Early in the pandemic, it was clear that retailers would struggle as the coronavirus halted foot traffic and forced temporary store closures. Industry experts expected a tidal wave of bankruptciesthen did a double take when it didn't happen.

Well, its happening...and its hitting the apparel sector especially hard. In the last week a laundry list of apparel companies whose clothes you shouldnt put in the laundry filed for bankruptcy.

Sales in retail overall have rebounded a bit, up 1% year over year, but clothing and accessories have been the hardest-hit category by far. Just-Style reports May sales in the sector were still down -63% year over year.

In total, U.S. retailers are expected to permanently close between 20,000 and 25,000 stores this year.

Zoom out: Even though apparel has been the weakest link, the broader retail industry is definitely still riding the struggle bus: Kitchen goods retailer Sur La Table filed for bankruptcy yesterday, while Bed Bath and Beyond experienced a 49% drop-off in Q2 sales. And the hits keep coming: Walgreens announced plans to cut 4,000+ jobs in its Boots UK business in the United Kingdom after an 85% drop in foot traffic in April.

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The Wave of Bankruptcies That Many Expected Is Finally Here - Morning Brew