Shopko

Shopko's January 2019 bankruptcy collapsed a Midwestern discount department store chain serving small towns that Walmart and Target ignored. The company operated 367 stores, many as the only department store in rural communities. Private equity owner Sun Capital had loaded Shopko with debt while selling its pharmacy business to CVS. Without pharmacy traffic drivers and burdened by debt, Shopko couldn't survive e-commerce competition. Rural America lost its local department stores; customers had to drive to bigger towns or order online.