The Container Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, joining a growing list of national chains suffering the same fate.

The storage and organizational goods store, which has about 100 locations in 35 states, faced a plunge in sales amid an ongoing housing market crisis that has resulted in higher prices and elevated mortgage rates. The Texas-based company said it intended to refinance its debt in an effort to “bolster its financial position, fuel growth initiatives, and drive enhanced long-term profitability" in a press release announcing its bankruptcy obtained by the Associated Press.

The Container Store's bankruptcy follows Party City's announcement that it was shutting down its nationwide stores permanently last Friday (December 20). Big Lots also announced the beginning of its own "going out of business" sales in a press release shared last Thursday (December 20).

The Columbus, Ohio, based company said it doesn't expect to complete its previously announced asset purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management, and has started its "going out of business" sale while continuing to work toward an alternative transaction with Nexus or someone else, which it aims to complete by the beginning of January. Big Lots, which operates more than 900 locations nationwide, filed for bankruptcy protection in September with the intention to sell to Nexus following its prior announcement to close up to 315 stores in August, which was later followed by plans to shut down 56 more in 27 states announced in October.

U.S. retailers announced a combined total of store closures exceeding than 7,100 through November 2024, which was a 69% increase from the previous year, according to data from the research firm CoreSight via CBS News. Forty-five retailers in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024, nearly doubling the total of 25 in 2023.

Bill Cunningham