2025 saw an unprecedented number of factors putting pressure on companies’ bottom lines. Amid tariffs, rising costs of living and doing business, and a pullback in consumer spending, it has been a tough year for consumer brands.
The collapses started early, with Liberated Brands — the retail company that operates the stores of mall brands like Billabong, Quiksilver and Volcom — filing for bankruptcy in February. All 122 retail locations under its control were closed immediately, and over 1,000 retail employees were laid off. Authentic Brands Group, which owns the brands’ IP, began shopping the licenses around to other companies. The brands are currently back under new licensees with Wiesner Products and Centric Brands.
Many of the closures this year centered on mall brands and department stores. Forever 21’s U.S. operations filed for bankruptcy for the second time in March, resulting in the closure of 354 stores and ending all operations in the U.S. Claire’s filed for bankruptcy in August, beginning to shutter 700 stores before a last-minute deal put its North America operations in the hands of private equity firm Ames Watson. Ames Watson took over operations in September but said rebuilding the brand could take over a year.
Several mall brands attributed their closures to competition from Chinese fast-fashion companies such as Shein and Temu. The U.S. tariffs, along with the closing of the de minimis loophole, were ostensibly meant to target those exact companies, yet Shein is still on track to make a $2 billion profit in 2025.
Other bankruptcies and closures included the Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay Company, Australian fashion group Mosaic Brands, French brand Y/Project, German designer brand Boris Bidjan Saberi, jewelry brand Daphine and plus-size sportswear brand Pari Passu. In beauty, manufacturers like Mana Products and brands like Youthforia also shut down this year. As of December 23, Bloomberg reported, even Saks Global is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“We’ll likely see more closures, especially among brands caught in the middle — neither truly affordable nor convincingly premium,” said Albert Varkki, a retail expert and co-founder of the leather goods brand Von Baer. “Tariffs and supply-chain volatility accelerate pressure on weak fundamentals, but they’re rarely the root cause. Brands that lack a clear value proposition, operational discipline or loyal customer base will struggle regardless of the broader market.”
There were also closures that signaled the end of the free flow of venture capital to fashion startups, which was prevalent in the 2010s. Parade, a DTC underwear brand that, at its height, generated over $10 million in revenue, also shuttered this year. It had previously been sold to Ariela & Associates in 2023. Parade had been bolstered by over $40 million in venture capital investments early in its life, following its founding in 2019.
There are also plenty of brands that came close to closing. The online retailer Ssense filed for bankruptcy protection in August, to buy time to restructure while avoiding a sale. Ssense owes millions of dollars to indie brands. As of October, Ssense owed over $3 million to Jacquemus, for example, and nearly $90,000 to Sandy Liang.
The company was already facing down two years of declining sales when tariffs and the closing of the de minimis loophole delivered a “knockout punch” to Ssense’s finances, according to GQ. Experts told Glossy that retailer collapses can have negative ripple effects on brands. By filing for protection, for example, Ssense doesn’t have to pay its creditors back while it restructures. In the meantime, many brands owed money must absorb costs in hopes that they will one day be repaid, which can lead to further closures down the line.
“Retailers that have failed to evolve alongside shoppers have fallen behind quickly, and the landscape has made it challenging to regain their footing,” said Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at the foot traffic analytics company Placer.ai. “While it’s hard to anticipate any potential closures, the continued bifurcation of consumers economically and heightened consumer discernment around discretionary purchases could increase pressure across the industry.”