These 8 Retailers Can’t Afford A Disappointing 2018 Holiday Shopping Season

In retail, it’s getting harder and harder for the have-nots to join the haves. As Amazon, Walmart and Target increasingly suck up the retail oxygen, a slew of high-profile competitors are wheezing, turning the always-crucial holiday shopping season into a make-or-break scenario for some. Department store chains Sears, J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus are ailing, while strip-mall stalwarts Kmart and Bed Bath & Beyond are struggling to lure customers. And flailing mall retailers such as Claire’s and Charlotte Russe must deliver results. Many major retailers are already showing signs of suffocation. Seventeen have defaulted on their debts since the start of 2017, including Sears, Payless, GNC, Rue 21, Bon-Ton Stores and David’s Bridal, according to S&P Global Ratings. Even during the financial crisis, it wasn’t this bad. Only five defaulted in 2009 and five in 2010, the worst individual years until 2017. Read more at USA Today.