Gottschalks

Gottschalks' 2009 liquidation closed a 105-year-old California department store chain. The company operated 58 stores in secondary Western markets where it often faced no department store competition. When the 2008 financial crisis hit, sales dropped 20%. Without credit to survive the downturn, Gottschalks liquidated. The company that had thrived serving smaller communities couldn't survive a synchronized national crisis.