Chuck E. Cheese, GNC, and Tuesday Morning all file for bankruptcy, tales of the Retail Apocalypse during the pandemic

Two weeks ago, I had two tales of the Retail Apocalypse to share about J. Crew and JCPenney. Today, I have three, beginning with CNBC reporting yesterday Chuck E. Cheese parent company files for bankruptcy.

CNBC's Kate Rogers reports on Chuck E. Cheese amid the pandemic.

This did not come as a complete surprise. Erik of Retail Archaeology read the handwriting on the wall more than a year ago, when he asked What's Going On With Chuck E. Cheese's?

In this episode we take a look at Chuck E. Cheese's and discuss the current status of the company.

I was not thinking of Chuck E. Cheese when I wrote Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, but it's a restaurant chain that was already in trouble and declared bankruptcy because of the pandemic and resulting recession, so I'm covering it, especially since it's the first major restaurant chain to declare bankruptcy during the pandemic. At least it's planning on reopening most of its locations and staying in business as it reorganizes its debt, so it's not likely to go away soon, even as the chain announced it will be closing 45 stores permanently, including 34 that were open at the start of the pandemic.

The second story is about GNC, which announced it would close 900 stores last year. It also declared bankruptcy yesterday as CBS Detroit reported.

GNC has filed for bankruptcy citing the coronavirus pandemic had a dramatic impact on its business.

Even though this is a very brief clip, it is from a local source, so I used it. Also, the video didn't cut off before the reporter started talking about Chuck E. Cheese, so that connects the two stories.

The final story is the oldest. Erik of Retail Archaeology brought it to my attention last week when he asked Is The Sun Setting On Tuesday Morning? BANKRUPT!

In this episode we take a look at Tuesday Morning. They just recently announced they have filed for bankruptcy and will be closing hundreds of stores.

The company filed for bankruptcy a month ago, so I'm a bit slow in reporting it. Still, Erik's video shows that the company had likely had issues even before the crisis hit, just like Chuck E. Cheese and GNC. As I wrote in April, the pandemic is just accelerating existing retail trends. Companies that were already in trouble are the ones to succumb first.*

That's it for today's Retail Apocalypse news. Stay tuned for entries about the latest on D.C. statehood and a driving update.

*I could also have written about Hertz declaring bankruptcy, but that fits under travel, not retail. Maybe in a future post.