In 2019, large companies like Forever 21, Avenue, Destination Maternity, Freds, Charming Charlie, Payless ShoeSource, Things Remembered, Charlotte Russe and Gymboree all filed for bankruptcy. And while Chapter 11 bankruptcy by itself doesnt mean that a company will close, many retailers do.

This year there has been no shortage of large chains filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy hoping to restructure without closing. And with the impact of COVID-19, it almost feels like every week if not more another major retailer or other major company files for bankruptcy.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides the businesses or large investors with protection from creditors while they continue operating and develop a repayment plan. Both creditors and owners must agree on a reorganization plan, which ultimately must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge.

Here are 16 large companies, most of which have locations in the midstate that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year.

One of Destiny USA's original businesses that opened when Carousel Mall opened in October 1990. Justice opened in Carousel as Limited Too. The store is seen here in 2016. (Photo by Sarah Moses Buckshot, Syracuse.com)Sarah Moses Buckshot | syracuse.com

Ascena Retail Group - Ann Taylor, Catherines, Loft, Lane Bryant and Justice

On July 23, the Ascena Retail Group, the owner of Ann Taylor, Catherines, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice and Lou & Grey, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The company also owned the Dress Barn and closed all of the Dress Barn stores last year. In July, the company said it would reduce its footprint with the closing of a significant number of Justice stores and a select number of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey stores including the exit of all stores across brands in Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico and the closure of all Catherines stores.

And among the closings in the midstate for girls clothing retailer, Justice include store closures at the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township; The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg in Mount Joy Township, Adams County; the Park City Center in Lancaster; at Tanger Outlets Lancaster in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County and at 2819 Concord Road in Springettsbury Township, York County, according to USA Today. The Justice store at Tanger Outlets Hershey will remain open.

The only Catherines store in the midstate is located at the Paxton Towne Centre at 5125 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township. There are also stores in the Easton, Monroeville, Pottstown, Springfield, Whitehall and Wilkes-Barre areas as well as three in the Pittsburgh area. Those stores are all closing.

Ann Taylor has 13 stores in Pennsylvania, six of which are factory stores including stores in the Hershey and Lancaster areas.

Loft has 35 stores in Pennsylvania including stores in the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York area. Of the 35 stores, eight are factory stores including stores in the Hershey and Lancaster areas.

There are Lane Bryant stores in the Harrisburg, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, York, Lancaster and Gettysburg areas.

These Lane Bryant stores in Pennsylvania are closing, according to the USA Today.

The New York & Company store at the Destiny USA mall in Syracuse is closing after the clothing retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection July 13, 2020. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com

Retailwinds - New York & Company

On July 13, Retailwinds, the owner of New York & Company, Fashion to Figure, and Happy x Nature, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The Company will close all of its stores, according to Footwearnews.com. New York & Company stores at the Harrisburg Mall in Swatara Township, the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township and at the Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace in Susquehanna Township are the stores the company has in the Harrisburg area.

In this Aug. 4, 2011, file photo, a man passes a Brooks Brothers store on Church Street in New York's financial district. The 200-year-old fashion retailer that says it's put 40 U.S. presidents in its suits, is filing for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)AP

Brooks Brothers

Last month, Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, according to Market Watch. The company said it would close about 51 stores. Locations were not announced, but most of the closures have reportedly already begun with inventory moving from targeted stores to distribution centers; eight stores were permanently closed last month, including in NYC, Boston and Washington, D.C., according to Business Insider. Brooks Brothers has more than 500 stores worldwide and 4,025 employees, including an outlet store at Tanger Outlets Lancaster. The Brooks Brothers store at the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg has permanently closed, according to the company website.

GNC (Shutterstock)

GNC

GNC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 23. Over the past year, GNC has been closing underperforming stores. GNC expects to accelerate the closure of at least 800 to 1,200 stores. As of March 31, 2020, GNC had approximately 7,300 locations, of which approximately 5,200 retail locations are in the United States (including approximately 1,600 Rite Aid store-within-a-store locations).

The stores that GNC has announced that it is closing in Pennsylvania include:

Tuesday Morning opened in June, 2019 at 5098 Jonestown Road in the Colonial Commons shopping center. Businesses along Jonestown Road/Allentown Boulevard.July 24, 2019. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Tuesday Morning

Discount retailer, Tuesday Morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and blamed it on COVID-19.

The prolonged and unexpected closures of our stores in response to COVID-19 has had severe consequences on our business, CEO Steve Becker said in a statement.

The company at the time said it expected to permanently shutter 230 of its 687 locations and said it would be closing underperforming stores over the summer. The stores to close include those at the Carpet Mart Plaza in Hampden Township and Colonial Commons shopping center in Lower Paxton Township, according to a list published by CNBC. Tuesday Morning stores in other parts of Pa. are also on the list, including Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh and Quakertown.

The JCPenney at Capital City Mall in Camp Hill, PA on June 12, 2020.Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

JCPenney

JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The company said at the time it expected to close 192 locations by February 2021 and 50 more would close in its 2022 fiscal year. In June it announced the locations of 151 of those stores including four in Pennsylvania:

Star-Ledger photo by (Jerry McCrea) Short Hills 6-20-95) The Neiman Marcus logo on the exterior wall of the store in Short Hills. Jerry McCrea

Neiman Marcus

Luxury retailer, Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The retailer has commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in the Houston division. The company will continue operations and says it expects to emerge from the bankruptcy process in the early fall. There is a Neiman Marcus store at the King of Prussia Mall.

A woman walks past a J. Crew retail store in Baltimore in 2013. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

J. Crew

J. Crew filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in May.

Modell's Sporting Goods (Photo by Michael Mancuso, NJ.com)TT Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com

Modells Sporting Goods

Modells Sporting Goods filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in March and said it was closing all of it stores, according to Bloomberg. The family-owned business chain had 153 stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., according to a report by Bloomberg.

Loves Furniture Inc. announced they have acquired the inventory and assets of 27 former Art Van Furniture, Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture stores in five states, 17 of which are in Michigan. (MLive file photo)Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Art Van Furniture/Wolf Furniture

AVF Holdings Inc. announced in March that it had made the decision to wind down operations and begin liquidation sales at all of its company owned stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio. The company operates under the brands Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep and Scott Shuptrine Interiors. The company announced on March 6 that Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture in Ohio and Pennsylvania would be sold to Robert Levin, pending court approval. Eight Wolf Furniture stores in Maryland and Virginia would also be liquidated. Two weeks later Art Van Furniture said it would not sell the eight stores to Robert Levin. In July Robert Levin announced that Levin Furniture would reopen 17 stores in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Pier 1 Imports is closing its store in Camp Hill. (Daniel Urie, PennLive)

Pier 1 Imports

Pier 1 Imports announced in February that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced it was closing more than 400 stores including its store on Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township. But, in May it announced it was closing its remaining 540 stores including its store in Camp Hill.

Gold's Gym at Phillipsburg Mall announced Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 it would be closing its doors for good. It encouraged members to go to the franchise's Hackettstown location. (Pamela Sroka-Holzmann, Lehighvalleylive.com)

Golds Gym

Golds Gym announced in May that it was filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and said it would close about 30 company owned stores. None of the company-owned stores are in Pennsylvania, Adam Zeitsiff, president and CEO of Golds Gym confirmed to PennLive in June.

JoS. A. Bank location in Arborland Center at 3783 Washtenaw Avenue (MLive file photo)AnnArbor.com

Tailored Brands - Mens Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G

Tailored Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 2. In July it said it would close more than 500 stores. As of Aug. 3, the company had announced only one store closing in Pennsylvania, a Jos. A. Bank store in Philadelphia, according to USA Today.

A Wendy's fast food restaurant opened on July 1, 2020, in Palmer Township near the Route 33 interchange. (Rudy Miller, Lehighvalleylive.com)Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

NPC International - owner of hundreds of Wendys and Pizza Hut franchises

This summer, Kansas-based NPC International, which owns hundreds of Pizza Hut and Wendys franchises, including numerous Wendys locations in the Harrisburg area, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has 39 Wendys location within 40 miles of Harrisburg, including multiple locations on the East shore and the West Shore, according to its website. NPC currently operates more than 1,225 Pizza Hut units in 27 states and more than 385 Wendys units in eight states.

JOHN C. WHITEHEAD/The Patriot-News THE PATRIOT-NEWSTHE PATRIOT-NEWS

Chuck E. Cheese

CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 24. As of that date there were 266 company-operated Chuck E Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurant and arcade venues.

In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, photo, a Hertz "Fast Lane" sign directs rental car drivers to a biometric scanning machine at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Martin)AP

Hertz

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 22.

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JCPenney, Pier 1 Imports, Chuck E. Cheese and 13 other chains that have filed for bankruptcy this year - PennLive