Now, if you were cool in the 90s, your first stop and purchase was at the popular FYE (For Your Entertainment for those who didn’t know). It was THE place to buy your CDs, movies, albums, and other pop culture merchandise.
Unfortunately, in 2017 the founder and CEO died, and the parent company decided to close 33 stores in 2018 and another 35 were scheduled to be closed by the end of 2019. There are still some retail locations in the country and you can still make purchases online.
Do you even remember a time when there wasn’t a Claire’s to go get your ears pierced and pick up some cute accessories? That’s right, Claire’s is no longer a Mall staple, even though at its height there were some 3,469 stores across 37 countries.
However, as prominent as it once was, Claire's lost a lot of money and went into debt. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2018, but don’t despair! Claire's has recently and successfully restructured, exiting bankruptcy just recently. Expect Claire's to come back in a big way.
Waldenbooks was the place to find all the latest books, the geekiest collectibles, and the best book accessories. The first Waldenbooks was opened in 1962, and within 15 years, they had acquired 250 stores across the country.
By 1994, they had more than 1,200 stores in all 50 states. Unfortunately, Kmart purchased the company, rebranding it as the Walden-Borden Group in 2004 - and things started to go downhill from there. By 2011, Waldenbooks filed for liquidation to close all of its remaining stores.
In the 90's, you could usually catch the eye of the hottest guys by checking out the newest shoes and apparel at Finish Line. Unfortunately, despite the explosion of everyday athletic wear, the store was forced to close 150 of its stores in 2016, due to fierce competition with online sales.
As of 2020, there are only 660 stores left across 47 states and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, its rival Footlocker has also suffered the same fate.
You may remember running around a KB Toys store as a teen on the weekends. It was the best place to check out the newest and coolest gadgets and toys. At the height of its popularity, in 1999, it was the second-largest toy store in the country with 1,324 stores in the United States.
The first store was opened 1946 and by 1999 there were more than 1,300 stores across the United States. Unfortunately, KB Toys declared bankruptcy in 2004, and then again in 2008, before they went out of business completely in 2009.
At one time, the clothing and accessories store, which catered to teens and early 20-somethings, had 560 stores across the USA. Today, there are very few stores left, but what is left of the company is looking to reopen some 100 stores.
As of March 2019, all 429 Charlotte Russe stores were in the process of closing or were closed when the company filed for liquidation. According to Business Insider, liquidation put more than 8,700 employees out of work.
Ah...that bright pink light of the Deb shop signaled that you could find everything cute and trendy that you needed, no matter your size if you were a teen in the 90s. And everything was affordable too!
Unfortunately, in 2011, the store’s parent company filed for bankruptcy and closed all 295 of its locations. While Deb remained an online retailer for a while, by 2018, Deb's online shop also ended.
If you were a surfer or skater in the 90s to early 2000s, chances are you shopped at PacSun to get the latest and hottest streetwear there was. The clothing and accessory store was so popular that it operated over 1,300 stores in all 50 states.
Following a few changes in leadership, by 2016 the company had filed for bankruptcy. As of 2020, only 400 PacSun stores remain in the country.
That beautiful, glittering cart in the middle of the mall that just seemed to call you over to look at the shiny new wares that were available. You just might have done your Christmas shopping there at one time or another to get that special someone, the perfect personalized gift.
Sadly, the retail chain filed for bankruptcy in early 2019, closing more than 200 of its locations. However, you can still find the store online for all your personalization needs.
Originally Paramount Pictures, Suncoast was one of the coolest places to be on a Friday night with your friends. It had everything you could want: DVDs, CDs, VHS, vinyl, cassettes, plus all the coolest gadgets, gizmos, and collectibles.
Once Musicland, their parent company, launched websites for Suncoast, Sam Goody, and Media Play, it seemed the in-store sales began to wane. In 2001, Best Buy took over and closed 20 stores. By 2006, the Musicland subsidiaries had to file for bankruptcy, closing 150 stores by 2009.
Now, this was the most fun store visit! The Warner Bros. Studio Store was a chain of retail stores that sold Looney Tunes, DC Comics, Friends and other merchandise based on Warner Bros. films and television, much like the Disney Store.
You could find anything you wanted that had to do with the Looney Tunes gang, which was super popular in the 90s thanks to Space Jam. In January 2001, Time-Warner merged with AOL and put the chain up for sale, and when it didn’t sell, all stores were closed by December 31st of the same year.
If you were a teen in the 80s hanging out at the mall, chances were B. Dalton’s is where you bought your books. The chain store peaked in 1986 with more than 798 locations across the country.
However, discount book chains such as Waldenbooks were hard to compete with, and B. Daltons Booksellers was sold to Barnes & Noble in the late 80s. Barnes & Noble continued the book chain, shrinking it to 528 locations by 1997 until eventually closing the final 50 stores in 2010.
Fashion Bug was a cute little boutique store where teens could find a trendy look for a lower price tag. These stores carried clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories one might expect to find in a lady’s store.
These stores were all the rage in the mid-80s and 90s, but by the mid-90s stores began closing. At first, there were more than 1,000 locations at that time. However, the numbers slowly dwindled after that point. In 2012, the parent company of Fashion Bug was bought out by the parent company of Dressbarn and all remaining locations were closed.
You may remember rolling to the mall on a Friday afternoon to pick out the perfect outfit for the weekend? Chances are you at least looked in Gadzooks. This store had all the best after-dark outfits for any occasion. Going to a bonfire? No problem! Going to a dance club? That was covered, too.
It was also one of the best places to pick up some JNCO jeans. They basically catered to the teens and young 20-something crowds with all things shiny and skimpy. In 2003, Forever 21 purchased the chain and transitioned all the Gadzooks locations into Forever 21s.
Another great one that fell with the rise of technology. Sam Goody was another music and entertainment retailer that specialized in music, video, and video games. Sam Goody was a small record store owner who opened shortly after the advent of vinyl records in the 40s.
Later, (circa 1951) the Sam Goody name was applied to the chain of record stores that we all knew and grew to love. However, the store filed for bankruptcy in 2006, closing most of its stores.
Payless was one of the coolest places to get a new pair of shoes for the right price. At its height, the chain had more than 3,500 locations in more than 40 countries.
Sadly, the company declared bankruptcy in 2019 and closed all of its North American stores, including its online platform. However, if you happen to be in Europe, you may be in luck, as all the stores excluding the North American locations are still operating.
Radio Shack was the coolest store for all the tech nerds, and for those of us who weren’t so much nerdy as we were curious. Radio Shack had all the latest technology, gadgets, and gizmos anyone could hope to find, as well as the accessories to go with it.
At its height, Radio Shack owned and operated more than 7,300 stores. In 2015 the chain filed for Bankruptcy after suffering losses 11 consecutive quarterly losses.
it was the best-smelling store in the mall - until Bath & Body Works opened up, that is. Wicks ‘N’ Sticks sold over 23 different scented candles and home décor items, as well as accessories for candle burning.
In 2006, the company filed for bankruptcy, citing new competition from other stores like Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candle company. While many locations closed at that time, there were still some straggling independent franchises leftover as recently as 2016.
The United Colors of Benetton was another popular place to buy your clothes if you were a rad teenager in the 80s and the early 90s. Founded in 1965, in Ponzano Veneto, Italy, it became an instant hit. By the 1980s, it was known worldwide as an iconic brand for its use of bright colors and bold advertising campaigns.
However, some of those ads were too much for us Americans and sales began to decline in the U.S. By 2017, no Benetton stores remained in the US, although the brand still operates more than 5,000 locations worldwide.
If you needed an inexpensive dress, Rave was a great store to shop, even if you wore the dress for one weekend and never wore it again. After its initial success, the Rave chain opened up Rave Girls stores, similar to the Limited Too stores that catered to fashionably aware tweens and teens.
Apparently, the stores lasted about as long as that outfit because we can’t seem to find out what happened to this highly popular 90s retail chain. But we know it existed! We swear we shopped there!
