Retail bankruptcies continue apace in 2017. Their effects on commercial real estate are potentially widespread. What has been less well understood is how changes to the Bankruptcy Code from over a decade ago and trends in bankruptcy practice have combined to limit considerably the likelihood that any retailer filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief can emerge successfully as a reorganized company.
Dozens if not hundreds of retail companies have filed for bankruptcy in 2017 alone. The common culprit typically identified in each of them is the mega-trend from in-person to online retailing. One could say the trend is of Amazonian proportions.
