Earlier this month, for the second time in seven years, Claire’s filed for bankruptcy. The retailer will avoid complete collapse by selling most of its North American business to private equity firm Ames Watson, but its ongoing struggles serve as a cautionary tale. Marketing tactics alone cannot keep a brand afloat without a cohesive strategy—one that unites product, customer experience, and cultural relevance.

The Christmas Tree Shop is closing its doors. Overstock.com is becoming Bed Bath & Beyond. Party City went bankrupt and is closing stores. More than 50,000 stores that are open now may be closed by 2027, according to UBS. But what actually happens to retail spaces, brand identities, and competitors when a brand goes out of business?

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss big brands going out of business: what happens to the brand, the opportunity for competitors, and whether a brand’s bankruptcy can change consumer behaviors surrounding life milestones. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank retailers or brands that are innovating really well and brands that are at risk. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analyst Carina Perkins.

Amazon and big-box stores are likely to win from Bed Bath & Beyond’s collapse, while fast-fashion retailers could score displaced David’s Bridal customers. But keep a lookout for underdogs like Etsy, which may bring in shoppers looking for personalized party supplies in Party City’s absence.

We highlight some of the biggest and most shocking failures of the year.

The large sums that flowed out of Binance this week caused some in the community to question whether its collapse would end crypto altogether.

Carvana and Bed Bath & Beyond teeter closer to bankruptcy: Both retailers are facing serious money problems as decisions made during the pandemic come back to haunt them.

Musk loyalists put to the Twitter stress test: Bedrooms for Musk associates at Twitter’s headquarters, lawsuits, and failed content standards give competing social media platforms an opportunity to attract users.

Twitter’s fallout deepens: More jobs cuts, departures of executives, and distressed debt pose existential concerns for the social media company. Pressure to monetize the platform isn’t enough to save it.

Gigafactories = ‘gigantic money furnaces’: Supply chain disruptions grind Tesla’s new factories to a near halt. Even when things come back online, the mineral shortage will still be a scourge.