For some, fashion retailer Le Chateau Inc. was the edgy store of their youth and 1990s clubwear. Others recall a place of prom dresses, business apparel and accessories.

91裸聊视频淚t was a trendsetting store,91裸聊视频� says Toronto resident Tara Greene. 91裸聊视频淎s a teen, it was a very cool and exciting place to shop.91裸聊视频�

After six decades in operation, the Montreal-based clothing company joined the ranks of dozens of big-name retailers that have buckled under the weight of pandemic restrictions, filing for court protection in October and liquidating stores.

It91裸聊视频檚 been a year of unrelenting pain in retail, with widespread economic shutdowns toppling cornerstones of Canada91裸聊视频檚 retail industry just as easily as small operations.

And experts warn there are more casualties to come, as the second wave of cases forces further restrictions 91裸聊视频� decimating cash flow and exposing broader underlying problems.

Some retail chains went into 2020 already saddled with massive debt, too many stores and a track record of underperformance.

91裸聊视频淭he sector has been in a bit of turmoil even before the pandemic,91裸聊视频� says Ramesh Venkat, director of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services at Saint Mary91裸聊视频檚 University in Halifax.

91裸聊视频淩etailers that started the year in financially bad shape just couldn91裸聊视频檛 survive. They didn91裸聊视频檛 have the financial resources to make it through these hard times.91裸聊视频�

Retail analysts say many also lacked a strong e-commerce presence and failed to keep up with shifting consumer behaviour.

91裸聊视频淪ome just aren91裸聊视频檛 appealing to the next generation of shoppers,91裸聊视频� says John Archer, chief development officer with the Toronto retail consultancy firm Three Sixty Collective.

91裸聊视频淭he Gen Zeds are different than millennials and some stores like Forever 21 realized even before the pandemic they weren91裸聊视频檛 cutting it for the new generation.91裸聊视频�

Then the pandemic hit, compelling many retailers to close or drastically curtail hours and customer capacity.

The shutdown sent overall retail sales into free fall, plummeting 30 per cent in April compared with a year earlier, Statistics Canada reported.

Clothing and shoe stores were hardest hit, down a staggering 87 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively, compared with April 2019.

The mounting toll of restrictions 91裸聊视频� on top of the existing problems hounding retail 91裸聊视频� was too much for some.

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Household names like footwear empire Aldo Group, outdoor recreation outfit Mountain Equipment Co-operative and clothing retailer Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. have all filed for creditor protection since the start of the pandemic.

So have Comark Holdings with clothing brands Ricki91裸聊视频檚, Cleo and Bootlegger, Groupe Dynamite with brands Garage and Dynamite, and Ann Canada Inc. with women91裸聊视频檚 clothing brands Ann Taylor and LOFT.

While some stores will disappear, experts say others are using creditor protection to step back from a risky retail environment and restructure after years of poor results.

Reitmans, for example, had seen its share price steadily decline for more than decade when the pandemic struck.

The Montreal-based company filed for creditor protection in May and began restructuring, liquidating its Addition Elle and Thyme Maternity stores to focus on its three remaining brands 91裸聊视频� Reitmans, Penningtons and RW & CO.

Indeed, some of companies filing for creditor protection could come back 91裸聊视频渓eaner and meaner,91裸聊视频� Archer says.

91裸聊视频淚f they were on the ropes already, they may have taken advantage of legal protection to take a breather and work with their suppliers and landlords and figure out how many stores they need.91裸聊视频�

Still, Canada91裸聊视频檚 retail landscape is expected to lose thousands of stores as a result of restructuring and bankruptcies, putting many retail workers out of a job.

The first quarter of the year is a notoriously slow period for many retailers, and experts say without a robust holiday sales period it will be difficult for some to stay in business through the winter months.

91裸聊视频淭here are some companies that are obviously not thriving already, so with any sort of blip on the radar they are definitely going to have some issues,91裸聊视频� says Anwar White, a lecturer with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management at McGill University.

But he says the insolvencies brought on by the pandemic are part of a normal economic cycle that has just been accelerated and compressed into a shorter time frame.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not thinking about this as a doom and gloom situation,91裸聊视频� White says. 91裸聊视频淭his experience has forced retailers to really digitally evolve in lightspeed ways and do things completely differently than they91裸聊视频檝e done before.91裸聊视频�

Yet unlike usual economic cycles, the current uncertainty plaguing the retail industry hinges in part on the length and scale of store closures.

Retail analyst Bruce Winder says he expects the new year, and a potentially worsening second wave of the pandemic, will usher in more bankruptcies.

But he says the number of insolvencies could be offset by federal aid, including the wage and rent subsidies.

91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e going to see a number of companies propped up by government subsidies that probably without them would have been in (creditor protection) a long time ago,91裸聊视频� Winder says.

91裸聊视频淭hese sort of zombie companies are operating with maybe 10 or 20 per cent of their normal revenues but they91裸聊视频檙e still in business because the government is propping them up.91裸聊视频�

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press

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