.

About 77% of American households had some debt at the end of 2023. However, when debt becomes crushing, it's time to consider a management plan or a bankruptcy filing. This calculator helps explore whether debt is manageable based on inputs like medical debt, payday loans, and gross annual income.

Star bankers are the core of an investment banking firm's business, so when Perella Weinberg let their restructuring guru Mike Kramer go in 2015, he sued, launching a ten-year legal fight.

Sears has existed for over 130 years, and is remembered for much more than its 2018 bankruptcy, from the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog to Discover Card and Allstate Insurance.

Macy's went from roughly 800 to 500 stores within the same time period. Macy’s has spent the recent years since the pandemic closing swaths of stores.

In 2024, a banking middleman called Synapse declared bankruptcy. Unfortunately, it also locked roughly 100,000 Americans out of their own money, which prompted a class action lawsuit.

In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank—the nation's 16th largest bank at the time—collapsed after a rapid run on its deposits. Among other factors, the bank had placed more than half of its investments into long-term bonds, leaving it without the necessary cash on hand as its clients, largely start ups, panicked and withdrew their money at the same time. This visualization lays out the timeline and impact of the collapse.

The technical term for what happens when a court removes a debtor’s obligation to repay money owed is “discharge.” An “automatic stay” is what goes into place once a filing occurs to prevent a debtor from facing lawsuits, evictions, and other negative consequences until the process wraps up.

Just before Sam Bankman-Fried declared FTX bankrupt in November of 2022, he sought to raise funds quickly to try to save the cryptocurrency exchange. As part of that attempt, he sent around a glimpse of the exchange's current balance sheet, which showed the company had liabilities of $9 billion with only $900 million in liquid assets. Check out the visualization here.

BNPY company Klarna went public on the NYSE in September 2025, roughly 20 years after it was founded. At the time, Klarna made roughly three-quarters of its revenue via merchant fees, charging a small premium for each purchase.

The factors that some experts say are driving what could be private credit's most challenging era since the 2008 financial crisis include global economic uncertainty around trade and tariffs, investor fears about the amount of money being spent on artificial intelligence, and more.

Plenty of private companies fail once they try to go public. Failing can mean shares sell for less than their initial asking price on its IPO date, or it can look like a company pulling out of the IPO process at the last minute. Some companies with failed IPOs include Pets.com, Etsy, and Robinhood. Learn more about these companies and others here.

Sears was once one of the most successful businesses in the US. Today, there aren’t many Sears stores left in the nation, and the ones that are still around feel more like ghost towns than meccas of retail history.